Where Experience Counts And Results Matter

Biography

Jonathan O. Steen is a trial lawyer. He serves as trial and appellate counsel for industries including health care, manufacturing, banking, and insurance. Jonathan also serves as local counsel for national/regional law firms and in-house counsel.

Jonathan focuses on civil trial work, including the defense of product liability claims and legal and other professional liability claims. He also assists clients with complex business disputes, conservatorships and probate matters. Jonathan has tried cases involving the appointment of a receiver for a rural critical access hospital, for breach of lease, and representing plaintiffs and defendants in property damage, personal injury and death claims. He has also argued cases before appellate courts. Jonathan has a strong interest in technology, particularly as it relates to electronic discovery issues, and has served as an ESI discovery special master in federal court. He has also presided as a special master for the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Jonathan served as the President of the Tennessee Bar Association (2014-15), and currently serves as a member of the TBA's House of Delegates. He has also served as President of the Jackson-Madison County Bar Association (1999-2000). Jonathan is a founding member of the Howell Edmunds Jackson American Inn of Court and has served as its President (2012-13). He is an active fellow of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and has served on the NCBP Executive Council (2016-19). Jonathan is a fellow of the Tennessee and American Bar Foundations.

Practice Areas

  • Civil Litigation
  • Appellate Advocacy
  • Business and Commercial Disputes
  • Bankruptcy Adversary Proceedings
  • Personal Injury
  • Premises Liability
  • Products Liability
  • Professional Liability
  • Construction Litigation
  • School Board Hearing Officer
  • Zoning and Land Use

Education

  • University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
    • J.D. - 1992
  • St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota
    • B.A. - 1988
    • Major: Mathematics and German

Bar Admissions

  • Minnesota Supreme Court, 1992
  • U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1992
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, 1993
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin, 1993
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Tennessee, 1994
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee, 1994
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 2013

Honors

  • Pro Bono Volunteer Award, presented by West Tennessee Legal, Services, Inc (2017)
  • Pro Bono Volunteer Award, presented by West Tennessee Legal, Services, Inc (2010)
  • Pro Bono Volunteer Award, presented by West Tennessee Legal, Services, Inc (1998)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, Tennessee Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division (2005)
  • Public Service Honor Roll, American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice (2006)
  • President’s Award, for service as the Chair of the Executive Director Search Committee, Tennessee Bar Association (2017)
  • President’s Award, for service as the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Pro Se Divorce Forms, Tennessee Bar Association (2021)

Published Works

  • Author, “Guarding a Judgment’s Fountain of Youth: Consider the Effect of Bankruptcy on Rule 69.04,” 57 No. 4, Tenn. B.J. 36, 2021
  • Co-Author, “What We Learned about the Practice of Law and Ourselves from the Novel Coronavirus,” The Bencher (July/August, 2020)
  • Co-Author, Recent Developments in Medicine and the Law, 48 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 391, 2012
  • Co-Author, Recent Developments in Medicine and the Law, 47 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 393, 2011
  • Author, “The Secret of Eternal Life: Follow Rule 69.04 and Save Your Client’s Credit Judgment from an Untimely Death,” 47 No.9, Tenn. B. J. 14, 2011
  • Co-Author, Recent Developments in Medicine and the Law, 45 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 497, 2010
  • Author, “Running out of Time? Beware of the One-Year Statute of Limitations for Statutory Penalties,” 41 No. 5, Tenn. B. J. 14, 2005