William D. Vines III

Bill Vines was admitted to the courts of the State of Tennessee and the United States District Court for the Eastern District in 1966. He is admitted to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and in 1972 was admitted to the United States Supreme Court. He is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 listed mediator both in state and federal courts. In 1986, he served as President of the Knoxville Bar Association and served many years on the Board of Governors. He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, American Bar Association, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Bar Association, Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, Lawyer Pilots Bar Association, and American Inns of Court (Master of the Bench Emeritus). His experience and abilities as a trial lawyer were recognized by his election to the International Society of Barristers (Fellow). He was the 1998 recipient of the Legal Writing Award from the Knoxville Bar Association, selected as one of the Best Lawyers in Knoxville in 2007, and selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America in 2007. Hobbies include flying, snow skiing, fly fishing, hiking and entertainment of grandchildren! Notable cases include a lender liability verdict of $7.5 million dollars, and numerous other large verdicts including a $1 million dollar medical malpractice verdict, a $1 million dollar verdict for environmental contamination, and an $865,000 verdict for failure to diagnose scoliosis resulting in major surgery for a child. Verdicts in 2008 include $2.75 million dollars (breast cancer case in Tennessee) and $5.8 million dollars (quadriplegia case in Michigan).