John D. Kitch
Cornelius & Collins, LLP
511 Union Street, Suite 1500
Nashville, TN 37219
Before joining Cornelius & Collins, John Kitch was a practicing solo lawyer in Tennessee for more than thirty-eight years. His practice focuses on the representation of public school systems, civil trial and appellate practice in state and federal courts, and estate planning and probate matters. A graduate of Purdue University and Vanderbilt Law School, he is a former law clerk for Justice Joe Henry of the Tennessee Supreme Court, a former adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt Law School, and a current faculty member at the Nashville School of Law. He also served a six-year term on the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, having been appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court in January of 2015.
Firm, Company, or Court
Of Counsel, Cornelius & Collins, LLP
Education
Purdue University, B.A., 1973
Juris Doctor
Vanderbilt University, 1976
Bar Admissions
Tennessee, 1976
Court Admissions (and Year)
Tennessee Supreme Court, 1976
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, 1979
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States, 1979
Professional Memberships & Activities
American Bar Association:
• Member, GP|Solo Editorial Board, 2011
• Vice-Chair, Solo and Small Firm Committee, General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section, 1997-99
• Member, Litigation Section
• Member, General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section
Tennessee Bar Association:
• Member, Litigation Section
• Member, Solo and Small Office Practice Section
Nashville Bar Association:
• President, 2012
• President-Elect, 2011
• First Vice President, 1997
• Member, Board of Directors, 1995-97, 2009-2013
• Past Chair and Current Member, Appellate Practice Committee
• Past Chair and Current Member, Solo and Small Office Practice Committee
• Past Chair and Current Member, Ethics and Professionalism Committee
• Past Member, Law Office Management Committee
• Past Member, Colleagues Committee
Nashville Bar Foundation:
President, 1999, 2000
Trustee, 1997-2000
Board of Professional Responsibility 2015-2020
Harry Phillips American Inn of Court
Master of the Bench Emeritus and Member of the Executive Committee
Member, 1996- present
Barrister, 1993-96
Lawyer’s Association for Women, Marion Griffin Chapter
Member, Board of Directors and co-editor of newsletter L.A.W. Matters, 1996-97
Member, 1996-present
Tennessee Council of School Board Attorneys, President, 1996-1997
Member, 1996-present
Civic Memberships & Activities
Sigma Pi Fraternity, International, Past International President
St. David’s Episcopal Church – Senior Warden 2016-2017; 2020-2021
Accolades & Distinctions
Speaker, Bobby Lee Cook Symposium, John Marshall Law School, Atlanta, Georgia, 2014.
American Bar Association Sole Practitioner of the Year, 1997 (Inaugural Award)
“Best of the Bar,” Appellate Practice, Nashville Business Journal, 2008, 2009
Fellow, Tennessee Bar Foundation, 2017
Fellow, Nashville Bar Foundation, 1994
Recipient, Nashville Bar Association President’s Award, 1990
Profiled in The American Bar Association Journal, October 1991 issue, Linda, John and Rebecca’s Excellent Adventure.
AV rating, Martindale-Hubbell
Publications
Author, “Red Flags: Avoiding the Bad Client,” SOLO, the newsletter of the American Bar Association’s General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division, published Fall 2010.
Author, “Practice Interrupted: Preparing for Disaster, Disability and Death,” October/November 2010 edition of the American Bar Association’s GP/Solo magazine.
Author, “Ethics for School Board Lawyers: Representation Within the Bounds,”
Tennessee School Boards Association Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1, Winter 2003.
Author, “Proving and Disproving Punitive Damages,” Litigation, The Journal of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association, Vol. 21, No. 2, Winter, 1994 (reprinted in the Third Edition of the Trial Practice volume of the American Bar Associations’ Litigation Manual, 1999).
Significant Cases
Guzman v. Alvarez, 205 S.W.3d 375 (Tenn. 2006) In Re Thompson, 2012 WL 912859 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 14, 2012)
Silva v. Buckley, 2003 WL 23099681 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 31, 2003)