Jody Donald Peterman - Valdosta, GA

First and foremost, Jody Peterman is a trial lawyer who loves the courtroom and helping people. He handles every type of personal injury case imaginable where a person has been seriously injured — from catastrophic motor vehicle collisions and tractor-trailer crashes to motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, and wrongful death claims. As the founding attorney of Jody D. Peterman, LLC, he brings over 31 years of trial experience in Georgia and has obtained multiple seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients.

Unlike lawyers who handle a handful of personal injury cases a year or work for a television advertising mill, Jody is a career trial lawyer who has tried more than 200 jury trials, making him one of the most experienced trial attorneys in South Georgia. He takes on only serious, high-stakes cases, with a singular focus on securing the best possible outcome for each client.

Part of Jody’s trial practice is a criminal defense practice built around the cases that matter most: self-defense murder cases, where a client’s justified use of force is mischaracterized as a crime, and sex crime allegations where the accused has been wrongly accused by a spouse or family member — often as a tactic in a divorce or custody battle. Jody understands how these accusations are weaponized in family conflict, and he builds an aggressive defense strategy designed to expose the motive behind a false allegation and protect his client’s freedom, reputation, and rights.

In 1995, Jody graduated from Mercer University Law School, where he earned the highest grade in his Torts II class (the Americus Jurisprudence Award for personal injury law) and the Milton Barwick Pleading and Practice Award for best trial lawyer in trial practice class under Legendary Bibb County Judge J. Taylor Phillips.

Jody is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Court of Appeals for the State of Georgia, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, and Middle Districts of Georgia.

Jody is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Valdosta Bar Association, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, named a Top 100 Georgia Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association, and holds a 10/10 Avvo rating.

Jody has lived in South Georgia his entire life. He has four children, and his wife Mary teaches special education in the Lowndes County School System. In his free time, Jody enjoys attending family sporting events, cooking, reading, and watching the Atlanta Braves and the New England Patriots. He especially enjoys spending time with his one year old grandson.

At a Glance

• 31 years of trial experience
• 200 plus jury trials
• Multiple seven-figure settlements
• AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Top 100 Georgia Trial Lawyer, National Trial Lawyers Association