Charles J. Gearhiser, one of the founders of the firm, passed away on June 17, 2013.
Charles made a name for himself as a prolific litigator, trying over 100 cases before Tennessee juries. His areas of expertise included federal criminal defense, professional liability defense, and product liability, personal injury, and commercial and business cases. Early in his career, Charles was law clerk to U.S. District Judge Frank W. Wilson and served in that position during the historic Jimmy Hoffa trial in 1964. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Tennessee, and then as a part-time U.S. Magistrate. He also served as Chairman of the City of Chattanooga’s Charter Revision Commission.
Charles worked to serve and improve the legal profession, serving as president of the Tennessee Bar Association, Chattanooga Bar Association, and chair of the Chattanooga Bar Foundation. Charles was a member of the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts Judicial Performance Program Committee and a charter member of the Tennessee chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was also a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a fellow of the American, Tennessee and Chattanooga Bar Foundations, a life member of the Judicial Conference of the Sixth Circuit, and the recipient of several designations indicating his excellence as a lawyer.
