Jeb Branham runs his own independent law practice.
HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN HIS OWN BOSS?
Since January.
WHO ARE HIS CLIENTS?
The Ponte Vedra Beach office caters to small and medium-sized business and individuals with commercial and property concerns.
WHAT’S YOUR SPECIALTY?
“Litigation. As a solo practitioner, I am expanding to general commercial services. My practice emphasis will continue to be on commercial litigation, but in conjunction with that I will be providing basic services such as simple corporate transactions and advice about insurance and handling lease matters.”
WHY EXPAND YOUR PRACTICE?
“The clientele I am targeting at the beach won’t have a large number of litigation matters so I want to be able to provide some level of general service. I came out to the beach because the business community at the beach was under served in terms of legal services.”
EDUCATION
Knoxville, Branham’s hometown, is where he learned his trade. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee. He has a bachelor’s degree in English from Emory University.
WHY MAJOR IN ENGLISH?
“I was interested in literature and writing. I knew I wanted to go to law school and English is very good preparation.”
WHY CONTINUE WITH A LAW DEGREE?
“It always interested me. When I was in high school, I thought I wanted to go into genetics until I realized I didn’t have the aptitude. Law was my second choice — it is something I am good at and have an aptitude for.”
NO REGRETS
“As a career, I like the flexibility. For example, I can very easily switch to a small business [from working for corporate giants]. The practice has a tremendous amount of variety, especially with litigation. There are always new issues to keep my intellect challenged.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING?
“Gaining a quick knowledge in non-legal areas [science and technology predominantly], for instance, how Prozac works on the brain.”
LEARNING THE ROPES
The law firm of Hawkins and Parnell in Atlanta gave him his first crack at trying cases. After about three years there, he accepted a position at King & Spaulding before moving to Jacksonville to work for McGuire Woods. Two years later, Branham opened his own practice.
JACKSONVILLE OR BUST
“I practiced in Atlanta since I graduated. I wanted to move to an area on the coast, plus I have family here.”
HOME AND HEARTH
Jacksonville Beach is where Branham and his wife Michelle reside.
WHO HE HOBNOBS WITH
Branham is a member of the Jacksonville Bar Association and the Chamber of Commerce in addition to being licensed through the Georgia and Florida bars.
OUTSIDE THE COURTROOM
A water lover, Branham spends his free time surfing, fishing or golfing. His pride and joy is a surfboard autographed by downhill Olympic skier Picabo Street. Rainy day activities include thumbing through a non-fiction novel, surfing the tube for “Everybody Loves Raymond” or becoming engrossed in his favorite movie, “The Terminator.” If he ventures out, he makes a beeline for Sergio’s Northern Italian & Continental Cuisine.
WHO’S YOUR HERO?
“James Madison [the fourth president of the United States]. From law school forward I have been interested in the founding of this country. Madison’s views align most closely with mine on the proper structure of American government and he lived his views more so than the other founding fathers.”
—by Monica Chamness