About
Lorne G. Hiller is a Partner at Johnson Evans & Headrick in the Nashville office, where he represents businesses, entrepreneurs, and creative professionals in complex litigation and transactional matters. His practice combines courtroom advocacy with strategic business counsel, allowing clients to work with an attorney who understands both how deals are structured and how disputes are resolved.
Lorne advises clients on a broad range of business matters, including contract negotiation and drafting, business formation and governance, risk management, intellectual property protection, and commercial transactions. Drawing on his extensive litigation experience, he helps clients identify and address legal risks before they develop into costly disputes, while positioning their businesses for long-term growth and success.
When disputes arise, Lorne represents clients in complex commercial litigation, construction disputes, intellectual property conflicts, and other high-stakes business controversies in state and federal courts across the country. He has tried nine jury and bench trials to verdict across multiple jurisdictions, taken and defended depositions in significant matters, and argued dispositive motions in cases involving insurance bad faith, ADA discrimination, property disputes, and a variety of commercial claims.
A significant focus of Lorne's practice is serving clients in the entertainment, hospitality, and consumer-facing industries. Having previously practiced entertainment and intellectual property law, he understands the unique legal and business challenges faced by restaurants, bars, hotels, venues, artists, content creators, production companies, promoters, and emerging brands. He advises clients on commercial agreements, intellectual property strategy, sponsorship and licensing arrangements, operational risk management, and dispute resolution, providing practical legal solutions tailored to fast-moving and highly competitive industries.
Earlier in his career, Lorne worked as a judicial fellow for Judge Gordon P. Gallagher in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, where he researched federal criminal and constitutional issues and drafted dispositive rulings. He subsequently practiced civil litigation in Colorado and Utah before moving to Nashville, where he also represented clients in copyright, trademark, and entertainment matters at King & Ballow, followed by a commercial litigation practice at the national firm of Freeman Mathis & Gary.
Lorne earned his J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where he served as Executive Editor of the Denver Journal of International Law and Policy and was named Best Oralist and a Top 16 Finalist at the 2016 Vis International Arbitration Competition in Hong Kong.
Licensed in Tennessee, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, and admitted before the Sixth and Tenth Circuits, Lorne has been recognized as a Mid-South Super Lawyers Rising Star and is a recipient of the Larry Dean Wilks Leadership Award. He is also a graduate of the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law (TBALL) Class of 2024.
Outside of the office, Lorne enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter whether it's at home or on the road. Lorne is a passionate home cook, endurance runner, and concert goer, and is very proud of his Edinburgh birthplace and Scottish heritage.
Representative Matters
- Tried nine jury and bench trials to verdict in state and federal courts across multiple jurisdictions
- First-party and third-party insurance coverage disputes, including bad faith and declaratory judgment actions
- Construction defect litigation involving mixed-use complexes, commercial projects, and single-family homes
- Manuscript insurance contract drafting and regulatory negotiation for carrier clients entering new markets
- Copyright infringement, trademark prosecution, and entertainment licensing matters for music industry clients
- Multi-million-dollar insurance coverage disputes in state and federal courts nationwide
- Judicial fellowship — drafted orders for the U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, portions published without revision
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