Gianni Puglielli
Personal Background
The youngest of three boys, Gianni (“Johnny”) is a first-generation lawyer who was born to parents from unique backgrounds. His mother is from Texas near Fort Worth. Her family had been in the United States for several generations, but her parents made family history by becoming the first to receive college degrees after graduating from Texas Tech. She followed in their footsteps and received a college degree in fashion. While Gianni’s mother was from Texas, his father was born in Venezuela to Italian immigrants after World War II and came to the United States in the 1970s when he was 18 years old. He met Gianni’s mother while attending college in Texas and eventually became a U.S. citizen in 1998.
While growing up, Gianni and his family never stayed in one place for too long. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but has lived in eight cities in five states, ultimately attending four elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools. Gianni spent most his most formative years in Midlothian before finishing high school near Atlanta, but he considers Virginia his home.
Moving so frequently taught Gianni resilience and empathy. Each new place had a different community with different values that he had to quickly learn and adapt to. To help him do that, his parents ensured that he understood the importance of accountability, compassion, respect, and—above all else—treating every person fairly and equally. Now, as an advocate for personal injury victims, Gianni uses these values to drive Puglielli Injury Law.
Professional Experience and Education
After high school, Gianni went to Virginia Tech and received a bachelor’s degree in political science. There, he discovered his joy of reading, writing, and arguing, which, during his junior year, he realized are core skills for lawyers. Because he wanted a career helping others, Gianni decided that becoming a lawyer would be the best use of his skills.
He attended the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in Colorado directly after graduating from college in 2017, where he served as a student-attorney at Sturm’s nationally ranked Environmental Law Clinic. Gianni represented several marginalized communities in Colorado to challenge harmful and dangerous oil and gas developments in their neighborhoods, which provided him with unique litigation experience. Gianni argued complex issues under Colorado state law and completed his clinical experience with an argument in the Colorado Court of Appeals, becoming the second ever law student to do so. In his final year of law school, Gianni helped lead the University of Denver to the semi-finals in the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition.
Upon graduation from law school in 2020, Gianni worked as an associate at a top-rated personal injury law firm in Colorado and then moved to the Richmond area in 2022, where he was an attorney at a prominent injury firm for several years. In both roles, Gianni’s work primarily involved litigation, and he handled cases from the date of the incident all the way through trial, learning how to do everything in between. He recovered over $10 million for his clients prior to creating Puglielli Injury Law and achieved settlements of $1.5 million, $1 million, $500,000, and $250,000.
Outside of the Law
Gianni is just as driven in his personal life. He’s a fitness enthusiast and avid cyclist, so if he’s not working, you’d probably find Gianni on a bike somewhere. He frequently trains for events in different disciplines—road cycling, gravel cycling, and mountain biking (Gianni’s favorite). He also enjoys running and has completed half-marathons, a marathon, and an ultra-marathon. And if he’s not running or cycling, Gianni likes playing guitar, learning new recipes, traveling to new places, and keeping up with Formula 1 racing. He lives in Bon Air with his partner, Ashley, and their two dogs, Nilla and Blaze.
Community and Professional Involvements
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA)
Richmond Bar Association
International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA)
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Virginia Tech Alumni Association, Richmond Chapter