Keith AttorneyKeith Williams

Keith Williams, founder of the Keith Williams Law Group, has dedicated his practice of 30 years to helping people and their families in accident, injury, and wrongful death cases. Keith is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (fewer than 300 out of more than 23,000 attorneys in Tennessee and less than 0.5% of all licensed attorneys in the U.S. have earned this certification).

Being a veteran, battle-tested trial attorney with significant courtroom experience, Keith has tried hundreds of cases in front of a judge or jury and obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Keith has won numerous substantial verdicts, including a $14,657,123 verdict for an injured motorcycle rider, and a $6,200,000.00 verdict for a car accident victim that is believed to be the largest verdict ever awarded in Sumner County, Tennessee. In addition to courtroom successes, he has also negotiated numerous significant settlements and represented clients across the country from Los Angeles, California to New York, New York. He has obtained several confidential settlements against commercial trucking companies and their third party brokers. Keith has also represented numerous clients injured and the families of victims killed in helicopter and airplane accidents and disasters and is currently representing the families of deceased passengers in several private plane and helicopter crashes across the United States. Keith has extensive aviation experience, including representing passengers against Comair, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Iranian Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Robson Helicopters, Honeywell, Garmin, general aviation and fixed base operators. Keith has also blazed new legal trails in trying cases against truck brokers for negligent hiring in trucking accidents. He is in demand to share his knowledge and success in injury law with other attorneys across the country in speaking engagements and webinars.

Keith earned Business Degrees from Volunteer State Community College and Cumberland University and graduated with the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Nashville School of Law.

Chosen by a national panel of his peers, Keith was named Best Lawyer: Nashville Area 2015/2016 in Products Litigation Law. He has also been repeatedly listed in the annual publication Best Lawyers in America, an honor bestowed on him by the vote of his fellow attorneys. Keith has also received the Top 100 Trial Lawyers Award, earned an AVVO Rating of 10 (Superb), and received the industry recognition of his peers by achieving the Martindale-Hubbell “Preeminent AV” Peer Review Rating. Keith is a past chair of the Aviation Section of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and is also honored to be on the Aviation and Space Law Committee of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS).

Actively involved in several legal associations and organizations, Keith works hard to maximize the rights of those who are injured. Nationally, he is an active member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and is a member of the Public Justice Foundation. Locally and throughout the State of Tennessee, Keith is a Past President of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA) and has also been a frequent lecturer at legal seminars to other attorneys in Tennessee and in other states. Keith “wrote the book” on personal injury, penning The Consumers’ Guide to a Tennessee Accident or Personal Injury Case, a comprehensive guide for victims of injury accidents.

Honors and Awards:

  • Best Lawyers in America
  • Super Lawyers
  • Received the industry recognition of his peers by achieving the Martindale-Hubbell “Preeminent AV” Peer Review Rating
  • AVVO Rating of 10 (Superb)
  • Top 100 Trial Lawyers Award
  • Recognizing body of work and success in the area of Products Liability in the Midsouth area , Products Liability: Nashville, Best Lawyers in America
  • Named Best Lawyer: Nashville Area

Special Licenses/Certifications:

  • Certified Civil & Pre-Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy

Bar/Professional Activity:

  • Past President of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA)
  • Public Justice Foundation, Member
  • American Association for Justice (AAJ), Member
  • Past Chair of the Aviation Section of the American Association for Justice (AAJ)
  • Aviation and Space Law Committee of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS)

Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

  • ABA Torts Trial & Practice Section Aviation Litigation Conference, Aviation Litigation:  Welcome to the New Normal, 2022
  • ABA National Institute on Aviation Litigation,  General Aviation Revitalization Act, 2021
  • Aviation Webinar, Sky Torts–Things that Go Up Must Come Down Abruptly, 2020
  • ABA TIPS Aviation Section, Washington D.C., Effective Negotiation and Mediation Strategies in Aviation Cases,  2019
  • Tennessee’s 15th Judicial District Meeting, Lebanon, TN Subrogation in Todays World, 2018
  • Blount County Bar Association, Maryville, TN Subrogation Traps and Pitfalls, 2018
  • National Institute on Aviation Litigation Chicago, IL Practical Discovery in Aviation Cases, 2017
  • Kentucky Justice Association Annual Convention, Florence, IN, Motivating Conservative Jurors, 2017
  • Hot Topics in Trucking Litigation, Chattanooga, TN, Evidentiary Issues in Trucking Broker Cases, 2016
  • Kentucky Justice Association, Destin, FL Proving Truck Broker’s Liability, 2015
  • International Institute on Aviation Litigation – New York, New York  Evidentiary Issues of Governmental Finding of Facts and Opinions, 2015
  • Establishing Liability for 3rd Party Brokers in Trucking Cases, Speaker, Establishing Liability for 3rd Party Brokers in Trucking Cases, North Dakota Association for Justice, 2014
  • Determining Liability in Trucking Cases, Speaker, Determining Liability in Trucking Cases, Mississippi Association for Justice, 2014
  • Federal Rules of Evidence in Aviation Cases, Speaker/Panel Member, Federal Rules of Evidence in Aviation Cases, American Bar Association, 2014
  • Establishing Liability for 3rd Party Brokers in Trucking Cases, Speaker, Establishing Liability for 3rd Party Brokers in Trucking Cases, Kentucky Association For Justice, 2014
  • Proving Freight Broker Liability in Tractor Trailer Cases, Speaker, Proving Freight Broker Liability in Tractor Trailer Cases, Tennessee Association for Justice – Annual Review, 2013
  • Holding the Broker Liable in 18-Wheeler Cases, Speaker/Webinar, Holding the Broker Liable in 18-Wheeler Cases, Tennessee Association for Justice, 2013
  • FDA Advises Consumers Not To Use Certain Zicam Cold Remedies
  • Lawsuits in Tennessee to Address Secondary Infection Caused by Tainted Steroid
  • Medical Malpractice and Children – 20 Tips to Help Prevent It
  • Viral, Bacterial and Fungal Meningitis and How to Avoid Them
  • Airline Safety – Should Passengers Be Concerned
  • 10 Common Myths About Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases
  • Wrote the book on personal injury, penning “The Consumers’ Guide to a Tennessee Accident or Personal Injury Case”, a comprehensive guide for victims of injury accidents

Verdicts and Settlements:

  • Keith obtained a jury trial verdict awarding $14,657,123 to a client who was hit while riding a motorcycle.  Other substantial outcomes are as follows:
  • $8,300,000 settlement for his young client who was hit by a tractor trailer and severely injured. Part of this recovery was made against the 3rd Party Freight Broker as well as the trucking company.
  • $8,400,000 settlement for the widow of a construction worker that was killed on an interstate by the initiative driver of a tractor trailer.
  • $8,5000,000 Wrongful Death settlement for a widow and her family for the death of her husband resulting from a commercial airline crash.
  • $6,200,000 verdict in car accident case representing a mother who lost her leg in a wreck that was not her fault.  This is believed to be one, if not the, largest verdict ever awarded in Sumner County, Tennessee.
  • $3,000,000 in settlements for two airline flight attendants injured when they were thrown about in the cabin due to faulty maintenance by a third-party ground crew.
  • $1,000,000 settlement was reached for a client whose private plane was landed on by another general aviation aircraft.
  • $985,000 settlement for a client injured by the negligence of a foreign industrial manufacturer.