Richard Glassman |

Glassman, Wyatt, Tuttle, and Cox, P.C.

Richard Glassman | Glassman, Wyatt, Tuttle, and Cox, P.C.

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Firm Summary

Richard Glassman, a lifelong Memphian, is the Senior Shareholder and President of Glassman, Wyatt, Tuttle & Cox, P. C. Since 1972, Mr. Glassman has represented clients throughout the State of Tennessee and beyond. Richard has consistently earned honors among his peers as one of the region’s finest trial lawyers, having tried more than 250 jury trials across the southeast.  He has achieved a multitude of accomplishments over his career spanning more than four decades, including being AV-rated, a Board Certified Pretrial and Trial Specialist and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and a 2014 Memphis Magazine Top Lawyers of the Mid-South, as chosen by other attorneys.  Richard is also a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America (a by-invitation association of less than 1/2 of 1% of lawyers in the United States to promote superior advocacy and ethical standards). Richard previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Memphis School of Law where he taught a course on Insurance Law.

Richard is involved as lead trial counsel in most of the firm’s largest and most high profile, complex matters, leading both Associates and fellow Shareholders through novel and complex areas of the law.  His clients range widely and encompass a number of practice areas, but his commitment to clients does not waver.  Richard works tirelessly for his clients, and he works equally as hard for his community.  A small sampling of some of Richard’s achievements include:

• Trying more than 250 jury trials as lead counsel across the Southeast on a number of high profile topics including Legal Malpractice, Medical Malpractice, Breach of Contract, Wrongful Death, Personal Injury, Fraud, Misrepresentation, and more,
• Deposing over 2,000 fact and expert witnesses,
• Successfully excluding expert witnesses in a number of fields in Professional Malpractice and other cases under both the Daubert and Frye standards,
• Defending attorneys at all stages of Legal Malpractice lawsuits on a host of legal issues too voluminous to list, including pre-suit investigation, litigation, jury trial and appeal,
• Educating other lawyers on the risks of legal malpractice in seminars and continuing education programs across multiple states, speaking on areas such as Attorney Ethics, Legal Malpractice Pitfalls, The End of the Attorney Client Relationship, and more,
• Defending accountants in Accounting Malpractice lawsuits involving alleged deviations in consulting, tax preparation, audits, representations, employee defalcation and more,
• Obtaining both public and confidential settlements on behalf of seriously injured persons involving medical malpractice, birth injury, birth trauma, wrongful death and serious personal injury,
• Assisting sexually assaulted students in litigation involving the Memphis City School System and Shelby County School Board, including claims brought under the Governmental Tort Liability Act (GTLA), Title IX and Section 1983,
• Prosecuting and defending claims against and on behalf of businesses both small and large, as well as high profile individuals in state and federal courts in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Practice Areas:

• Professional Malpractice (Legal Malpractice, Medical Malpractice, Accounting Malpractice, Dental Malpractice, Realtor Malpractice, Architectural Malpractice, Engineering Malpractice, Title Agency Malpractice)
• Transportation Litigation
• Business and Commercial Litigation
• Declaratory Judgments – Insurance
• Insurance Coverage Litigation
• Trust, Will and Conservator Litigation
• Estate/Inheritance Litigation
• Construction Litigation
• Real Estate Broker / Real Estate Agents Litigation
• Premises Liability
• High Profile Individual Defense including Invasion of Privacy, Defamation, Sexual Harassment, Interference with Contractual Dealings, Fraud, Misrepresentation and more
• Tennessee Student Sexual Assault
• Legal Malpractice Expert Witness

Education:

• East High School (1964)
• Memphis State University, B.S. (1969)
• Memphis State University, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, JD. (1972)
• Hastings College of Law (San Francisco, CA), Post-graduate trial strategy study (1975)

Court Admissions:

• Tennessee Supreme Court (1972)
• Arkansas Supreme Court (2012)
• Mississippi Supreme Court (2012)
• U.S. Supreme Court (1982)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (1976)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (2012)
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee (1972)
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee (2006)
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee (2021)
• U.S. District Court, Eastern & Western Districts of Arkansas (1981)
• U.S. District Court, Northern & Southern Districts of Mississippi (2012)

Memberships/Board Appointments:

• Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (achieving the rank of Advocate)
• Member, Defense Research Institute
• United States Senate Advisory Council
• University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Adjunct Professor
• University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Board of Directors
  • Treasurer, 2014-2015
• Founding Member, Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA) in 1993
• Member, Tennessee Bar Association
• Member, Memphis Bar Association
• Member, Mississippi Bar Association
• Member, Nashville Bar Association

Honors and Professional Achievements:

• Certified Civil Trial and Pretrial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (an ABA accredited organization)
• Participated in Federal/State Judicial Conference by invitation of sitting judge (2003/2004)
• Fellow, Memphis Bar Foundation (2010)
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, limited to less than 1/2 of 1 percent of North American lawyers (2014)
  • Member, Diversity Law Institute
  • Member, Trial Law Institute
• Fellow, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society (2015)
• Mid-South Super Lawyer (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Completed the TN Bar Association Faculty Development Training (2011)
• Honored by Schneider National Trucking Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin with its Partnership Award on two occasions in recognition of his significant contributions and overall excellence in his legal representation of Schneider.
• Best Lawyers in America with the specialty of Legal Malpractice Law
• Selected as an original member of the Tennessee Judicial Evaluation Committee, a 12-person committee (of which four are lawyers) charged with the duty of conducting a portion of the evaluation program of all Tennessee jurists, statewide, by direct appointment of the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1995.
• Awarded the AV Preeminent Rating by LexisNexis in 2010 (the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards).
• Selected as one of the “top 100” attorneys in the State of Tennessee by Mid-South Super Lawyers. For several years including 2014, Mr. Glassman was selected one of Tennessee’s Top 100 Lawyers in the state of Tennessee and one of 15 attorneys selected by Super Lawyers for the Mid-South in the area of professional liability; defense.
• Power Player in Business Litigation by Memphis Magazine (April 2017)

Presentations and Publications

Mr. Glassman has been a guest lecturer for the following on a wide variety of topics, including Legal Malpractice and Attorney Ethics:

• University of Tennessee Continuing Legal Education
• University of Memphis Continuing Legal Education
• University of Memphis Cecil Humphreys School of Law
• Southeastern Claims Association
• Memphis Claims Association
• Memphis Shelby County Bar Association Continuing Legal Education
• Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility
• Leadership Conference of the Tennessee Bar Association 2010-2011

In addition, Mr. Glassman has been a frequent speaker at seminars lecturing on legal malpractice and attorney ethics in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi for over 25 years.  Richard also completed the Tennessee Bar Association Faculty Development Training in 2011.  As noted above, he previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law at the University of Memphis School of Law.

University of Memphis Distinguished Alumni Award

Mr. Glassman was the recipient of the University of Memphis 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Award made to the Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Memphis (Memphis State University) in the year of the 100th Anniversary of the University.

Community Service and Commitment

Richard Glassman, and his wife Susan Lawless-Glassman, are tireless supporters of the Memphis community, having supported many charities, associations and projects over the past 40 years.   Richard believes strongly in giving back to the community and supporting those in need and has served in a number of capacities over the years including:

• Former Member, Board of Directors, Shelby Residential and Vocational Services (Specialized Services for Disabled Adults)
• Former Member, Board of Directors, DAE Valley Camp (summer camp for mentally and physically disabled children)
• Former Member, Memphis and Shelby County Convention Center Board
• Former Member, Board of Directors, Lausanne Collegiate School
• Former Member, Board of Trustees, University of Memphis College of Arts and Sciences
• Former Member, University of Memphis National Alumni Association Board
• Former Member, Council on Litigation Management (2008)
• National President of University of Memphis National Alumni Association (2002-2003)
• Member, Board of Visitors, University of Memphis (2002-2003)
• Chairperson, University of Memphis Law School Distinguished Alumni Awards Banquet (2002-2003)

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Memphis

Since 1997, Richard has been a “Big Brother” to William Terrell (now an associate attorney in the firm) through Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Memphis.  Richard has also served as the annual fund-raising chairperson for BBBS on two occasions, and he has and served as a board member for many years.  Richard’s dedication and commitment to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Memphis is described in the following article in the Commercial Appeal: From little brother to lifelong friend.

Personal

Richard is married to Susan Lawless-Glassman and has four children: Samantha Glassman Carder, Lauran Glassman Stimac (a partner in the Firm), Kathryn Glassman, and Zoe Glassman.  He is an avid supporter of Memphis Tigers Athletics.

Bluff City Law

Richard served as a behind the scenes legal consultant for the NBC legal drama Bluff City Law while it aired nationally.