Complex Dispute Resolution and Consulting

CV

John T. Blankenship Attorney at Law

2179 Edward Curd Lane, Suite 100
Franklin, TN 37067
Direct Dial: 615-627-9390
Email: [email protected]

710 River Hill Road
Sparta, TN 38583
Cell: 615-330-8993
Email: [email protected]

John T. Blankenship, Attorney at Law, has offices in Franklin and Sparta, Tennessee where he practices in the areas of commercial law, including construction and real estate litigation, and arbitration and mediation.  Mr. Blankenship has been a member of the American Arbitration Association’s mediation and arbitration panels since 1987 and serves on the AAA’s Master Mediator Panel.  He is an approved mediator under Rule 31 of the Tennessee Supreme Court and has served as mediator or arbitrator in hundreds of commercial and construction cases, including multi-party, complex construction disputes in several different states, and is the only arbitrator in Tennessee to be elected to the College of Commercial Arbitrators.  Mr. Blankenship is a Charter Member of the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel and is a frequent speaker and published author on construction law, mechanics lien law, alternative dispute resolution and ethics.  He received his J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee College Of Law and his LL.M. in Dispute Resolution from the University Of Missouri School Of Law.

Mr. Blankenship served two terms on the Board of Directors for the College of Commercial Arbitrators.  He is a member of numerous other professional organizations, and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law in Dispute Resolution at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, TN.  He has an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell and is listed in America’s Best Lawyers in ADR and Construction Law. 

PERSONAL/COMMUNITY INTERESTS:
Four adult children: Katie, Ben, Joe, and Molly.
One granddaughter: Margot

Hobbies: Musician, song writer and vocalist; musical theatre.
Former Board Member, Rutherford County Center for the Arts
Former Board Member, Salvation Army
Founder, Rutherford/Cannon County Bar Association Legal Clinic
Former President. Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands

PROFESSION AND WORK HISTORY:

  • Attorney, Mediator, Arbitrator, Special Master 1978 to present
  • Adjunct Professor of Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Belmont University College of Law, 2013 to 2017

EDUCATION:

  • Middle Tennessee State University (B.S. - 1973) (four-year football scholarship)
  • University of Tennessee, School of Law (J.D. - 1977)
  • University of Missouri School of Law Center for Dispute Resolution (LL.M. - 2008)

PRACTICE EMPHASIS:

  • Dispute Resolution
  • Construction
  • Real estate
  • Commercial/ business litigation

MEDIATION/ARBITRATION EXPERIENCE:

  • Member of AAA mediator and arbitrator panels since 1987. As arbitrator served on numerous AAA and private construction and commercial cases both domestic and international (e.g. over 300 AAA cases) with claims from under $10,000 to over $200,000,000; s mediator, served on numerous AAA and private mediations (e.g. over 500 mediations).
  • Multi-state/international experience in arbitration/mediation, including cases in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, California, New Jersey and Mexico.
  • Representative samples/examples of construction and commercial cases/issues handled as mediator or arbitrator are available upon request, but include: multiple residential and commercial construction defect and contract disputes, delay claims and CPM scheduling, multi-family residential, commercial, manufacturing and industrial, hydroelectric dams (claims of improper fabrication and installation of gates), environmental, site development (including installation and compaction of fill, storm water drainage, sanitary sewer, boring), municipal sewer line extension disputes including auger and related equipment and drilling issues, engineering disputes (MEP, civil, structural, geotechnical), automotive press machinery to form metal parts for rear end assemblies, explosion in explosives manufacturing facility, design build industrial heat recovery systems, boat storage and marina development dispute, residential and commercial swimming pool defect claims, condominium/HOA disputes, subterranean and precast garages, bottled water distribution agreements, investment brokerage fraud, dissolution of partnerships and closely held companies, elevator malfunction, water/moisture infiltration, military installations, poultry breeding facility, concrete failures, geotechnical and subsurface conditions, industrial/high pressure piping, foreclosure/priority/subordination issues, estate and probate, non-compete and duty of loyalty issues, insurance coverage related issues including CGL and professional liability, leaseholds and commercial lease disputes, real estate title disputes, resort/timeshare disputes, franchise and distributorship disputes, heat recovery system dispute, government contract disputes (local, state and federal) involving vertical construction, military bases, roads and highways, dams.
  • Recent cases demonstrating variety of mediation cases include: successfully mediated case of fatal fall in home elevator shaft due to allegedly faulty locking mechanism; successfully mediated case for injuries suffered by patron from falling ceiling tiles in retail food establishment; successfully mediated automobile accident cases; successfully mediated a post-judgment case in which jury returned a verdict in excess of 45 million dollars including over 10 million dollars in punitive damages for investment banking fraud. Multiple other examples are available upon request.

