JAMES W. GUSTAFSON JR. is a shareholder with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA. Mr. Gustafson is a West Palm Beach native whose credentials include serving with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and studying at St. Edmund Hall at the Oxford University.
Mr. Gustafson's practice is focused on product liability, trucking negligence, medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury and death cases. He also handles cases involving insurance bad faith.
An AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, Mr. Gustafson is an EAGLE member and past chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the Florida Justice Association. He is a sustaining member of The American Association for Justice, served as chair of their Professional Negligence Section and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Committed to teaching and writing, he has moderated or lectured at numerous Continuing Legal Education seminars and has authored Continuing Legal Education materials for The Florida Bar, the Journal of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, and ATLA's Trial magazine.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Florida State University, Mr. Gustafson studied law with his alma mater, as well. He was a member of the moot court team and Phi Delta Phi, and graduated with honors.
Mr. Gustafson began his legal career in 1994 with Freeman, Hunter & Malloy in Tampa, defending health care providers, product manufacturers, and cases involving general liability. In 1997, he joined Masterson, Rogers, Woodworth, Masterson & Lopez in St. Petersburg, litigating medical malpractice and product liability claims.
