James W. Gustafson, Jr. is a shareholder with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA, a member of the firm’s executive committee, and the managing partner of the firm’s Tallahassee office. Jimmy is a sixth generation Florida native who served with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and studied at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, before becoming a trial lawyer.
Jimmy is a member of the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a worldwide organization limited to just 500 attorneys by invitation only. He is an EAGLE Founder, and a past President of the Florida Justice Association. In 2020, Jimmy received the Perry Nichols Award, which is the highest honor the Florida Justice Association bestows, and gives recognition to an individual who has dedicated a lifetime to the pursuit of justice through extended and distinguished service to the cause of justice in Florida and in the nation. In 2013, Jimmy received the Krupnick Award, the Florida Justice Association’s award for perseverance in the pursuit of justice in a single case. He is a sustaining member of The American Association for Justice, and served as chair of their Professional Negligence Section. He is a Diplomat in the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. An AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell for many years, Jimmy is committed to teaching and writing. He has lectured at numerous Continuing Legal Education seminars and has authored Continuing Legal Education materials for Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies, The Florida Bar, the Journal of the Florida Justice Association, and AAJ’s Trial magazine.
Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Jimmy is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and received the Trial Lawyer of the Year award from the Tallahassee ABOTA Chapter in 2010. Jimmy obtained one of the Top Ten Verdicts of 2010 as recognized by Lawyers USA, and one of the Top 100 Verdicts of 2010 by the National Law Journal.
Jimmy’s practice is focused on product liability, tobacco litigation including fraud and conspiracy, trucking negligence, and other catastrophic injury and death cases.