Class Notes
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- Blake Taylor has joined MTR Family Law in Nashville as an associate. (4/22/21)
- Bryson Eubanks has joined the law firm of Kane & Crowell Family Law Center in Lebanon as an associate attorney. (2019)
- Kyle Evans was named Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office’s staff attorney. (2021)
- Tessa Courtney is an Assistant District Attorney in the 10th Judicial District. (2019)
- Laura S. Blum has joined the domestic law section of the law firm of Rogers, Kamm & Shea as an associate attorney. Previously, she served as a paralegal for the firm. (2019)
- Lindsey Waller Johnson was featured in the Wilson Posts “Women of Wilson.” She has joined the Kane & Crowell Family Law Center in Lebanon as an associate. (2019)
- Nikki Klopfenstein is teaching Ethics in Criminal Justice at Bethel University. (2019)
- Mary Stoner has been named an associate at Cornelius & Collins, after working for four years as a legal assistant at the firm. (2019)
- David Oldham was featured on WKRN as News 2 Educator of the Week. He teaches Philosophy, Latin, and Religion classes, plus he runs Youth Court at John Overton High School in Nashville. (2019)
- Billy Leslie has joined the associate counsel in the securities division. (2021)
- Casey Elrod, who practices with Jeff Roberts & Associates has been elected to the Smith County Commission representing the 6th District in Carthage. (2020)
- Billy Leslie was named president-elect of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. He will serve as president starting in 2021. (2020)
- Michael S. Rexroat has opened a criminal defense office, Red King Law in Murfreesboro and represents defendants throughout Middle Tennessee. He also passed the Kentucky bar exam and takes select cases in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (2019)
- William Sanders has a solo practice in Chattanooga, where he practices both criminal and civil law. (2019)
- Andrea Smith has joined the Tennessee Department of Human Resources as Assistant General Counsel. She continues her service in state government after working for the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General for three years. (2019)
- Joe L. Lackey, III has joined forces with his father, attorney Joe Lackey, Jr. in Nashville.
- Nashville-based based law firm Rudy Winstead Turner has named Shelby Mathews as an attorney. Mathews joined the firm as a paralegal in September 2015 and continued law school while she worked at the firm. Mathews works on complex cases involving estate planning, commercial business and commercial real estate.
- Andrew Nutt has taken an associate position with Lannom and Williams, a criminal defense firm in Lebanon.
- Chad Phillips is an associate with Sutherland and Belk, a personal injury firm in Nashville.
- Ryan Pratt is with Ortale Kelley, which has practices in multiple areas including real estate, professional malpractice, and general insurance defense.
- Carlos Lara, the first Latino captain with the Metro Nashville Police Department, is leading the force’s diversity efforts through the Office of Community Outreach and Partnerships. (2020)
- Chrisitan Cahill was appointed a vice chair of the International Intellectual Property Rights Committee of the ABA International Law Section. (2020)
- Andy T. Kidd has been appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Fiscal and Administrative Services for the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He will lead five DIDD divisions and manage the department’s annual budget. (2019)
- Amanda Bradley joins alumni Ed Silva and Jack Welch, Jr. at Hartzog & Silva, PLLC in Franklin, where she is practicing family law. She previously served as law clerk and judicial assistant to Judge Clement on the Tennessee Court of Appeals. (2019)
- John Williams has accepted a legislative attorney position with the Tennessee General Assembly.
- Timothy Horne was appointed Assistant District Attorney for the First Judicial District and serves in Carter County. Prior to his selection he served as a criminal defense attorney in Sullivan and Hawkins counties.
- Jason Light is a partner of Banks, Banks & Light in Elizabethton, TN. He had clerked at the family firm for over three years. He now works alongside John and Thomas Banks, continuing the long family tradition of law that now spans four generations.
- Chris Ryckman was promoted to Chief Operating Officer at Steve Ward & Associates, Inc. Ryckman previously has served as a Project Manager, Director of Project Management, as well as Vice President of Operations at the commercial casework company that that services clients in healthcare, education, and laboratory.
- Micheal Jones is handling TBI public information communications for the western region of the state, based in the Jackson office and providing services to Judicial Districts 24 through 30, which comprise 21 counties in the West Tennessee region. Jones formerly served as the director of communications for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
- Lacey Buchanan has published Through the Eyes of Hope, which shares the story of her experiences over the past six years and raising a son who was born with severe birth defects.