PROFESSIONAL LICENSES/COURT ADMISSIONS:

  • Tennessee Supreme Court
  • United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee
  • United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • Supreme Court of the United States

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:

  • American Arbitration Association (Arbitrator, Mediator, Master Mediator Panel and AAA Tennessee Construction Committee)
  • American Bar Association (Construction Forum, ADR Section)
  • Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation
  • College of Commercial Arbitrators (Board of Directors, Executive Committee)
  • Tennessee Bar Association (TBA Study Committee on the Arbitration Fairness Act; Section on Dispute Resolution—Chair; Professional Standards of Conduct Study Committee, Standing Committee on Ethics and Professionalism, Access to Justice Committee—Past Chair; Tennessee Bar Foundation)
  • Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission Pro Bono Advisory Committee
  • Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel
  • Legal Aid Society (Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Conflict of Interest Policy Committee)
  • International Mediation Institute Mediator
  • Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators
  • Member and Past President of Rutherford/Cannon County Bar Association;
  • Hearing Officer Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (1993-1997)
  • Christian Legal Society
  • Member and Past President, Andrew Jackson American Inn of Court
  • Tennessee Distinguished Neutrals

HONORS AND AWARDS:

  • Tennessee Bar Association President’s Award 2005 for distinguished service in access to justice
  • Martindale Hubbell AV Rating
  • America’s Best Lawyers in ADR and construction law
  • American Arbitration Master Mediation Panel

PUBLICATIONS:

  • Co-author, Chapter 4, Arbitrator Fees and Expenses and Co-author, Chapter13, Intra-Tribunal Relations, The College of Commercial Arbitrators Guide to Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration 4th Ed., JurisNet, LLC (slated for publication 2018)
  • Co-author, Chapter 4, Arbitrator Fees and Expenses and Co-author, Chapter13, Intra-Tribunal Relations, The College of Commercial Arbitrators Guide to Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration 3rd, JurisNet, LLC 2014.
  • Tennessee Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1: It’s Origin, Evolution and Impact, Tennessee Bar Journal, April 2013.
  • Concepts in Conflict Analysis, Mediation News, Mediate.com and Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators, July 2011.
  • The Use of Witness Panels in Construction Arbitration, American Arbitration Association Building Resolutions Newsletter, AAA Constructi on Division News, Issue #4, December, 2010.
  • Isomorphism of Arbitration, Dispute Resolution Journal, Fall 2010
  • The Vitality of the Opening Statement in Mediation:  A Jumping-Off Point to Consider the Process of Mediation, Appalachian Law Journal, Spring 2010
  • Med-Arb, A Template for Adaptive ADR, Tennessee Bar Journal, November 2006
  • Tennessee Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1: It’s Origin, Evolution and Impact, Tennessee Bar Journal, slated for publication March 2013.
  • Concepts in Conflict Analysis, Mediation News, Mediate.com and Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators, July 2011.
  • The Use of Witness Panels in Construction Arbitration, American Arbitration Association Building Resolutions Newsletter, AAA Constructi on Division News, Issue #4, December, 2010.
  • Med-Arb, A Template for Adaptive ADR, Tennessee Bar Journal, November 2009

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS/PRESENTATIONS:

