J. Mark Griffee joined the East Memphis based law firm of Black, McLaren, Jones, Ryland & Griffee, P.C. as a shareholder in May of 2007. Previously, he was a member and partner of the Glankler Brown law firm in downtown Memphis. Mr. Griffee attended public high school in Wynne, Arkansas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with both honors and distinction in 1977 from (then Southwestern at Memphis) Rhodes College. Mr. Griffee received his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1980 where he was a member of the Moot Court Board. Mr. Griffee has been licensed and admitted to appear in all state trial and appellate courts in Tennessee since 1980, as well as in the United States District Courts for the Western and Middle Districts of Tennessee, the Sixth and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals and, since 2009, in the U.S. Court of Claims. With almost thirty years of experience, Mr. Griffee is a seasoned litigator who has long held the highest possible Martindale Hubbell rating of AV. He has represented clients, both defendants and plaintiffs, in every county in West Tennessee and in several counties in Middle and Eastern Tennessee. Mr. Griffee has also represented clients, appearing pro hac vice, in the courts of Arkansas, Mississippi and Florida, as well as overseas discovery proceedings involving reinsurance litigation in Europe.
Mr. Griffee has been a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 General Civil Mediator since 1997 and is on the panel of mediators approved by the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Mr. Griffee’s broad range of civil litigation experience has enabled him to render efficient and effective services as a mediator and arbitrator in significant commercial and personal injury claims and litigation throughout the Mid-South area. He also frequently represents clients and participates in mediations with regard to employment related matters pending before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Tennessee Human Rights Commission and the Workers’ Compensation Division of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Mr. Griffee’s broad litigation practice includes decades of commercial litigation, insurance defense and coverage litigation, professional liability litigation involving medical (both institutional and individual as well as group practices), legal, real estate and insurance agents, as well as title company and agency claims and litigation. Mr. Griffee also has extensive experience in workers’ compensation and other employment related claims and litigation. Further, Mr. Griffee has selectively represented individuals in significant commercial, personal injury and workers’ compensation claims and litigation, including those involving structured and court approved settlements.
In addition to his active litigation practice, Mr. Griffee has represented both local government and private business entities with regard to the acquisition of significant new operating systems dealing with property tax assessments, distribution, transportation and other service functions. He has also served on professional advisory boards for and represented home health agencies and medical provider groups with regard to acquisitions, mergers and sales of a hospital, practice groups and related entities.
Mr. Griffee is a member of the American Bar Association, Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice, Litigation and Dispute Resolution sections; the Tennessee Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law and Dispute Resolution sections; and the Memphis Bar Association, Litigation, Employment Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution sections.