John M. Tatum

Retired Partner

Print Page
Experience
credentials
Insights
News

John Tatum recently retired from the Firm’s Savannah office, where he concentrated his practice on business litigation including business torts, contractual and commercial disputes, fraud cases, RICO, ERISA, business governance and financial disputes, intellectual property disputes, and class actions.

John was a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and was listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, ERISA Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, and Trusts & Estates Litigation. He was named Lawyer of the Year for 2012 in Bet-the-Company Litigation for Savannah.

John graduated with a B.A. in 1965 and an LL.B. in 1968 from the University of Georgia. In law school, he was a justice on the Honor Court and served as decisions editor for the Georgia Law Review from 1967 to 1968.

He was admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits; the U.S. Court of Claims; the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Georgia; and all Georgia courts. John served as a member of the Lawyer Advisory Committee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 1998 to 2002. He was a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Georgia Bar Foundation, a member of the American Judicature Society and the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association, and an associate member of American Association for Justice.

John served as general counsel to Savannah Foods & Industries, Inc., from 1988 to 1997, and he served on the board of directors of SunTrust Bank of Savannah from 1988 to 2012. His many civic commitments include serving on the CEO Council for the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, as chairman of the board of directors for Union Mission, and as Clerk of Session for First Presbyterian Church.

Experience

Practice Areas / Industries

Practice Areas

Industries

Community Work

Community Work

  • Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity: Board of Directors
  • First Presbyterian Church: Clerk of Session
  • Savannah Benevolent Association: Elected Member
  • Savannah Community Foundation: Board of Directors
  • SunTrust Bank of Savannah: Board of Directors, 1988-2012
  • Union Mission: Board of Directors, Chairman; Executive Committee

Credentials

Education

Education

University of Georgia School of Law: LL.B., 1968
University of Georgia: B.A., 1965

Affiliations

Affiliations

  • American College of Trial Lawyers: Fellow
  • American Association for Justice: Associate Member
  • American Bar Foundation: Fellow
  • American Judicature Society
  • Eleventh Circuit Historical Society: Secretary
  • Georgia Bar Foundation: Fellow
  • Georgia Defense Lawyers Association
  • Lawyer Advisory Committee: U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit, 1998-2002
  • National Moot Court Competition Committee: Past Member

Recognition

Recognition

Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Litigation
Chambers USA ranks the leading firms and lawyers in an extensive range of practice areas throughout America.

American College of Trial Lawyers
John Tatum is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), a professional society of Fellows who become members only by invitation, with admission limited to experienced, outstanding trial lawyers who are unquestionably and eminently qualified as actively engaged trial lawyers. Fellows who have met these high standards are in all U.S. states, all provinces of Canada, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Best Lawyers in America: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, ERISA Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Trusts & Estates Litigation
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most highly-respected peer review guide to the legal profession worldwide. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.

Georgia Super Lawyers: Business Litigation, 2004-2018
Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

Georgia Trend Magazine Legal Elite: 2012-2013
Georgia Trend Magazine’s annual listing of Georgia’s top attorneys, selected by their peers. The list includes eight practice areas: business law; personal injury litigation; criminal law; labor and employment; taxes, estates and trusts; bankruptcy and creditors’ rights; family law; and general practice/trial law.

Lawyer of the Year: Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2012
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most highly-respected peer review guide to the legal profession worldwide. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.

Martindale-Hubbell: AV Rated
The Martindale-Hubbell® PEER REVIEW RATINGS™ are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada.

Licensed In

Licensed In

Georgia

Insights

Articles

The Value of Mediation

August 21, 2015

By John M. TatumSpecial to Savannah Morning News It took some time for me to appreciate the value of mediation as a tool for resolving legal disputes. In the early…

Read All

Presentations

Media

Read All

News