- Christian Cahill has been admitted and licensed to practice in the United States Court of International Trade. The designation was granted in November 2016.
- Evan Newman has joined the law firm of Bacon, Jessee, Perkins, Carroll and Anderson, LLP of Morristown as an associate attorney. Previously Newman interned and practiced law under Bernie McEvoy and during law school clerked at the Nashville law firm of Ortale, Kelley, Herbert and Crawford.
- Daniel Newbern, a captain with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has been named head of the records division. He has been with the department for 19 years.
- Ryan C. Davis was named to the Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum for the 2020 Class. Davis practices criminal defense, family law, and wills and estate planning at his eponymous firm.
- Trey Moore has joined Bass Berry & Sims William “Trey” L. Moore III as a Senior Public Policy Counsel in the Nashville office. He represents clients before the Tennessee General Assembly and the executive branch departments, agencies and commissions of Tennessee government. Prior to joining Bass, Berry & Sims, Moore served as Vice President of Government Relations at Acadia Healthcare and previously worked as a lobbyist with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and as Director of Policy at the Beacon Center of Tennessee.
- Seannalyn Brandmeir was selected as one of the first two recipients of the Marilyn Neforas Scholarship from the American Bar Association Public Contract Law Section. The Marilyn Neforas Scholarship serves to encourage promising young women lawyers to be active leaders in the legal profession.
- James Vince Witty, principal of Metro Nashville Public Schools Virtual School, was named by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and YP Nashville as a finalist in the education category for the Nashville Emerging Leader Award.
- Seannalyn Brandmeir is a procurement and contracting manager with the State of Tennessee, Dept of Finance and Administration, Division of Benefits Administration.
- Kimberly Faye has joined Bone McAllester Norton, working on alcoholic beverage, entrepreneurial and emerging business, and entertainment law cases.
- Kelley L. Groover has been appointed Assistant Attorney General for the State of Tennessee. She will work in the office’s Public Interest Division, focusing primarily on false claims cases.
- Chris Beauchamp recently argued before the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Jackson, his first oral argument before the appeals court.
- MTR Family Law has added Sadie Ramsey Davis as an attorney. Davis previously was a paralegal at the firm. Founding manager of MTR Family Law is Marlene Eskind Moses, a 1980 graduate of the School.
- Kimberly Faye was selected to Nashville’s Top 30 under 30. She also published the cover story for the April/May issue of the Nashville Bar Journal entitled “Tennessee Women’s Suffrage.”
- Jon Graves has joined the law firm of Batson Nolan PLC, which has offices in Clarksville and Springfield. He focuses on real estate and litigation.
- 2020: Ryan Martin has been named city manager of Springfield, TN.
- 2019: Ashley Waters has opened her own law practice in Cookeville. She specializes in wills, trusts, and estates.
- Brittany Stevens was voted Favorite Elected Official in the Daily News Journal’s Ruthies Awards for Rutherford and Cannon Counties. Stevens is the Smyrna Court Clerk.
- John Wilks was selected for the Nashville Bar Association’s Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum.
- Amanda Gentry is co-chair on the legislative committee of the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
- Dalis D. Holliman has been promoted from associate to partner at the law firm of Farrar, Holliman and Butler in Lafayette. Holliman is also a member of Farrar, Holliman and Medley in McMinnville. The two law firms work in partnership. He is also of counsel to the Holliman Law Firm in Carthage, where he works with his mother, Debbie Holliman.
- Christopher Savoie was named vice chairman of the ABA Big Data Committee. His company Kyulux recently was named a Red Herring Global 100 company. His offices are in Boston.
- Smyrna Town Court Clerk Brittany Stevens was recently presented with a portrait of George Washington by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Tenassee Chapter in Columbia, Tenn. Stevens is on the board of directors of the Sam Davis Home.
