Josh Hodges is not a typical lawyer, and his path to practicing law was anything but typical.
Soon after high school, Josh went to work full-time at a factory — not as a summer job between semesters, but as his living. He ran a machine that dipped hot pieces of metal into liquid plastic and came home every day dirty and smelling of burnt fumes. That job led to another factory job on third shift. During that season of his life, he often showed up to class at Miami Hamilton with nothing more than a thirty-minute nap in his car. He kept getting up. He kept showing up. He graduated with honors. Josh knows what it means to grind — and he knows what it means to struggle. That perspective matters when his clients sit across from him, often in some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
After earning his law degree Summa Cum Laude from Salmon P. Chase College of Law — where he served as Student Bar Association President and National Treasurer of the NLLSA — Josh was recruited to one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the Midwestern United States. There, he worked on high-stakes civil litigation representing major corporations and governmental entities, gaining valuable experience on the defense side of personal injury claims — working alongside large corporations and insurance companies to defend against the very types of cases he handles today. He worked on a portfolio of cases where the total amount in dispute exceeded $100 million. That experience taught him exactly how these companies and their attorneys think, what defenses they raise, and how they work to minimize the value of a claim. He brings that insider knowledge to every case he handles today.
After years working with clients across the country and internationally, Josh made a deliberate decision: he came home to Hamilton, Ohio — where he lives, where his children go to school, and where his friends and family are — to serve the people of his community.
Today, as a Partner at Kruger & Hodges Hometown Injury Lawyers, Josh handles serious personal injury cases throughout Ohio. His practice focuses on cases where the stakes are highest: commercial trucking and semi-truck accidents, wrongful death claims, catastrophic injuries, and crashes involving negligent drivers and large corporations. Unlike many high-volume personal injury firms, Josh deliberately keeps his personal caseload limited — so that every client who retains him directly receives his full attention, not a file number. When a family anywhere in Ohio loses a loved one due to someone else’s negligence — whether on U.S. 35, I-71, I-75, or any road across the state — Josh fights to hold the responsible parties accountable and to pursue the full measure of justice the family deserves. His background working inside large corporate defense firms gives him a clear view of how insurers and corporations approach these cases — and he uses that knowledge to his clients’ advantage.
His team has recovered more than $10 million for injured Ohioans in 2025 alone.
Beyond the courtroom, Josh is a sought-after speaker on national legal podcasts and at conferences where he teaches lawyers how to build a meaningful presence in their local communities. He is a dedicated mentor to lawyers across the country who are starting their own firms — because he knows he would not be where he is today without people who helped him along the way.
As part of his deep love for the communities he serves, Josh spotlights local businesses and leaders across Ohio through his social media presence, @TheHometownLawyer. He lives in one of Hamilton’s historic neighborhoods with his wife, son, and daughter. He loves his family, his community, and gives his clients everything he has.