John Franklin
John Franklin’s path to where he is today took several side trips. After starting out in pre med at Hampden Sydney College, he changed his major to history and after graduation, eventually wound up as a juvenile probation officer. Finding that he relished being an advocate, he went to law school at the University of Richmond. Several years after graduation, he and Bill Walker met when they each represented defendants in a Virginia Beach medical malpractice case. In 1978, Walker asked Franklin to join him at Taylor and Walker.
Representing professionals during a stressful time in their lives, when they are facing what could be a devastating lawsuit, is a perfect opportunity for Franklin’s calm demeanor to soothe the client’s anxiety. His cases involving hospitals, physicians, nurses, long term care facilities, architects, engineers, lawyers and accountants can frequently mean long hours studying the intricacies of these professions to better defend his clients.
One memorable case involved an engineering firm. He had prepared for it intently and presented his side of the case passionately during the five day trial. After arguing the jury instructions, he went home exhausted to his wife Martha, who informed him she was in labor with their first child. His son John was born the next morning— and he won the case. They also have a daughter, Anne, who is now a student at UVA.
A ground breaker in the true sense of the word, one autumn he and his wife found an undeveloped lot on a small spit of land near the water. The lots had never been developed, there was no city water or police, and no one told them what the place was like in the summer when the kids took over the area. That was the beginning of his advocacy for Croatan, a beach community in Virginia Beach, which now has fulfilled the promise he once saw in that vacant lot. He served as President and member of the Civic League Board and was instrumental in developing the area into a place that is a sought-after beach address.
He is a member of many bar-related organizations and is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in Virginia for 2008 in the area of Civil Litigation Defense.
