Biography

John D. Hadden is a trial lawyer focusing on catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death claims. An experienced trial and appellate lawyer, he is author of two respected treatises on Georgia litigation practice: Georgia Law of Torts - Trial Preparation and Practice, and Green's Georgia Law of Evidence, both published by Thomson Reuters Westlaw. He is also author of the Evidence chapter in the multi-volume national Thomson Reuters treatise Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases, 2nd Edition. He has also lectured on litigation and personal injury practice at dozens of legal seminars and continuing legal education programs.

John has handled a wide variety of trial and appellate matters in the state and federal courts of Georgia. In addition to trial level work, John has been involved in more than 100 appellate cases at the Georgia Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals, and United States Supreme Court.

John is president of the Atlanta Trial Lawyers Association, a member of the Atlanta Bar Association, where he has served on the board of directors and is a past chair of the Litigation Section, a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, where he is past chair of the Amicus Curiae Committee, and the American Association of Justice, where he has served as a member of the Amicus Curiae Committee. He has also served on the board of directors of the Atlanta Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service and is a Master in Emory University School of Law's Cooper American Inn of Court. John is a 2011 graduate of the State Bar of Georgia’s YLD Leadership Academy. 

John has been recognized by SuperLawyers since 2011 and named to the Georgia SuperLawyers Top 100 list since 2019. He was also named one of Georgia’s Top 40 Under 40 by the Fulton County Daily Report in 2015 and recognized by Georgia Trend in its annual “Legal Elite” issue.

Background & Education

 

John graduated with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, where he was a member of the Georgia Law Review. While in law school, John served as a clerk for the judges of the State Court of Cherokee County and worked in the Office of the District Attorney for Rockdale County, prosecuting felony and misdemeanor criminal cases. John earned his bachelor's degree from Emory University, where he was a double major in History and Environmental Studies and was philanthropy chairman of Emory's Interfraternity Council. During college, he worked at the state capitol in the Office of the Governor.

John is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court and is admitted to practice before all Georgia trial courts as well as the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court. He is also admitted to the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

In his free time, John is an avid private pilot and SCUBA diver. He also enjoys photography and holds a commercial UAS (drone) license from the FAA, which he uses for photography and videography. John lives in Atlanta with his wife and two young children.