A lifelong resident of Chattanooga, W. Gerald “Jerry” Tidwell has been practicing law for 35 plus years. His entire career has been spent as a trial lawyer. His focus of practice is defending civil damage suits. Primarily, Mr. Tidwell defends construction suits, fire claims, premise liability and civil rights lawsuits. He also defends car wreck cases and in appropriate circumstances pursues personal injury and commercial actions for plaintiffs. Some probate and criminal defense work also make up his case roster but to a much smaller extent.
Mr. Tidwell’s representative clients over the years include Auto Owners Insurance Company, Owners Insurance Company, National Lloyds Insurance Company, the Police Benevolent Association for whom he is general counsel to in the State of Tennessee, the Fraternal Order of Police, the City of Chattanooga and many private business owners and individuals. He has represented such far flung interests as Wichita County Texas and Prince William County Virginia in federal Court actions in Chattanooga. Mr. Tidwell works in all Tennessee state trial and appellate Courts all over the State and the U.S. District Court and federal Courts of Appeals as well.
Jerry Tidwell graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1979 with honors and the University of Tennessee, College of Law in 1982. He began his practice in Chattanooga immediately after taking the bar exam and has continued ever since. He has three grown sons who are pursuing engineering, medicine, and law in the order of their ages.