  • The Art of Commercial Arbitration: From A to Z—An Arbitrator’s Perspective and Tips for Effective Presentation, Construction Law Forum, Tennessee Bar Association, January 24, 2020.
  • Arbitration Advocacy, Tennessee FastTrack Seminar, Tennessee Bar Association, August 9, 2019.
  • Staying Civil When the Clients Hate Each Other, Brock/Cooper Inn of Court, Chattanooga, Tennessee, April 12, 2018
  • Preparing Your Client for Mediation, Tennessee Bar Association, 2017
  • Master Mediator Panel Presentation, Bradley, Arant, Boult, Cummings, 2016 Nashville, Tennessee
  • Panel Presenter: Back To The Beginning—Simplifying The Arbitration Process, College of Commercial Arbitrators, 2016, Orlando, Florida
  • Panel Presenter: Intra-Tribunal Relations, College of Commercial Arbitrators, 2015, New York City
  • Panel Presenter: What Arbitrators Look for in Construction Arbitration Case Presentations,ABA Construction Forum, 2014
  • Med-Arb—A Template for “Adaptive Dispute Resolution,” Rutherford/Cannon County Legal Professionals, January 24, 2013.
  • Mediation of Design Claims, American Institute of Architects Regional Meeting, Nashville Tennessee 2013
  • Getting the Arbitration Process You Want and Need, College of Commercial Arbitrators and Tennessee Bar Association, Nashville, Tennessee, November 16, 2012.
  • Arbitration Ethics, College of Commercial Arbitrators 12th Annual Meeting, New York, New York, October 27, 2012.
  • Managing the Arbitration Process for Efficiency and Economy Following The Preliminary Hearing, American Arbitration Association ACE Training, Nashville, Tennessee, October 2, 2012
  • The New Lawyer—Becoming a Dispute Resolution Professional, Rutherford/Cannon County Legal Professionals, August 23, 2012.
  • The New Lawyer—Becoming A Dispute Resolution Professional, Tennessee State Attorney General Office, Nashville, Tennessee, August 22, 2012
  • Public Sector Mediation, Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators, Nashville, Tennessee, August 9, 2012.
  • The Dispute Resolution Continuum, United Steelworkers—Nashville, Tennessee, May 16, 2012.
  • Mindfulness in Dispute Resolution, Tennessee Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section Annual CLE/ME Program—Understanding Conflict: The Why Behind the What, April 12, 2012.
  • Construction Lien Law, Knoxville, Tennessee, February 16, 2012.
  • 10 Ways To Make Sure Mediation Fails, Mediation, Arbitration and Ethics: What In-House Counsel Need to Know, BABC Litigation Section In-House Counsel Nashville Seminar, December 2011
  • Ethics in Mediation - A Collision With The Rules Of Professional Conduct, Williamson County Legal Professionals Lunch & Learn, October 2011
  • Construction Cases You Should Know, TBA Court Square Series, September 2011
  • Panel Discussions: Advanced ADR Techniques and Neutral Pet Peeves, Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel, Oxford, Mississippi, May 2011
  • Discovery: When Is Enough Enough?, American Arbitration Association Training, April 2011
  • Construction Mediation Pros and Cons: Mediating and Arbitrating Construction Disputes, Tennessee Bar Center, January 2011
  • Handling Your First Arbitration, College of Commercial Arbitrators, Nashville, Tennessee, December 2010
  • Staying Civil When the Clients Hate Each Other, Brock/Cooper Inn of Court, Chattanooga, Tennessee, April 12, 2018
  • The Dispute Resolution Continuum, Tennessee Association of Legal Professionals, December 2010
  • Practical ADR, TBA Court Square Series, Fall 2010
  • TBA Ethics Roadshow, December 2009
  • Introduction to ADR, Middle Tennessee State University December 2009
  • Panel Discussion: Tips on Arbitration Advocacy, Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel Spring Meeting, April 2009
  • ADR Ethics: Confidentiality in Mediation, Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel Spring Meeting, April 2009
  • TBA Ethics Roadshow, December 2008
  • Introduction to ADR, Middle Tennessee State University December 2008
  • Ethics of Arbitration, TBA Ethics Seminar, August 2008
  • The Great Debate: Administered vs Private Arbitration, Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel, November 2007
  • Conducting an Arbitration Hearing: An Arbitrator’s Perspective, Tennessee Bar Association, November 2007
  • The Annual Ethics Roadshow, Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct: A Comprehensive Review, December 2003
  • Advanced Tennessee Construction Law, 2005
  • Tennessee Construction Issues, December 2002
  • Hot Topics In Real Estate 2002
  • Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct: A Comprehensive Review, November 2002
  • Arbitration Advocacy Training, American Arbitration Association, October 2002
  • The Art of Arbitration, July 2002
  • Mechanics’ Lien Law and Strategies in Tennessee, June 2002
  • Art of Arbitration December 2001
  • Tennessee Construction Issues 2000 and 2001