- Quinton Horner has joined Wagon Wheel Title as an attorney. (2021)
- James H. Dunn was named director of the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability. (2021)
- Charlotte English has been named special needs director at Cumberland Trust. (2021)
- George Spanos became a named partner at Rogers, Shea & Spanos, Attorneys at Law. He was also honored by Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association for extraordinary leadership and service at their June 2020 annual convention. (2020)
- Ben Simpson is director of government affairs and assistant general counsel at Tennessee Medical Association, where he had served as assistant director of government affairs since 2016. (2020)
- Stephanie Branam Johnson has joined with Bruce MacLeod to open JMG, PLLC in Sparta, specializing in criminal defense, family law and real estate. (2019)
- Bruce MacLeod has joined with Stephanie Branam Johnson to open JMG, PLLC in Sparta, specializing in criminal defense, family law and real estate. (2019)
- Michael Wennerlund was named to the Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum for the 2020 Class. He is managing attorney for Tennessee at Alaw. (2019)
- George Spanos has received an at-large executive appointment to the board of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. He practices law in Nashville. (2019)
- Travis Jones of Columbia has been appointed by former Gov. Bill Haslam as public defender for the 22nd Judicial District, which serves Maury, Giles, Lawrence and Wayne counties. (2019)
- Thomas Hutto, of Lawwell, Dale, Graham & Hutto in Columbia, was one of 35 attorneys named to the Tennessee Bar Association’s 2019 Leadership Law program. (2019)
- Geoffrey Dover was sworn in as an assistant district attorney in the 4th Judicial District. Dover was a member of Cooper’s Inn Honor Society and won the School’s Moot Court Award. The District Attorney General in the 4th Judicial District is Jimmy Dunn, a 1986 graduate of the School. Dover previously was a law clerk for Tennessee Claims Commissioner William O. Shults.
- Charlotte English has been promoted to vice president and trust officer at Cumberland Trust in Nashville.
- George Spanos was selected for the Nashville Bar Association’s Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum.
- Diane Bradford has been named to an adjunct faculty position at Middle Tennessee State University. She will be working with the Human Services Department.
- Catie Lane Bailey has joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis as a policy advisor and attorney. She was previously senior policy advisor and attorney at Miller & Martin. A registered lobbyist, Bailey has experience advising and representing clients in particular on education and housing policy.
- Keeda Haynes, an assistant public defender in Nashville, participated as a panelist at the Cato Institute’s program “The State of American Justice.” Haynes’ panel focused on “The Human Toll of Incarceration.”
- Ben Simpson has joined the Tennessee Medical Association as its associate director of government affairs He previously spent three years as legislative liaison and attorney for the Tennessee Department of Health and also worked as a claims examiner for the Tennessee Department of Treasury.
- Daniel Shearon has started his own law practice in Nashville, focusing on criminal defense.
- Jessica Simpson has joined Turner Law Offices in Nashville as a staff attorney.
- Courtney Teasley practices in Nashville and specializes in Veterans Administrative Claims for veterans who have been injured in VA hospitals.
- 2021: John Brent Bradberry was appointed circuit court judge for the 24th Judicial District.
- 2021: Jimmy Turner was appointed by Gov. Bill Lee to 16th Judicial District Circuit Court judge, replacing the Honorable David Bragg, a 1994 alumnus of the School
- Sam Wantland has been named general counsel at First Farmers and Merchants Bank, based in Columbia.
- David Liles has joined Cumberland Trust in Nashville as a trust administrator.
- Mandy Lewis Ellis has been promoted to Senior Director of Investigations with CoreCivic.
- Michael Patrick Auffinger opened his own law practice in Murfreesboro, focusing on criminal defense.
- Matt Barnes has joined the new Johnson Barnes Government Relations as partner. Barnes formerly was legislative director for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
- Jennifer Johnson is a partner in the law firm Long, Burnett & Johnson, PLLC. She focuses her practice on consumer debtor work and has offices in Mount Juliet and Nashville.
- Brandy Spurgin-Floyd has been appointed magistrate in Hamilton County.
- Ryan J. Moore was named to Warren County’s Top 40 under 40 this year. He also serves as a municipal judge for the Town of Morrison.
- 2021: Jacqulyn G. Jones of The Terry Law Firm in Morristown achieved Board Certification as a Social Security Disability Law Advocate through the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
- Frederick Agee was appointed District Attorney General for the 28th District by Gov. Bill Lee. Agee received the appointment while he was serving in Kuwait in the U.S. Army Reserve. (2020)
- Mariam Stockton was named partner at Neal & Harwell. She earned an LL.M. degree with Distinction in Advocacy from Stetson University College of Law and is a member of the firm’s litigation group, representing clients in high-profile entertainment and business disputes, and white-collar criminal defense. (2020)
- Joey Hargis was recently promoted to Of Counsel at Baker Donelson in the Nashville office. Joey practices zoning and land use law for the firm. (2019)
- Nicholas J. Pierotti has been appointed by the Town of Oakland, Tennessee, to serve as town prosecutor for the Oakland Municipal Court. Pierotti also serves as Assistant District Attorney for the Municipal Court of Collierville.
