About Don Donati
Don Donati began his legal career at Memphis Area Legal Services, providing counsel to disadvantaged community members before opening Donati Law, PLLC in 1980. Known for ethical and honest representation, he handles personal injury, employment law, and veterans' benefits cases. He argued before the United States Supreme Court in Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, a landmark retaliation case that established broader anti-retaliation protections for workers under Title VII. He is licensed to practice in Tennessee, the Tennessee Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Eastern District of Arkansas, the Western District of Tennessee, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorney Donati has been listed in Tennessee Super Lawyers from 2006 to 2018, Best Lawyers in America from 1989 to the present, and was named among the Top Lawyers in the U.S. by Lawyers USA in 2006.
Notable case results
U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Don Donati's client, establishing that Title VII's anti-retaliation provision extends beyond workplace actions and protects any action that would dissuade a reasonable person from reporting discrimination
Class action settlement in Turnage et al. v. Oldham et al. for individuals over-detained by the Shelby County Jail following a November 2016 computer system failure
Sixth Circuit reversed summary judgment for defendant, establishing joint employer liability in a racial harassment and retaliation case involving construction of Le Bonheur Children's Hospital
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
