Judge Derek J. White

Clerk's Office Assistance

Criminal Cases
If you require assistance from the State Court Clerk's Office on a criminal case assigned to Judge White, please contact State Court Criminal Division at (912) 652-7224, Option 2.

Civil Cases
If you require assistance from the State Court Clerk's Office on a civil case assigned to Judge White, please contact State Court Civil Division at (912) 652-7224, Option 3.

Honorable Derek Jerome White

Admitted to Bar:     6/96

Education:

• Ga. Southern Univ. '90;
  Walter F. George Law School, Mercer Univ. ('94 - SBA President., '95 - 5th Cir. Governor of Law Student Division of American Bar Association - Voice to the ABA for the 20 law schools in the Southeast and Puerto Rico)

Previous Employment:

• Reynolds & McArthur, Macon, Georgia; Martindale-Hubbell - Preeminent Law Firm (AV rating); Employed 1991-1999; Specialized in medical malpractice, tractor-trailer collisions, wrongful death, products liability, and workers= compensation.
  
  
• Middleton, Mathis, Adams & Tate, Savannah, Georgia; Martindale-Hubbell - (AV rating); Employed 1999-2000; Specialized in medical malpractice, wrongful death, products liability.
  
  
• Suggs, Kelly & Middleton, Savannah, Georgia; Martindale-Hubbell - (AV rating); Employed 2000-2001; Specialized in medical malpractice, wrongful death, products liability, and nursing home litigation.
  
  
• The White Law Group, Pooler, Georgia; Sole Proprietor; November 2001 - 2020. Concentration in Nursing Home Litigation, Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice, Tractor-Trailer Collisions, Contracts, Trial Practice, Wills, and Mediation Services.

Current Employment:

• Judge, State Court of Chatham County, Georgia.

Current Civic Positions:

• Board of Trustees/President - Georgia Bar Foundation; Committee Member, Constitution and Rules Committee - United States Tennis Association(USTA); Board of Trustee - Southern Tennis Foundation; Advisor - First Calvary Baptist Church, Hinesville, Georgia; Chairman, Administration Team - The Church of Godley Station, Pooler, Georgia; Advisory Board - Queensboro Bank, City of Pooler Branch; and Board Member - United Way, Savannah, Georgia.

Past Civic Positions Held:

• Chairman - Southern Tennis Foundation; Board of Trustees/Vice President - Georgia Bar Foundation; Chairman, Nomination Committee - United States Tennis Association(USTA), Southern Section; USTA Section Delegate; Chairman, City of Pooler Development Authority; Counsel - First Calvary Baptist Church, Hinesville, Georgia; Counsel - The Church of Godley Station, Pooler, Georgia; and Advisory Board - Queensboro Bank, City of Pooler Branch.
  
  
• Board of Director - King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation/Beach Institute, Savannah, Georgia; Board of Director - Savannah Historical Review Board, Savannah, Georgia; Board of Director - Coastal Georgia Land Trust, Savannah, Georgia; Board of Director - Boys and Girls Club, Savannah, GA and Macon, Georgia.; Board of Director - First Tee of Savannah; Board of Director - American Red Cross, Savannah Chapter; Board of Director - Girls Scout, Savannah Chapter; Board of Directors - Southern Baptist Center, Savannah, Georgia.
  
  
• Grievance Committee Member - USTA Georgia; Chairperson, Grievance Committee - USTA, Southern Section; Secretary - USTA, Southern Section; Vice President - USTA, Southern Section; Past President & CEO - USTA, Southern Section; Committee Member, Constitution and Rules Committee and Tennis Rules Committee - USTA; Vice Chair, Grievance Committee, USTA; Chair, Grievance Committee, USTA; Chair, USTA Presidents' Committee and Chair, USTA Section Delegates' Committee; Committee Member, Nomination Committee, USTA.

Past Legal Positions:

• Chief Judge, City of Port Wentworth
  
  
• Judge, City of Pooler, Georgia
  
  
• Judge Pro Tem, Recorder's Court, City of Savannah, Georgia
  
  
• Special Master for the Supreme Court of Georgia
  
  
• Past President - State Bar of Georgia Younger Lawyers Division (YLD); Past Executive Committee Member (3 years) - State Bar of Georgia; Past Board of Governors, State Bar of Georgia; Past Committee Member - Disciplinary Board Investigative Panel (Supreme Court of Georgia); Past Committee Member - Review Panel (Supreme Court of Georgia); Past YLD Litigation Committee Chairperson; Past YLD Director; Past YLD Secretary; past YLD Treasurer; Past Board Member and Governor - New Lawyers Section of Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA); Past Committee Member - State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program; Past Student Trial Advocacy Committee Member - Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA); Past Minority Committee Member - ATLA; Past Parliamentarian - Port City Bar Association; Past Student Coach for High School Mock Trial - Savannah High School

Trial Practice Designation:

• Trial Advocate - National College of Advocacy.

Memberships:

• American Bar Assoc.; Savannah Bar Assoc.; State Bar of Georgia; Georgia Trial Lawyers Assoc.; Assoc. of Trial Lawyers of America; Savannah Trial Lawyers Assoc.; United States Tennis Association; and United States Professional Teaching Registry (PTR) (1985-)

Publications/Lecturer:

• Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Depositions; Before, During, and After (1998); Assoc. of Trial Lawyers of America, Gathering News (Is it a tort or is it protected?) (2000); National College of Advocacy, Handling the Small Auto Case Efficiently and Effectively. (2000); National College of Advocacy, The Jackknife Collision: a Products Liability Case in the Making. (2001); State Bar of Georgia, Small and Solo Firm Seminar, Nursing Home Litigation (2003); Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Nursing Home Litigation (2005); and, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Using Pathology to Date Surgical Misadventure (2005).
  
  
• Have spoken throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada on civil trial matters and have earned the distinguished honor of being deemed a "Trial Advocate" for the National College of Advocacy as well as being a member of the 40 Business Leaders under 40 by The Savannah Business Report and Journal.

Panelist:

• American National Lawyers Insurance Reciprocal: 2000 Update; Preventing Legal Malpractice Claims and Ethics Complaints in General Practice and Personal Injury
  
  
• State Bar of Georgia Annual Meeting (2006): Bench and Bar War Stories
  
  
• State Bar of Georgia Annual Meeting (2009): Going Solo