J. Guthrie True - Lawyer in Frankfort, KY

J.Guthrie True was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and was raised on the familyfarms in Franklin and Shelby Counties. He graduated from Franklin County HighSchool in 1977. Guthrie is a summa cum laude graduate of GeorgetownCollege in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he received his Bachelor of Science inbusiness and economics in 1981. He was amember of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and served as his chapters president. Guthrie has maintained his connection to his alma mater serving on the Georgetown CollegeBoard of Trustees since 2002, and has been honored to be elected by his fellowBoard members to terms as Chair and Vice Chair of the Board. He also served on the Colleges presidentialsearch committee.

Aftercollege Guthrie attended the University of Kentucky College of Law where heserved as President of the Moot Court Board. After completing law school in 1984, he joined the law firm of Stoll, Keenon Park (now Stoll Keenon Ogden) as an associate and eventually apartner. In 1995, Guthrie and hislong-time partner, Richard Guarnieri, broke away to form their own multi-lawyerfirm focusing primarily on litigation and administrative law. Guthrie was pleased to have his daughter,Whitney True Lawson, join the firm in 2011. Guthrie, Richard Guarnieri, Bill Ayer, and Whitney True Lawson, formedTrue Guarnieri Ayer, LLP in 2012. PhilipC. Lawson joined True Guarnieri Ayer, LLP in 2017.

Guthriespractice focuses on white collar criminal defense. He spends much of his time representingindividuals and corporations in federal and state grand jury investigations,and defending individuals and corporations at trial on indictments in federaland state courts in areas ranging from health care fraud to campaign finance totax-related matters. He also focuses oncomplex civil litigation, False Claims Act litigation, products liability andpersonal injury litigation. Duringhis career, Guthrie has tried well over 100 cases to jury verdicts, as well astrying many other administrative law cases. He has secured numerous acquittals and dismissals for his criminaldefense clients, recovered tens of millions of dollars for his personal injuryclients, won victories on appeal, and obtained countless favorable results forindividuals and businesses entangled in civil litigation. He has literally tried everything from murdercases to certificate of need cases. Hehas argued many cases in the appellate courts and has numerous publishedopinions from the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the Kentucky Supreme Court, and theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Guthrie frequently represents clients in highprofile civil and criminal cases that are reported in state and nationalelectronic and print media. A smallsample of these cases can be found here. He has a great deal of experience guiding high profile political andgovernment figures in dealing with the challenges of the courts and the courtof public opinion.

Guthrieis a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is also a Fellow of the American Board ofCriminal Lawyers. He is regularlyrecognized for his expertise by the publications The Best Lawyers in America and SuperLawyers. He has been selected by Best Lawyers as a Lawyer of the Year onseveral occasions. He has been rated AV?Preeminent ?? Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell?.. He was appointed by the Speaker of theKentucky House of Representatives and the President of the Kentucky Senate toserve on the Task Force on the Penal Code and Controlled Substances Act. Guthrie was honored to receive the DonatedLegal Services Award from the Kentucky Bar Association for his service on theTask Force. He has served as Presidentof the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and has served on theBoard of the Kentucky Bar Foundation.