Justice for All
He doesn’t stand on top of semi-trucks or carry a sledge hammer or make outrageous TV commercials about the huge settlements he can get for his clients. Josh D. Tucker is a personal injury attorney of a different sort. He came into the specialty because of a family legacy of law and because he believes in helping clients and their families receive the justice they deserve.
A native of Metter, Georgia, Tucker always knew he wanted to be a lawyer, His great-grandfather, Lester Cleveland (L.C.) Anderson, for whom the Candler County Library is named, was a lawyer, state court judge and long-time mayor of Metter. Anderson passed the Georgia State Bar Exam in 1916 and set-up a practice in Metter in 1918. At age 28, in 1920, he was elected mayor of Metter. During Judge Anderson’s lifetime he served as attorney for the City of Metter and Candler County and the Excelsior Electric Membership Corporation (from its beginning). He served as Candler County’s state court judge with juvenile court jurisdiction until December of 1984. At age 92, he was the oldest practicing attorney in Georgia.
“That had a great influence on me,” said Tucker. “He practiced for 70 years, and served the people of Candler County well. He had a superior work ethic; in his late 80s he would work from 6:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. every single day. I learned from his legacy that good things come to people who work really hard.”
Tucker graduated from Metter High School in 1986 and attended LaGrange College earning a B.A. in English in 1990. He spent a few years working for UPS and during that time married and started a family when son Bland was born in 1995. While with UPS, Tucker continued to pursue his dream of being a lawyer. He worked at the law offices of Matthew Waters in Metter during the day from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., then drove to Swainsboro to his job with UPS and worked until 1:00 a.m. every day.
“I was in my early 20s and for seven years I just kept working. Then one day, I decided it was time to go to law school,” said Tucker. “I had never taken the LSAT. I took it and did well, plus I had very good work experience.”
With a wife and a 17-month-old at home, Tucker moved to Macon to attend the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.
“I’d leave home on Monday at 5:00 a.m. for Macon, and leave Macon after class on Friday,” said Tucker. “It was hard. I really missed my family.”
Tucker graduated magna cum laude in 2000 from Mercer and continued his work with Matthew Waters and Kendall Gross in Metter.
That’s the same year the family welcomed daughter Abigail. Tucker was glad to be back home with his young family, where he spent many hours working and studying for the bar exam.
“The bar exam isn’t given until July,” said Tucker. “I got out of law school in May, took the bar in July, and waited on the results until October.”
Tucker passed the state bar exam on the first try and shortly thereafter began an association with law school classmate Matt Hube. Hube, originally from Marietta, attended Georgia Southern University and after graduating from Mercer chose to locate a practice in Statesboro. When State Court Judge Gates Peed moved to the bench, Hube took over his offices, inheriting his staff.
Interestingly, at the end of his first year of law school, Tucker had sought a judicial clerkship and began working with Peed. When Hube assumed Judge Peed’s practice, Tucker, already familiar with the staff, soon joined him.
“I needed to borrow a book, and I called Matt to ask him about borrowing it,” said Tucker, “I was in Metter and he was in Statesboro, so we agreed to meet in Register that’s when we got together.”
The two formed the partnership of Hube & Tucker, LLC.
“Matt and I covered real estate, probate, domestic, criminal and personal injury,” said Tucker. “We went after our clients. We called on every bank president, every loan officer, real estate agents; we established relationships with anyone we thought could send us business. Instead of hanging out a shingle and waiting for them to come to us, we met with doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors - you have to go get it.”
Beginning in 2001, the partnership of Hube & Tucker, LLC covered general law for ten years.
“Over time work was allocated and Matt did domestic and criminal, while I covered real estate, probate and personal injury. I began to feel that real estate law wasn’t really helping people, probate was more of a process, but personal injury was truly helping people and their families.”
Tucker opened his own practice, Josh D. Tucker, P.C., and began representing individuals who have been injured or families who have wrongful death claims. He works along-side paralegals Rainey Johnson and Maria Wyatt in preparing cases for clients. A second son, Finn, was born in 2013.
“A lot of lawyers have case managers or a bank of attorneys who deal with clients while they spend their time marketing their services,” said Tucker. “At my firm we have a different approach. I prefer to work every file myself. That personal attention means I can understand my client, their problems, concerns and needs. ”
Personal injury encompasses cases in which clients have been injured in vehicle accidents, slip and fall incidents, dog bite cases, medical malpractice and nursing home abuse. Tucker works on settlements for his injured clients and still tries cases in the court room if needed.
In 2016 he was honored by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys as one of the Ten Best in Georgia for Client Satisfaction. He’s also been honored by Martindale Hubbell legal services with the Client Distinction Award for quality of service, overall value, responsiveness and communication ability. The National Trial Lawyers (NTL) have recognized Tucker as one of the Top 100 in the Nation for civil plaintiff trials. In 2017 he was chosen by Attorney & Practice Magazine as one of Georgia’s Top 10 Personal Injury Attorneys.
Just like his great-grandfather Judge Anderson, Tucker’s dedication to seeking justice for those who are in need extends to children who may need representation in the courts. For 17 years he has been the Guardian ad Litem for every child in foster care in Bulloch County.
“I really believe in getting justice for all those in need of representation,” said Tucker. “I want to help people who have been injured through no fault of their own and may have lost wages or high medical bills. They are recovering from the accident and at the same time having to deal with these issues. I want to solve their problems, and get them the compensation they deserve to get them and their families back on track. Helping people is what it’s all about.”
