John V. TuckerAttorney John V. Tucker has helped people get disability benefits, life insurance benefits, ERISA benefits, Social Security Disability / SSI, Veteran's Disability benefits, and personal injury and wrongful death recoveries for over 17 years in the Tampa Bay area. Mr. Tucker has achieved AV rating (the highest available) through Martindale-Hubbell's attorney peer review ratings for his ethical standards and legal ability, and is also rated 10/10 ("Superb") by Avvo.com, an online lawyer rating and selection guide. Mr. Tucker practices throughout the United States handling claims, litigation, and appeals related to:
As a Disability Benefit Attorney and Personal Injury Attorney, John Tucker has represented thousands of people throughout Florida and the United States, particularly in ERISA and Disability Insurance cases. While many of his clients are from Bradenton, Clearwater, Dunedin, New Port Richey, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Tampa and other parts of the Tampa Bay area, he has clients and former clients in every county in Florida and in many other states.
Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Mr. Tucker studied at Bellarmine University and the University of Louisville before he moved to Florida where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida in 1988. He went on to receive his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida College of Law in 1991. While at UF's College of Law, John wrote on to the Journal of Law and Public Policy.
Since being admitted to the Florida Bar in 1991, Mr. Tucker has been in the private practice of law, focusing his efforts on the representation of individuals in different types of insurance and employee benefit claims. He is one of a handful of lawyers in Florida that represent private citizens in all types of disability benefit claims. Mr. Tucker is also a former law professor, having served from 2001 through 2004 as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law teaching Employee Benefit Litigation Skills. He is one of only a few ERISA lawyers in the United States that also handles Social Security Disability and Veterans Administration ("VA") Disability claims and appeals.
Mr. Tucker is admitted to practice before all State Courts of Florida, as well as the Middle, Northern and Southern U.S. District Courts of Florida. He is also admitted to practice before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, D.C. He has handled hundreds of administrative hearings before the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Social Security Administration. John Tucker is also accredited to practice as an attorney before the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, where he represents disabled veterans seeking service-connected disability compensation benefits and disability pension benefits. He belongs to The Florida Bar, the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Florida Justice Association, the St. Petersburg Bar Association, the Clearwater Bar Association, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives, the National Association of Disability Representatives, and the National Organization of Veterans Advocates.
He has frequently been invited to give lectures to various groups, and has several published papers. He currently writes a chapter for a treatise called “ERISA Litigation,” which is published by BNA. In the last year, he has given lectures at national and statewide conferences on Social Security Disability law, Disability Litigation, ERISA, Insurance Law, and Veterans Disability Benefits. Included among the groups to whom he has spoken are the American Bar Association (ABA), the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Florida Justice Association (FJA), and the Jacksonville Bar Association. You can find some of his publications by following the link at the bottom of this page, as well as a guide to applying for Social Security Disability and filling out disability benefit forms on Avvo.com.
In the past, Mr. Tucker was elected by his fellow lawyers as President of the St. Petersburg Bar Association from 2002-2003. John has held several other positions with the St. Pete Bar, including 2 terms as Editor of the Bar's magazine. He also served as an officer of the St. Petersburg Bar Foundation. In addition, he has been the President of his homeowners association, served a 5-year term on the Board of Directors of the Pinellas Opportunity Council (the organization responsible for supervising Head Start and other local programs), and served on the board of Girls, Inc. (formerly called Girls Clubs). In 1996-97 he was the President of the High Noon Optimist Club of St. Petersburg, and served as Lt. Governor of the Optimist International, North Florida Region the following year.
In 2007, John was elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Mid-Florida Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. He also serves on Florida Bar Grievance Committee "D" hearing complaints filed against lawyers.
Mr. Tucker's past honors include:
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