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Biography

JT Thompson has a diverse practice: medical malpractice, product liability and media law.

JT represents clients in several industries involving a broad array of cases. He regularly defends healthcare providers in medical malpractice matters, national and local media companies, newspapers and television stations, broadcasters and production companies in First Amendment, defamation, invasion of privacy, open records prosecutions, and other content-based actions, various manufacturers and service companies in personal injury and product liability cases, and also handles general business litigation.  He has tried many cases to defense verdicts in multiple areas of his practice.  Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters publication, tagged JT as an "Alabama Rising Star" for Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice in 2010 and 2012.  Since 2019, The Best Lawyers in America© by BL Rankings has recognized JT as a leading attorney in First Amendment Law and in Personal Injury Defense.

In working with his media clients, JT draws on his previous experience as an assistant editor in CNN’s Denver bureau, particularly his time covering the Timothy McVeigh Oklahoma City bombing trial. His prior professional experience as a journalist gives JT a unique perspective and understanding of the media industry, which enables him to more effectively represent media outlets. 

Whether his client is a healthcare provider, manufacturer, media organization, or a corporation, JT’s goal in every case is to help the client identify and achieve the desired outcome – whether an early resolution at mediation, a summary judgment or a defense verdict – as efficiently as possible. That requires dedication and focus at every step of the case. From the first assessment of the case, through the discovery process, motion practice and going to trial, JT strives to serve his client’s best interest.  

To achieve the best possible results, JT dedicates himself to working his hardest on every case for every client.  He takes inspiration from a quote from coaching legend, Paul “Bear” Bryant, that JT keeps taped inside his desk drawer: “It’s not the will to win that matters — everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”  Having grown up an Alabama football fan in a family of successful, hard-working attorneys, JT is motivated by that quote every day.  It reminds him what it takes to be a good attorney: hard work, dedication, taking pride in what you do and, above all, serving the client.

Above all of his accomplishments at work, JT takes the greatest pride in his family. His wife Garner is a successful real estate agent, and, together, they are the proud parents of two children.

Representative Matters

Securing a complete dismissal of defamation claims against a broadcasting company. Our innovative approach involved persuading the judge to assess the sufficiency of the plaintiff’s grounds prior to reaching summary judgment. This strategic move led to the judge dismissing the suit in its entirety, setting a precedent for similar cases in media law.

Defending a general surgeon and their practice, which specializes in surgical breast cancer treatment, against claims of breaching the standard of care during the plaintiff’s partial lumpectomy and sentinel node dissection. After a five-day trial, the jury unanimously ruled in favor of our client and their practice on all counts.

Achieving a favorable defense verdict for a neurosurgeon and his practice group in Jefferson County, AL. The case involved allegations of breaching the standard of care, where the plaintiff claimed the neurosurgeon failed to perform timely surgery in response to the development of new post-operative symptoms. The jury, after a week-long trial, unanimously returned a defense verdict in favor of the neurosurgeon on all claims.

Securing summary judgment on behalf of an NBC affiliate to dismiss a series of defamation and fraud claims against the NBC affiliate regarding its reporting on charges against a criminal defendant. The Alabama Supreme Court upheld the summary judgment ruling on appeal.

Securing summary judgment on behalf of a global online news outlet, dismissing claims that reporters and editors from that outlet knowingly published defamatory statements in its coverage of the rape and subsequent suicide of a college student in Alabama.

Securing a summary judgment for a helmet manufacturer in a product liability wrongful death case brought in a challenging Alabama venue.

Winning the court-ordered production of thousands of sensitive records on behalf of a large regional media organization in an open records dispute.

Securing a summary judgment, affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court, for a doctor in a contentious defamation case.

Securing a defense verdict in Tennessee for an industrial generator manufacturer in a premises liability case.

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