Kathryn Barnett is Senior Trial Lawyer for Morgan & Morgan. She has been taking on insurance companies and big business for more than 20 years. In 2018, Ms. Barnett represented a family at trial against a multi-billion-dollar corporation in a wrongful death case, winning a $13.5 million jury verdict. She has obtained many other verdicts and settlements that exceed $1 million for her clients, including a $26 million jury verdict in a wrongful death case, and an $8 million arbitration award for an entrepreneur wronged by their former partner. Ms. Barnett also served as lead trial counsel in two class action trials in the Multidistrict Litigation lawsuit arising from the mishandling of remains at Tri-State Crematory. These cases settled well into both trials, for combined judgments of over $120 million. She also served as lead counsel in a class action against the Georgia Farm Bureau regarding insurance coverage, which resulted in an $18 million settlement.
Ms. Barnett has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America, “Nashville’s Best Lawyers,” and in Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers as a Mid-South Super-Lawyer, as one of the Top 50 Women Mid-South Super Lawyers, as one of the Top 100 Tennessee Super Lawyers, and one of the Top 50 Attorneys in Nashville for many years. Most recently, she was included in the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of plaintiffs’ personal injury litigation and plaintiffs’ product liability litigation.
Ms. Barnett has also been included for many years among the Nashville “Lawyers In Charge” published by the Nashville Post, the “Best of the Bar” published by the Nashville Business Journal, and the “150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee” published by Business Tennessee. Because of her experience and accomplishments, she has lectured extensively on trial, complex litigation and related topics to other lawyers and to law students. Ms. Barnett is a member of the Executive Committee of the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, as well as a former President of the Nashville Lawyers’ Association for Women, former First Vice President of the Nashville Bar Association, former Vice President of the Tennessee Association for Justice, and former Chair of the Tennessee Judicial Conference’s Bench/Bar Committee. She graduated from Vanderbilt School of Law in 1992, where she achieved the highest grade in the class in Torts I and Jurisprudence. She graduated from Davidson College, with Honors, in 1989.
Awards & Recognitions
•Best Lawyers in America - “Nashville’s Best Lawyers,” 2010-2023
•Best Lawyers in America - Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs’
•Best Lawyers in America - Nashville Product Liability Litigation Plaintiffs’ “Lawyer of the Year,” 2015 and 2017
•Top 50: Nashville Super Lawyers: 2012-2013, 2015-2016, 2022-2023
•Top 100: Tennessee Super Lawyers: 2010-2013, 2015-2016, 2022-2023
•Top 50: Women Mid-South Super Lawyers: 2011-2016, 2021-2023
•Nashville Post - “Nashville Lawyers in Charge,” 2010-Present
•Nashville Business Journal - “Best of the Bar,” 2003, 2005-2010, 2013-2018
•Business Tennessee - “150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee,” 2006-2009
•Vanderbilt Law School Adjunct Professor of Law, 2020-2021
News & Insights
Harvard releases report recommending changes to its Anatomical Gifts Program
Their Bodies Were Donated to Harvard. Then They Went Missing
New lawsuit against Harvard in wake of body part trafficking allegations puts victims first in complaint
New lawsuit against Harvard in wake of body trafficking allegations puts victims first in complaint
New arrest in suspected stolen body parts ring tied to Harvard Medical School
'A place of freakish desecration': Families sue Harvard over stolen body parts scandal
Sometimes even the dead need a lawyer
Family sues two funeral homes in Brooklyn over treatment of mother's body
Family to sue NYC funeral home that stored bodies in U-Haul trucks
Fla. Jury Awards Smoker's Family $13.5M In Reynolds Case
Nashville Office Wins 500K Jury Award in Racial Discrimination Suit
Recent Wins
Brown v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
$13,500,000
Product Liability, Class Action
2018
Private Settlement
$540,000
Car Accident
2017
Thomas v. Marshall County School System
$518,500
2017
Henry May Jr. v. Steak 'n Shake, Inc.
$400,000
Personal Injury
2019
Distinguished: An excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. This rating indicates the attorney is widely
respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards.
Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards.