- Loy Carney has been named chief of broker services for Village Real Estate in Nashville. A real estate attorney, Carney previously worked at Rudy Title & Escrow.
- Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan has named Heather Fleming as Chief of Staff for the City of Clarksville. Fleming joined Mayor McMillan’s administration in August 2016 as staff attorney. She practiced law in Nashville before working for the city.
- Elizabeth Waites, a Nashville attorney, has been appointed by Mayor Megan Barry to be Nashville’s Metropolitan clerk. Waites had practiced at Cobb & Waites, where she was a partner for two years after being in private practice the previous five years.
- Monika Ridley has opened a law office in Murfreesboro, focusing on family law. She shares office space with Rebecca Lashbrook (2013).
- Rachel Zamata has joined the board of the Young Patrons of the American Red Cross Greater New York Region.
- 2021: Brandon Pelizzari has joined the Seventh Judicial District Attorney’s office as an Assistant DA.
- 2020: Gayla Hendrix has been appointed Municipal Judge of Smithville. She previously served as alderman.
- Todd Spearman has been named assistant town manager of Smyrna. He has served on the town’s police force since 1987.
- Nathan Powers has been elected vice president of the Williamson County Bar Association for the 2019-20 term.
- Tiffany Wiggers has been named manager at the business management firm O’Neil Hagaman, LLC. She began as an intern in the firm’s business management division in 2004. Her new role will encompass staff management, financial management, contractual oversight and review, and risk management.
- Justin Reynolds, of Reynolds & Reynolds in Savannah, was one of 35 attorneys named to the Tennessee Bar Association’s 2019 Leadership Law program.
- Assistant District Attorney Philip A. Hatch (2009), second from right, receives an award for DUI Prosecutor of the Year. Joining him to receive the award is, second from left,13th Judicial District Attorney General Byrant C. Dunaway. Presenting the award are, left, Tom Kimball and, right, Jimmy Dunn, both of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference.
- Philip A. Hatch was named the 2016 DUI Prosecutor of the Year by the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference. Hatch is an assistant district attorney in the 13th Judicial District.
- Ben Bennett, an attorney with Bennett & Scarlett in Murfreesboro, was selected as one of three finalists by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission for the Circuit Court Judge vacancy in the 16th Judicial District – Rutherford and Cannon Counties.
- M. Wyatt Burk was selected as one of three finalists by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission for the Circuit Court Judge vacancy in the 17th Judicial District. Burk, of Shelbyville, is with Bobo, Hunt, White, and Burk.
- Reen Baskin is communications director for Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration, a cabinet-level position on his senior staff. She was previously Deputy Director of Customer-focused government and director of alternative workplace solutions for the Tennessee Office of Customer- Focused Government. Baskin also was named to the Nashville Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list for 2017.
- Burr & Foreman LLP partner C. Tucker Herndon was named to the Nashville Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list for 2017. The publication noted his work regarding implementing changes in alcohol sales laws in Tennessee.
- Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Robert Taswell “Tas” Gardner of Paris as the Public Defender for the 24th Judicial District, which covers Benton, Carroll, Decatur, Hardin and Henry counties. Gardner has served as assistant public defender in the 24th District office in Camden since November 2008. He served as investigator in the office from 1992 to 2008.
- 2020: Lee Harrell has joined Tennesseans for Quality Early Education as vice president of advocacy
- Stephen Smith has been named chief of staff by Gov. Bill Haslam to oversee day-to-day operations of the governor’s office and serve as top advisor and strategist. Smith joined the governor’s office in August 2016 and most recently served as senior advisor to the governor.
- Siew-Ling Shea has been named Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Family Law Executive Council, a statewide council of lawyers and judges involved in the formulation, improvement, and education, of family law. (2020)
- Donnie W. Harville, who previously represented the Department of Children Services as Assistant General Counsel, was promoted to the rank of Major to lead the Campus Precinct for the Vanderbilt University Police Department.
