Douglas Berry
Nashville
Office: 615.744.8620 | Fax: 615.744.8635
doug.berry@millermartin.com
- Overview
- Experience
- Education
- Involvement
- In-Depth
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Overview
Doug Berry concentrates his practice in land use and zoning, eminent domain, municipal law, state administrative law and commercial litigation, particularly disputes related to real estate. Mr. Berry advises and represents private and public sector clients on antitrust and trade regulatory issues. He represents both land developers and municipalities in zoning and planning matters, as well as buyers and sellers in commercial real estate transactions.
Mr. Berry has been a Rule 31 Mediator since 2001 and has mediated over one hundred commercial, construction, real estate, condemnation and employment disputes. He was the Honorary Consul for the State of Tennessee named by the Federal Republic of Germany from January 2004 to January 2021.
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Experience
- Mr. Berry was the City Attorney for Franklin, Tennessee from 1989-2007. He served as the Interim Town Attorney for Smyrna, Tennessee from 2009-2013, in both positions handling all litigation and non-litigation matters, drafting of ordinances and resolutions, approving and negotiating contracts, public utility contracts and regulation, counseling and representation of officers, departments, boards and commissions.
- Mr. Berry has served as first-chair in numerous jury and non-jury trials and state administrative hearings in a variety of areas including employment discrimination, annexation, land use, eminent domain, personal injury, consumer-fraud and general commercial litigation. He has obtained significant appellate decisions in municipal law, zoning, sign regulation and consumer law.
- Before coming to Miller & Martin PLLC in 2014, Mr. Berry was a partner in a small civil litigation firm in Nashville. Before entering private practice, he held the office of Deputy Attorney General for the Anti-Trust and Consumer Protection Division and was Law Clerk on the Tennessee Supreme Court to the Honorable Justice William J. Harbison.
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Education
- J.D., Vanderbilt University, 1979
- M.A., German, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1977
- A.B., German, Davidson College, 1974
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Involvement
Bar Admissions- Tennessee
Court Admissions- U.S. District Court, Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee
Clerkships- Honorable William J. Harbison, Tennessee Supreme Court, 1979-80.
Accolades- Named Honorary Consul for the State of Tennessee by the Federal Republic of Germany, July 2004-Present
- Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" (Nashville, Tennessee) - Land Use and Zoning Law, 2023, 2018 & 2011
- The Best Lawyers in America© - Land Use and Zoning Law; Real Estate Law, since 2007
- Martindale-Hubbell® - AV® Peer Review Rated since 1994
- Mid-South Super Lawyers®, Eminent Domain, since 2007
- Nashville Bar Foundation - Fellow
- Tennessee Bar Foundation - Fellow
Memberships- American Inns of Court, Harry Philips Chapter
- Nashville Bar Association, Sister Cities Committee
- Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators - Board Member, 2009-2012
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility - Hearing Officer, 1990-2000
- Tennessee Municipal Attorneys Association, 1989-Present (President 1995)
Community- American Council on Germany, Nashville Warburg Chapter - Charter Member, 1993 to Present (Acting Chair since 2008)
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News
- 59 Miller & Martin Lawyers Recognized in Best Lawyers in America® 2025 Edition
- Douglas Berry Named 2025 Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" for Land Use and Zoning Law in Nashville
- 14 Miller & Martin Attorneys Named to 2023 Mid-South Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars Lists
- 57 Miller & Martin Lawyers Recognized as Best Lawyers® Award Recipients
- 13 Miller & Martin Attorneys Named to 2022 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists Show more
Doug has placed his farm and 1830’s era federal farmhouse in Williamson County, Tennessee, into the Land Trust and is committed to rural land preservation.