John A Grant, III
John A. Grant, III was born and raised in Tampa and has lived in the Tampa Bay area for his entire life. Known to his friends and family as Johnny, he graduated from Chamberlain High School in 1986, and then went to college at the University of South Florida. He graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance in 1990. While a student at USF, Johnny was very involved in student activities such as YoungLife, the USF Ambassadors, USF Gold Council for Excellence, Student Government and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Johnny attended Stetson University College of Law and received his law degree in 1993. While at Stetson, he was a member of the Stetson Trial Team and won 2 national championships. He was also recognized as the best student trial advocate in the country by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Stetson named him as the top trial lawyer in his graduating class. After graduation, Johnny has returned to the Stetson trial program as a coach and teacher. He has coached 4 state championship teams, 3 regional championship teams and 2 national championship teams.
Johnny began his legal career as a prosecutor with the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office. In his 8 years the as a prosecutor, Johnny tried over 100 jury trials, including homicides, DUI Manslaughter, Serial Armed Robberies and Home Invasions, Thefts, Organized Fraud, White Collar Crimes and Animal Cruelty. Johnny served as a Felony Division Chief, which meant that he was responsible for the supervision of his division of prosecutors and their caseload and was also responsible for deciding whether to charge a suspect with crimes for their alleged conduct, and if so, what crimes to charge.
In 1997, Johnny was one of 200 prosecutors selected from across the nation to attend the Career Prosecutor Course presented by the National College of District Attorneys. Because he graduated in the top of his class, he was one of 10 prosecutors asked to return the next year to serve as a teaching fellow. Johnny also served as the Director of Trial Training for the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office and was also a frequent teacher and lecturer for courses offered by the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. In 2000, the FPAA honored Johnny for his excellence in teaching trial advocacy and criminal law as the organization’s Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year.
Johnny left the State Attorney’s Office in 2000 and opened his own law firm. One of his first cases was State v. Russian, where Brenda Russian was charged with the First Degree Murder for the shooting death of her husband. The case went to trial in June of 2001 and Ms. Russian was found Not Guilty by a jury of her peers. Criminal defense has been a significant part of Johnny’s private practice, and he has earned a reputation as one of the top criminal trial lawyers in the Tampa Bay area.
In 2003, Johnny merged his practice with another law firm and was the primary trial attorney for the firm and the lead attorney in the firm’s Criminal Defense department. While in private practice, Johnny has handled matters involving Criminal Defense, Estate Planning and Probate Administration, Business and Commercial Law, Personal Injury, Insurance Litigation, Family Law and General Civil Practice. In 2007, Johnny left his partnership to form the Grant Law Group. He is a member of the Florida Bar and admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Middle District.
Johnny and his wife Julie met on a blind date and were married exactly one year later. They have three children, John A. Grant, IV, known as “Jack,” Elizabeth Mae Grant, known as “Ellie,” and Wilson Kenneth Grant, known as "Will."
Johnny is an avid supporter of University of South Florida athletics, enjoys spending time with his family and playing ice hockey. He is an active member of Idlewild Baptist Church.