Providing legal excellence for over 65 years in Kentucky
Biography
Pierce W. Hamblin is a partner in the law firm of Landrum and Shouse, LLP in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky. In 2006, Mr. Hamblin was inducted into the University of Kentucky Law School Hall of Fame. In 2013 , he was Awarded The Service To Young Lawyers Award by the Kentucky Bar Association for the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky. In 2017, Mr. Hamblin was designated the 2017 Distinguished Lawyer of The Year Award for the Commonwealth of Kentucky by The Kentucky Bar Association. In 2020, the University of Kentucky College of Law has designated a Robing Room, Vestibule, and Law Professor’s Office to be named in his honor for 39 years of service as a Litigation Skills Adjunct Professor teaching Senior Law Students Trial Tactics. He also teaches another course to Senior Law Students at the Law School known at “Negotiations”. In 2015, Captain Hamblin was inducted into the Army ROTC Hall of Fame.
In 2000, Mr. Hamblin was appointed by the Kentucky Supreme Court and the Johnson Circuit Court as a Trial Commissioner or Special Master to handle mass tort litigation in this Eastern Kentucky jurisdiction. He served in that position for several years. Most recently, he was appointed by order of the Kentucky Supreme Court and multiple Circuit Courts to serve as a Special Master Commissioner in mass tort litigation throughout Eastern Kentucky.
Mr. Hamblin is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Kentucky Bar Foundation of the Kentucky Bar Association. He has served as Chairman for the Fayette County Bar Association Civil Litigation Section. In this capacity, he was responsible for arranging continuing legal education training programs for civil trial attorneys in Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Hamblin served as President of the Fayette County Bar Association for 2014-2015,
He is the recipient of the American Juris Prudence Award for both Property and Corporate Finance. He has been selected as a Best Lawyer for the past 20 years. He was recently named the 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Best Lawyer of The Year For Mediation in Lexington by Best Lawyers of America.
Mr. Hamblin has spent the past 42 years litigating cases. He has tried cases throughout Central and Eastern Kentucky ranging from personal injury, wrongful death and products liability to medical/legal malpractice and municipal civil rights cases and police pursuit cases. He has defended multiple insurance companies in Bad Faith Litigation throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He has been Lead Trial Counsel for many insurance companies in this area of Kentucky for a number of years.
He has spoken on numerous occasions to the Kentucky State Claims Association and many local Bar Associations on the law of Bad Faith, Trial Tactics, and Opening Statements, Closing Arguments, and Insurance Defense Coverage Litigation. He has addressed the Defense Research Institute Annual Products Liability Conference on evaluation of injury and death claims at multiple conventions.
Mr. Hamblin is a trained and certified mediator through the Mediation Center of Central Kentucky. He has mediated over 10,000 large civil and medical malpractice cases involving multiple litigants in the past 15 years. Mr. Hamblin was nominated and selected for the Best Lawyers In America, after an exhaustive peer-review study by lawyers in his specialties of mediation and arbitration.
Since 2007, Mr. Hamblin has been designated as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Kentucky by Kentucky Super Lawyers, and a Top 10 Lawyers for 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Mr. Hamblin served as a Captain in the United States Army and Army Reserves with intensive training in the specialty of Military Intelligence. He was the Distinguished Graduate of the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course provided by the Army for 1977, and he is certified both as a Tactical Intelligence Officer and a Counter-Intelligence Officer. He also received a degree in Military Law from the University of Virginia College of Law. Thereafter, he served as the Judge Advocate for an Army Training Brigade.
Mr. Hamblin has been a mentor for every law school in the Commonwealth for students participating in the Kentucky Legal Education Opportunities (KLEO Program). He has served in this program since its inception. This program provides guidance for entering law students from underrepresented and diverse areas of the state.
He is married and has three of the best children in the world.
MILITARY:
• Captain, U.S. Army Military Intelligence, 1973-1978 (Certified Tactical Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence)
• Judge Advocate General, 1979-Present
• The Distinguished Graduate, Military Intelligence Officers Basic Course, 1977-1978
Education
- University of Kentucky College of Law, Lexington, Kentucky
- J.D. - 1977
- University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia
- 1986
- Major: Army JAG
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
- 1973
- Honors: With High Distinction
- Honors: Dean's List
- Honors: Omicron Delta Kappa
- Honors: Beta Gamma Sigma
- Major: Business Administration
Bar Admission
- Kentucky, 1977
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky, 1977
- U.S. District Court Western District of Kentucky, 1977
- U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1978
Practice Areas
- Mediation
- Arbitration
- International Dispute Resolution
- Mini-Trials
- Private Judging
- Commercial Insurance
- Directors and Officers Liability Defense
- Errors & Omissions Insurance
- Insurance Malpractice
- Insurance Subrogation
- Life and Health Insurance Defense
- Motor Vehicle Accident Defense
- Federal Trial Practice
- State Trial Practice
- Animal Bites Defense
- Assault and Battery Defense
- Aviation Accidents Defense
- Defamation & Privacy Defense
- Premises Liability Defense
- Property Damage Defense
- Railroad Accident Defense
- Slip and Fall Defense
- Wrongful Death Defense
- Machinery & Tools Defense
- Medical Products & Devices
Published Works
- The Basics of Mediation, Fayette County Bar Association, 1996
- Opening Statements, Fayette County Bar Association, 2007
Honors
- Top 50, Kentucky Super Lawyers®, 2020
- Inducted into the UK ROTC Hall of Fame, 2015
- Top 10 Kentucky Super Lawyer® for Mediation, 2015
- Featured in Ohio Super Lawyers Magazine, "The Big Guy", January 2015
- Recipient, 2013 KBA Kentucky Service to Young Lawyers Award
- AV Preeminent Rated over 20 years
- Kentucky Super Lawyers - Designated as Top 50 Lawyers in Kentucky, 2007 - 2013
- Top Ten Super Lawyers in Kentucky, 2012 and 2014
- Top 50 Super Lawyers in Kentucky, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated
- University of Kentucky College of Law Hall of Fame, 2006
- Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, 2007 - Present
- Kentucky Super Lawyers, 2007 - 2024
- Fellow, American Academy of Trial Counsel, 2006 - Present
- Fellow, American College of Civil Trial Mediators (Charter Member from Kentucky), 2007 - Present
- National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (Charter Member from Kentucky), Inducted 2010
- President of the Fayette County Bar Association
- Captain in the U.S. Army
- Appointed as a Member of the KTSA Military Law Committee, 2014 - 2016
- Selected to the 2022 KY Super Lawyers TOP 50 list
- Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2024, Arbitration and Mediation
Classes & Seminars
- Adjunct Professor, Litigation Skills, University of Kentucky College of Law, 1980 to Present
- Adjunct Professor, Negotiations, University of Kentucky College of Law, 2008 to Present
Past Positions
- U.S. Army, Military Intelligence, Captain, 1973 to 1978
Fraternities or Sororities
- Phi Delta Phi
- Omicron Delta Kappa
Professional Associations
- Fayette County Bar Association Pro Bono Program, Chairman of the Board of Directors, 2014 to 2015
- Fayette County Bar Association, Chairman, Civil Litigation Section, 2010 to Present
- Fayette County Bar Association, Member, 1977 to Present
- Kentucky Bar Association, Member, 1977 to Present
- Kentucky Defense Attorneys Association, Member
- Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, Member
Certified Legal Specialties
- Mediation and Arbitration, Kentucky, 1977
Current Employment Position
- Partner