Jonathan Petty

Jonathan Petty is a Virginia personal injury trial lawyer and partner who represents people injured by car crashes, truck accidents, medical malpractice, and defective products. He spent his first decade defending doctors, hospitals, insurers, and corporations in complex litigation. Since 2004, he has used that defense experience to represent injured plaintiffs. His practice regularly includes catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases in Virginia state and federal courts across the country.

Jonathan earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 1994 and his A.B. in English from Duke University in 1991. His education supported the analytical and communication skills he later applied in complex litigation throughout his legal career. He spent seven years practicing in Georgia before moving to Richmond, Virginia. His early defense work gave him insight into medical malpractice, product liability, wrongful death, and catastrophic injury claims.

Jonathan has tried medical malpractice and personal injury cases to verdict in courts throughout Virginia. He has also handled cases for plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts across the country. His experience includes claims involving tractor-trailer accidents, product liability, wrongful death, and catastrophic injuries. He uses his knowledge of defense strategies to anticipate arguments, develop evidence, and present persuasive cases for injured clients and their families in litigation.

Jonathan Petty has received longstanding professional recognition for his personal injury and medical malpractice work. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2012 and Virginia Super Lawyers since 2008. He was named Best Lawyers’ Medical Malpractice Law, Plaintiffs Lawyer of the Year in 2023. His service has included the Virginia Birth-Related Injury Compensation Program board and leadership roles with the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association consistently for years.

Law Office Affiliations

• Partner, Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers
• Member of Board of Directors, Virginia Birth-Related Injury Compensation Program
• Member, Virginia Bar Association
• Member, Georgia Bar Association
• Member of Board of Governors, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
• Member, American Association for Justice (AAJ)
• Member, Southern Trial Lawyers Association
• Member, Richmond Bar Association

Licensed State

• Virginia
• Georgia (Inactive)

Education

• Emory University School of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• Duke University
  AB in English

Awards & Badges