Mr. Coughlin has been certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 2004.  He is the only certified Civil Trial Specialist in Bristol.

He has appeared in and represented clients in Courts of 16 East Tennessee counties, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the Western District of Virginia (pro hac vice), the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Tennessee Supreme Court and Tennessee Court of Appeals, and before Administrative Law Judges in both Kingsport and Bristol, Virginia.  Before entering private practice in 1995, Mr. Coughlin served as a law clerk for 2 Tennessee Court of Appeals Judges.

On December 19, 2014, Mr. Coughlin presented 'Quantifying Damages' and 'Negotiating & Litigating the Damages: Plaintiffs' Tactics' for the National Business Institute's Damages in Personal Injury seminar in Johnson City, Tennessee, at the Carnegie Hotel.  On November 16, 2017, Mr. Coughlin returned to the Carnegie to present 'Skillfully Utilizing the Business Records Exception' to the hearsay rule for another National Business Institute seminar there.

On November 13, 2015, Mr. Coughlin presented 'Handling Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Claims' to attorneys attending the 9th Annual Law Conference for Tennessee Practitioners (presented by the Tennessee Attorneys Memo) in Franklin, Tennessee.  During the same, he outlined and explained the ins and outs of auto claims for insurance coverage involving uninsured and underinsured defendant drivers.  He presented the same materials in a webinar format for the Tennessee Attorneys Memo on February 25, 2016.  He also made the same presentation to the Bristol Bar Association at its June, 2015 meeting.

Additionally, Mr. Coughlin produced Litigation Forum 2013: Practical Help for your Practice for the Tennessee Bar Association on March 8, 2013 in Nashville, while serving as Chair of the Litigation Section of the Tennessee Bar Association.

Born: 1969

College: Tulane University, B.A., with honors, 1991

Law School: University of Missouri, J.D., 1994

Membership:

• Bristol (President, 2010) and Tennessee (Litigation Section, Chair, 2012-13) Bar Associations

Awards and Recognition:

AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® since 2005

Community Involvement:

Kingsport Kiwanis Club (President, 2005-06)

CASA for Kids, Inc. (President, 2007-08)

Practice Areas:

• Car & Truck Accidents
• Civil Litigation
• Wrongful Death
• Motorcycle Wrecks
• Probate
• Social Security Disability & SSI
• Falls
• Appellate Practice
• Insurance Defense
• Dog attacks

Admissions:

• 1994, Tennessee
• 1995, Missouri
• 1996, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee and U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit