Jonathan Petty
Partner
“He shielded me from further harm.” That’s how one client described her experience being represented by Attorney Jonathan Petty, who is known for his deep knowledge, professionalism, and approachability both in and out of the courtroom.
For his first decade in practice, Jonathan represented doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies involved in complex medical malpractice litigation. He also worked with large corporations to defend wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases involving tractor-trailer accidents and product liability. During that time, Jonathan gained valuable insight into how corporate entities and their legal teams defend these complicated cases.
Since 2004, Jonathan has applied the deep knowledge and experience he gained working on the defense side of litigation to represent ordinary people injured by car accidents and truck accidents, medical malpractice, and defective products in Virginia. He has successfully tried medical malpractice and personal injury cases to verdict in courts throughout Virginia, and he has handled cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts across the country. The results he obtains for his clients are regularly listed among the annual “Largest Verdicts” reported in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly publication.
Jonathan is also committed to community service. In 2017, Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed him to a three-year term on the Virginia Birth-Related Injury Compensation Program's Board of Directors. He has also served on the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association's legislative, fundraising, and medical malpractice committees.
Jonathan was born in New York and raised in Charlottesville, Virginia. After seven years practicing law in Georgia, he moved from Atlanta to Richmond with his wife, Sydney. They currently live in the city with their two children. In their free time, Jonathan and his family enjoy the outdoors, music, sports of all kinds, traveling, and cooking.
Education
- J.D., Emory University School of Law, 1994
- A.B., English, Duke University, 1991
Awards and Recognition
- AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, 2004 – present
- Best Lawyers in America, 2012 – present
- Lawyer of the Year, Medical Malpractice, 2014
- Virginia Super Lawyers, 2008 – present
- Top 100: 2013-2014, 2017-2019
- Top 50: 2013-2014, 2017-2019
- Rising Stars, 2007
- Virginia’s Largest Verdicts of 2017, #5 ($2.4 million), as published in Virginia Lawyers Weekly
- Virginia’s Largest Verdicts of 2021, #3 ($3 million), as published in Virginia Lawyers Weekly
- Best Lawyers, Lawyer of the Year, Medical Malpractice Law — Plaintiffs, 2023
Professional Memberships
- Board of Directors, Virginia Birth-Related Injury Compensation Program
- Virginia Bar Association, 1998 to present
- Georgia Bar Association, 1994 to present
- Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Governors
- American Association for Justice (AAJ)
- Southern Trial Lawyers Association
- Richmond Bar Association