Jeffrey W. Rufolo has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The induction ceremony took place before an audience of about 800 people during the College’s 2016 annual meeting in Philadelphia, Penn., on Friday, Sept. 16.
Rufolo is an attorney with the firm of Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers. He has been practicing in Chattanooga for 26 years. Rufolo is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee School of Law.
Rufolo grew up in New Jersey, and originally came to Chattanooga in 1983 to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on a wrestling scholarship. He liked the area so much, he decided to stay.
Since joining Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers in 1991, Rufolo has successfully represented people who have been hurt on the job, or injured in car accidents, fall down cases, or other premises liability cases due to the negligence of others. Recently, Rufolo successfully overturned an unfavorable decision from the trial court in a wrongful death lawsuit brought against Hamilton County, in which a young man was brutally murdered. Obtaining a favorable decision for the family of the deceased in this case, Brown v. Hamilton County, 126 S.W.3d 43 2003 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003), was described by one Tennessee legal magazine as “similar to a miracle.”
Rufolo is a member of the American Association for Justice, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, for which he has served on Board of Governors, the Chattanooga Trial Lawyers Association, and the American, Tennessee, and Chattanooga Bar Associations.
Rufolo is married to Laura Beth, who is also an attorney. Together, they have one daughter. He is an active member of his church and community, and serves as a high school wrestling referee, a youth soccer coach, and on the alumni counsel of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is also vice president of the Chattanooga Takedown Club, an organization that promotes amateur wrestling.
Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only to “experienced trial lawyers of diverse backgrounds who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility, and collegiality,” Summers Rufolo said in a press release. Lawyers must have a minimum of 15 years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship.
Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province. There are currently about 5,800 members in the United States and Canada.
Founded in 1950, “the College maintains and seeks to improve the standards of trial practice, professionalism, ethics, and the administration of justice through education and public statements on important legal issues relating to its mission. The College strongly supports the independence of the judiciary, trial by jury, respect for the rule of law, access to justice, and fair and just representation of all parties to legal proceedings,” the release said.
Source: Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers