Legal Solutions for You,
Your Family & Your Business
Dan Morse
Morse & Morse, PC
6312 Kingston Pike
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: (865) 238-4569 | Fax: (866) 867-1545
http://morselaw.justia.net
It is my honor to earn your trust.
Legal Topic
Personal Injury
Preferred New Clients
With regard to personal injuries, I prefer to help someone who is truly injured and cannot stand up for his or her right to be compensated by the "at fault" party or his insurance company. In matters of business law, my favorite clients are those with a passion for a new venture or existing business and a desire to innovate, expand and shake up the marketplace.
Sub-Categories
Personal Injury
- Dangerous Property
- Wrongful Death
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Construction Site Injuries
- Slip & Fall
- Whiplash
- Felony Auto Accident
- Defamation
- Invasion of Privacy
- Libel
- Slander
- Manufacturing Defects
- Assault & Battery
- Dog Bites & Animal Attacks
- Airplanes
- Buildings
- Mass Transit - Bus, Train, Subway
- Ships & Boats
- Amputation
- Burn Injury
- Head/Brain Injury
- Paralysis
Legal Topic
Business Law
Preferred New Clients
With regard to personal injuries, I prefer to help someone who is truly injured and cannot stand up for his or her right to be compensated by the "at fault" party or his insurance company. In matters of business law, my favorite clients are those with a passion for a new venture or existing business and a desire to innovate, expand and shake up the marketplace.
Sub-Categories
Banking & Finance
- Commercial Leasing
- Mortgages & Foreclosures
- Venture Capital
- Business Successions
- Buying & Selling
- Closely Held Businesses
- Corporations
- Directors' & Officers' Liability
- Franchising
- Joint Ventures
- Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)
- Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures
- Nonprofits & Tax-Exempt Corporations
- Partnerships
- Professional Corporations
- Public Offerings
- Shareholders' Rights
- Commercial Construction Contracts
- Construction Defects
- Construction Disputes
- Dangerous Property
- Mechanics' Liens
- Art
- Communication & Media
- Internet
- Music
- Literary Arts
- Publishing
- Computer Law
- Domain Names
- Electronic Commerce
Bar Admissions
TN, Sep 2004
Bar Number: 023327
Other Court Admissions
Supreme Court of Tennessee, Supreme Court of California, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Association Memberships
Knox Bar Association.
Continuing Education
I attend Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars on the topics of personal injury and developments in business law. I also take CLEs for ethics and professionalism. I enjoy keeping up to date with developments that are advantageous to my clients.
Papers and Publications
My article, "Stars in Cyberspace: The Domain Name Game" was published in the Beverly Hills Bar Journal. It discussed the Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act and the landscape of domain name rights and disputes.
Example Cases
Personal Injury - Car Wreck: Expectant mother hit head on by inattentive driver on slick Knoxville roads. I packaged the medical records and presented the case in a manner that obtained a good result for the mother and her unborn child.
Personal Injury - Slip and Fall: Client slipped in a puddle at a national chain restaurant. The initial offer from the insurance company was a mere $500, but I obtained a final settlement of substantially more by calling the adjuster's bluff.
Business Litigation - Return of Earnest Money Deposit: In a dispute between a buyer and seller of commercial property, I forced the seller to return an earnest money deposit by winning a summary judgment in Knox Circuit Court.
Business Planning - I have helped numerous small business owners plan for success by advising them of the advantages and disadvantages of certain business entities and operating procedures.
Education
Degree:
Juris Doctorate
School:
Pepperdine University School of Law
City:
Malibu
State:
CA
Year:
2001
Honors:
Dean's List and Dean's Merit Scholarship.
Focus and Accomplishments:
Pepperdine Journal of Alternative Dispute Resolution - Business Editor.
Number of Attorneys
2
State Licensed In
Tennessee and California.
Firm Focus and History
Morse & Morse is a boutique Knoxville law firm that is narrowly focused on the needs of its valued clients. We handle personal injury cases, business law, and estate planning matters. Our personal injury clients can expect close attention to the particulars of their cases, and benefit from our experience as insurance defense litigators - we know how the "other side" thinks. Our business clients appreciate our creative and effective approaches to business matters and contacts within the Knoxville business community.
After years of working for other firms, Morse & Morse, P.C. was established by Anissa Morse and me in January of 2009. We have worked in a variety of law environments, and have taken those experiences to heart in crafting a firm that puts its clients first.
Previous Employment Summary
I started in the Los Angeles, California, legal market while in law school. I worked for a dot com start-up during the first internet boom, and then with a large transactional firm. After law school, I worked with Cho & Brown in Ventura, California, where I learned the ropes of insurance defense litigation, construction defect law, and traumatic injury defense. I then worked in the San Fernando Valley with Hanger, Levine and Steinberg - traveling across the Southland defending people pursuant to their insurance policies.
In 2003, we moved to Tennessee, and took the Tennessee bar. I then practiced with Wise & Reeves, P.C. doing business, real estate and commercial litigation in downtown Knoxville. Most recently, I worked part time with Stephen A. Burroughs in matters of personal injury.
Activities and Awards
I have served on the Knoxville Bar Association's Law Office Technology Committee and I have performed pro bono contract review work for Legal Aid of East Tennessee.
What is your opinion regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?
With personal injury matters you can know what your rights are, but dealing with the insurance companies and all the hoops of litigation is a minefield for the average person. I would discourage someone from representing himself in a personal injury case.
In matters of business, I want my clients to know all they can stand to learn about their choice of legal entity and how to run it. There are many situations arising in business that require a sound legal opinion, and I will be there when they need me.
Are you willing to review documents prepared by clients?
I will review and revise client documents to conform to my understanding of the law.
Are you willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?
Absolutely not. I will not assist from the sidelines. It serves no one well.
Why did you decide to be a lawyer?
I was driven to be a lawyer because I recognized how confusing certain processes in our society had become. I saw a system of rules, regulations and private interests that preyed upon the meek - those who could not speak for themselves. It is from this vantage point that I decided to learn the hidden knowledge that could be used to successfully navigate the world of business and a courtroom.
What work experience and education helps you be a better lawyer?
I am calm. I am a cancer survivor. Nothing can beat me.
When it comes to personal injury matters, my experience as both a plaintiff's attorney and an insurance defense litigator allow me to quickly evaluate the relative merits of a case and present that case in a manner that can be understood by the parties that will ultimately pay the settlement.
Why did you decide on your primary area of practice?
I take personal injury cases because I was in a traumatic t-bone car wreck with my family in 2006. The process of dealing with the insurance adjuster converted me from a defense attorney to a plaintiff's attorney.
I enjoy business planning matters because I am also an entrepreneur. I have formed various business entities for my own companies, and I can see around the corner for the clients I advise. It is an area in which I feel that my clients receive the benefit of my mistakes.
What do you like best about your career?
It is a gift to be able to share what I know with my clients. It is an honor to earn the trust of my clients. I do not take these things lightly.
Tell us about your law firm:
My wife and I pour our hearts and souls into our young firm. We aim to be the premier firm in Knoxville for personal injury, business law, and estate planning matters. Anissa Morse is an accomplished estate planner, having once worked for Pepperdine University's Center for Estate and Gift Planning, and she is a wealth of knowledge in this very difficult area of law. We are proud of our firm. We are invested in our clients and their cases.
What are your strengths and style?
Client communication is my greatest strength. I take a great interest in my client's stories - whether they've been injured or they are running a business. I must understand the motivation of my client in order to be a better advocate for my client.
Personal Interests:
I enjoy inventing and creating - from writing projects to business ventures, I spend a lot of my free time thinking up ways to improve the state of literature, the internet, and the world in general. I dabble with music. I'm a rock hound. And I love to watch football.
Fax
(866) 867-1545
Office Hours
Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Emergency After Hours
Yes
Foreign Languages
Weak Spanish.
Additional Offices
Knoxville, TN
Mailing Address
PO Box 10126
Knoxville, TN 37939-0126
Fixed-Price Services and Fees
I offer contingent fees on some personal injury matters, and both fixed price and hourly rates for business, transactional and estate planning matters. New clients who mention Nolo will receive a 10% discount off my normal hourly rates.
Hourly Rates
$200.
Free Initial Consultation?
30 minute free consultation.
Typical Retainer
Variable retainer depending on task and matter of representation.
Nolo's Licensing Check
Attorneys have passed a licensing check. Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the applicable bar associations upon joining the directory.
Directory lawyers are required to notify Nolo immediately if they become the subject of any disciplinary action by any bar association.
