Where Experience Counts And Results Matter

Biography

Charles H. Barnett, III has forty-two years of civil litigation experience in both state and federal courts. His litigation experience spans a wide variety of areas, including eminent domain, real estate litigation, commercial litigation, products liability, personal injury, premises liability, employment discrimination, and professional liability. He has a keen interest and extensive experience in the field of eminent domain. He began trying eminent domain cases as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Tennessee within a few months of graduation from law school. He has handled cases involving condemnation of property for highways, streets, bridges, pipelines, transmission lines, reservoirs, and universities. He now routinely litigates cases against the State of Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Authority, municipalities, and counties. The cases he has litigated concern all types of properties including commercial, industrial, residential, and farm property in both State and Federal court. .

Mr. Barnett has been awarded Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer review rating of AV for approximately thirty years and has been designated for the last ten years as a “Super Lawyer” in the field of litigation.

Mr. Barnett is a native of Jackson, Tennessee. He received his bachelor’s degree from University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1975. He is a member of the Jackson-Madison County Bar Association (President, 1990), Tennessee Bar Association, and the American Bar Associations (Litigation Section). He is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and a recipient of the Jackson-Madison County Bar Association Pro Bono Award, 1989. He has been designated as a Rule 31 Mediator by the Tennessee Supreme Court and is listed as a mediator by the Federal Court of the Western District of Tennessee. He currently serves as General Counsel to the Health, Education, and Housing Facilities Board of the City of Jackson.

Mr. Barnett resides in Jackson, Tennessee, with his wife Elizabeth, who is a medical technologist, and his three children. His interests include sailing, sail boat racing, the study of the natural world and spending time with his family and friends.

Practice Areas

  • Civil Litigation
  • Personal Injury
  • Employment Discrimination
  • Premises Liability
  • Workers' Compensation
  • Products Liability
  • Professional Liability
  • Eminent Domain

Education

  • Memphis State University School of Law, Memphis, Tennessee
    • J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence - 1975
    • Honors: Graduated Second in Class
    • Law Review, Memphis State University Law Review, Member
  • Memphis State University, Memphis, Tennessee
    • B.S., Bachelor of Science - 00/1969

Bar Admissions

  • Tennessee, 1975
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Tennessee, 1976
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit

Professional Associations

  • American Bar Association, Member, Litigation Section
  • Defense Research Institute, Member
  • Tennessee Bar Association, Member
  • American Association for Justice, Associate Member
  • Jackson-Madison County Bar Association, President, 1990 to 1990
  • Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, Associate Member
  • Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association, Member
  • National Institute of Trial Advocacy
  • City of Jackson Health, Education and Housing Facilities Board, General Counsel
  • American Inns of Court

Certified Legal Specialties

  • Certified Civil Trial Specialist, Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization
  • Certified Rule 31 Mediator, Tennessee Supreme Court
  • Court Certified Mediator, U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee

Published Works

  • "Taxation-Mutual Funds Valued at Redemption Price", 4 Mem. L. Rev. 184, Fall, 1973
  • "Constitutional Law Tennessee, Nuisance Statute Declared Unconstitutional", 4 Mem. L. Rev. 619, Spring, 1974
  • "Real Estate-Mechanic's and Materialmen's Liens in Tennessee", 5 Mem. L. Rev. 359, Spring, 1975

Representative Clients

  • Daisy Manufacturing
  • Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
  • Federated Insurance Company
  • Milan Express Company, Inc.
  • Wausau Insurance Company
  • State of Tennessee
  • Erie Insurance Company
  • Accelerated Courier
  • Forever Communications
  • Continental Indemnity Company
  • Specialty Risk Services
  • RLI Transportation
  • Marketplace Holdings
  • Ohio Casualty
  • Safeco

Honors

  • Jackson-Madison County Bar Association Pro Bono Award
  • American Jurisprudence Award
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers 2006-2015
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Rated

Fraternities or Sororities

  • Phi Alpha Delta
  • Kappa Sigma