Giles builds solid career as construction attorney

Law Talk profile for The Memphis Daily News

July 25, 2013

Justin Giles III spends his days entangled in the details of contracts and plans as a construction attorney with Evans Petree PC.

Despite the ever-changing nature of the construction industry and specific projects, he says, “I love it.”

He enjoys helping clients develop a project plan and working with like-minded attorneys to cut through the complexities to “get to the meat of an issue” and help make a potential problem into an opportunity.

Born and raised in Memphis, Giles attended Memphis University School before heading to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to study broadcast journalism. The dream was to work in pro sports and he sought counsel from the general manager of the Tennessee Smokies Double-A baseball team when graduation neared.

“I said, ‘What do I need to do to have your job?’” Giles said.

The answer was to further his education, either with graduate school or law school, to gain credibility. He was interested in being a trial lawyer and chose Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Fla., for its high ranking as a trial advocacy school.

Just out of law school, Giles was offered work with the Chicago Cubs system, but $15,000 per year wouldn’t begin to cut into his student loan debt. Moving back to Knoxville, he took work doing insurance subrogation . . . (read more)