Jerry H. Summers enters his 51st year of law practice in Hamilton County, Tennessee. We’re grateful for the thousands of clients who have entrusted their legal rights in both civil and criminal cases to our law firm. 

A word from Jerry:

For a long time, our law firm motto and my professional mission is “The practice of law is still a profession and not a business.” I’m mindful of the professional journey that I’ve been on and I’m grateful to the profession that has provided for me during my adult life. I love practicing law, but I’m troubled by what I’ve seen over the past decade. 

Increasingly, the highest marketing budget is the sole determinate of where a client chooses. Lawyers have become glorified carnival barkers with a J.D., complete with colorful outfits and catchphrases to match. Firms have grown in size and failed to match with client service. Aiming for a quick about settlement has become the modus operandi above working for the client’s best interest, even if it takes more work. 

I’m not happy with the way that a sizable portion of my industry has chosen to represent themselves and our work. The truth is that the legal capability and ethics of many of the 1,200 lawyers in the Chattanooga area are fully capable of trying certain cases for clients, not solely the handful that are spending tens of thousands of dollars on slick advertising. Our community witnessed this shameful behavior in the wake of the Woodmore Elementary bus tragedy when some law firms immediately saw an opportunity for financial gain and swooped in on grieving families. 

This independent website is aimed at highlighting many of the practices that I believe have sullied the law profession in recent decades. This blog isn’t meant to say that my firm is necessarily a better fit for your case than another firm. It doesn’t necessarily mean you should hire me. Rather, we suggest you talk to more than one law firm in addition to the glitzy lawyers that gloss billboards, daytime television, and many social media websites.