Michael J. King

Michael J. King currently serves as managing partner for the firm. He graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in mathematics and political science. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, with a deferred service commitment to attend law school. Mike obtained his law degree from The University of Tennessee College of Law in 1992. He then served for four years in the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate. He is licensed in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Mike has nearly 30 years of litigation experience. He has handled a wide variety of civil litigation cases in both federal and state court ranging from product liability and toxic tort to business and commercial disputes. He has tried commercial disputes including complex contract cases, shareholder derivative suits, and covenants not to compete.

He currently serves as lead counsel for several companies in Tennessee asbestos litigation. In that role, Mike has worked as coordinating counsel for defense groups in numerous cases throughout the state. He has been involved in all aspects of asbestos litigation – from jury trials to appellate work. In May 2020, he served as lead appellate lawyer and successfully argued to the Tennessee Supreme Court that equipment manufacturers did not have liability for the subsequent integration of third party asbestos-containing parts into their products. See Coffman v. Armstrong International, Inc. — S.W.3d —, 2021 WL 22180 (Tenn. 2021).

Mike dedicates a substantial portion of his practice to the representation of owners and management companies in the multifamily housing industry. This area of practice includes handling tenant disputes and evictions, drafting residential leases, representation of landlords in fair housing cases and speaking on issues of importance to the multifamily industry. He previously served on the board of the Apartment Association of Greater Knoxville and currently serves as general counsel for the association. He is also a member of the Tennessee Apartment Association, and the National Apartment Association.

He previously served as President of the Knoxville Bar Association and as co-chair of the publications committee. In 2011, he was inducted as a Fellow in the Knoxville Bar Foundation. Mike is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association. He is a graduate of the TBA’s Leadership Law Program and has served on the steering committee for the program. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute and the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. Mike also served a three-year term with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Chancellor’s Associates, a group of business, professional and community leaders from the Knoxville area that help build public understanding of and support for the university.

Since 2016, Mike has been recognized in The Best Lawyers of America for his work in Product Liability Litigation – Defendants and was named Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in 2020. He has been selected to Super Lawyers, a designation of top-rated practicing attorneys and in 2020 was named to the Top 100 Tennessee Super Lawyer List.