John D. Hipes
John Hipes is from Muncie, Indiana. He received his B.A. cum laude from Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) in 1981 and his J.D. magna cum laude from Georgia State College of Law (Atlanta) in 1988, where he served as senior editor for the Georgia State University Law Review. He authored Abusive Litigation in Georgia, Georgia State Univ. L. Rev., Vol. 3, 1987.
John has practiced law for 33 years. He began his law practice in 1988 with Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP and then with Morris, Manning & Martin (both in Atlanta) before forming Hipes & Norton, P.C. (Alpharetta) in 1996. In 2004, John helped to form Bach, Dewberry & Hipes, LLC (Alpharetta). In 2013, John founded Hipes & Belle Isle, LLC.
John practices commercial litigation, including insurance coverage and interpretation, construction, real estate, employment, partnership and shareholder disputes, and tort and injury law. He has successfully resolved and tried numerous lawsuits on behalf of residential and commercial policyholders, including issues involving bad faith, unfair claims practices, fraud, arson, theft, cancellation procedures, protective safeguard endorsements, and coverage interpretation.
John is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is admitted to practice in all Georgia courts, including State and Superior, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Georgia Supreme Court. He is also admitted in the United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia and the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. John is a Past-President of the North Fulton Bar Association for 2011-2012.
John is an Alpharetta City Councilman and liaison to the Alpharetta Public Safety Department and the Alpharetta Municipal Court. He has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Alpharetta since 1997, served as President in 2008-2009, and was founder of the Alpharetta Memorial Day Tribute. He serves on the boards of North Fulton Community Charities and the Alpharetta Public Safety Foundation. John previously served on the Alpharetta Planning Commission, the Board and Executive Committee of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of the Ed Isakson Alpharetta YMCA. He is a member of the Leadership North Fulton Class of 2000, Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce, and Alpharetta Business Association.
John is an active member of the Alpharetta First United Methodist Church. He has participated in many humanitarian and mission trips to Africa, Central and South America with Rotary and AFUMC. John resides in Alpharetta with his wife Karen.