David Eldridge

Managing Partner

David Eldridge was educated at the University of Tennessee, receiving his undergraduate degree in 1982. He graduated from the Wake Forest University School of Law, cum laude, in 1986. While there, he served as the Editor-in-Chief of its law review publication. Following graduation, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable W. Eugene Davis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Mr. Eldridge began the private practice of law in 1987, joining Ritchie, Fels & Dillard in 1988, where in 1992 he became a partner. In 2003, David Eldridge established the law firm of Eldridge and Cravens, PC, P.C. where he serves as the managing partner. He has devoted his practice to the representation of individuals and organizations facing criminal investigation and prosecution for 28 years.

Mr. Eldridge has received the highest rating awarded by Martindale – Hubbell (AV) for the last eighteen (18) years and is a graduate of the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia. He is Board Certified as a Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and has been selected by his peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America since 2005 and was named as Lawyer of the Year for Knoxville in Criminal Defense: General Practice for 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019 and received the same honor for Criminal Defense: White Collar for 2014, 2018 and 2019. For 2016, he was named in Best Lawyers in America in both categories of criminal defense and for Bet-the-Company Litigation. David Eldridge has been selected for inclusion among the top 100 lawyers in Tennessee in the Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine since 2006. He has been consistently voted among the best lawyers in Knoxville by his peers for City View Magazine in Criminal Defense and several other categories.

He has taught at continuing legal education seminars hosted by the American Bar Association (ABA), the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the Bureau of National Affairs, the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA), the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL), the Institute for Continuing Legal Education for Georgia, the Knoxville Bar Association (KBA), and others. He has also published instructional articles in ABA, NACDL, TBA, TACDL, and KBA publications.

Mr. Eldridge has also lectured overseas at the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan where he presented a discussion of the Implications of World Wide Media Coverage of the Criminal Justice System.

He is the past Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section, is a member of TACDL, a Life Member of NACDL, and is past president of the Hamilton Burnett American Inn of Court. David Eldridge is a Past President of the Knoxville Bar Association. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Knoxville Bar Foundation in 2007 and a Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation in 2008. He was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2013.

Education

• Juris Doctor | Honors: Cum Laude | Law Review: Editor-In-Chief, Wake Forest University Law Review - Wake Forest University School of Law - Winston Salem, NC 1986
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration | Honors: High Honors - University of Tennessee - Knoxville, TN 1982
• Certification - National Criminal Defense College - Macon, GA

Licenses

• Tennessee1987
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee1987
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Tennessee1989
• U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit1989
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit1992
• U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit1992
• U.S. Supreme Court1992

Practice Areas

• Criminal Defense
• Assault & Battery
• Domestic Violence
• Drug Crimes
• DUI/DWI
• Misdemeanors
• Theft & Fraud Crimes
• White Collar Crimes
• Civil Law