- Benjamin S. Burton, of Sevierville, has been selected to serve as an administrative law judge with the Social Security Administration. He will serve at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in St Louis, Missouri. Burton worked for the Social Security Administration prior to entering private practice and is one of only 61Board Certified Social Security Trial Specialists nationwide.
- 2021: Robert Nash was named District Attorney General in the 19th judicial district.
- 2018: Greg Adkins has assumed the role of Beverage Association of Tennessee President and CEO. Adkins is a former Metro Nashville Councilman and has served as president and CEO Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association since 2010.
- Mark Kenneth Green was promoted to Deputy General Counsel with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Division of Regulatory Boards and Consumer Affairs. He has been with TDCI since 2011.
- The Tennessee Supreme Court re-appointed David Veile to a three-year term as a member of the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education. He also was appointed to a one-year term as chair. (2021)
- David Veile has been elected president of the Williamson County Bar Association for the 2019-20 term.
- Wesley Bray has been appointed Criminal Court Judge for the 13th Judicial District.
- David Veile was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve a three-year term as a Commissioner on the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. Veile’s law practice is in Franklin.
- Jonathan B. Cooper was named to Nashville Business Journal‘s Best of the Bar – Corporate Counsel for 2018. He is the Director of Law for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville.
- David Veile has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the 21st Judicial District Drug Court, an alternative sentencing program for Hickman, Lewis, Perry, and Williamson Counties.
- Dominic Leonardo was one of three finalists selected by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission for the Criminal Court Judge vacancy in the 20th Judicial District – Davidson County. Leonardo practices with Kooperman, Mondelli & Leonardo and serves as a council member for Nashville Metropolitan Council’s District 1.
- Julie Robinson has joined the family law division of Lannom & Williams, PLLC, in Lebanon.
- 2019: Jeff Cherry, who practices criminal law out of Lebanon was the 2018-2019 president of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
- Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Shelley Thompson Gardner, of Lebanon, as public defender for the 15th Judicial District, which serves Jackson, Macon, Smith, Trousdale and Wilson counties. Gardner previously was an assistant district attorney.
- Robin Vance, who has her own law office, was recently profiled in the Wilson Post’s “Women of Wilson” feature.
- 2019: Antoinette Welch has joined the 13th Judicial District DA’s office. She is a former assistant DA in Davidson County.
- 2019: District Attorney General Bryant C. Dunaway was elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference.
- 2019: Dana Ausbrooks has been named general counsel of Williamson County Schools. She previously served as an attorney on the school system’s legal staff.
- 2019: Doug Sloan has joined Bone McAllester Norton PLLC to lead the firm’s Land Use and Zoning practice. He previously served as the Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at the Metro Nashville Airport Authority.
- The Tennessee Chiropractic Association has honored Dr. Mary Babian of Chattanooga, Tennessee with their highest recognition, 2017 Conference Honoree.
- Sueann Bone, assistant executive director of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Office, of Lebanon was recently profiled in the Wilson Post’s “Women of Wilson” feature.
- Circuit Court Judge for the 19th Judicial District in Montgomery and Robertson counties Ted A. Crozier was among four new judges who attended the Administrative Office of the Court’s Judicial Academy earlier this year.
- Mike Hagar has been appointed by Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson to deputy chief for the newly created Executive Services Bureau. Hagar was captain over the Strategic Development Division and is a 27-year MNPD veteran. The Executive Services Bureau is composed of the Strategic Development, Accreditation, and Crime Analysis components.
- Williamson County Schools named Dana Ausbrooks in January as the lawyer for the school system. Prior to her appointment, Ausbrooks worked as an assistant public defender for the 21st Judicial District, as a solo practitioner, and as an assistant district attorney general. She also is an adjunct professor of criminal law and criminal procedure at Columbia State Community College.
- Circuit Court Judge Ted A. Crozier, who was elected in 2016 to the 19th Judicial District position in Montgomery and Robertson counties, attended the Administrative Office of the Court’s Judicial Academy in February.
- Antoinette Regnier Welch is the Director of Investigations for Tennessee’s Department of Health. Her division has investigators from Memphis to Johnson City who investigate complaints made against health care providers and pain clinics.
Rocky McElhaney was named to Nashville Post’s In Charge – Legal honor roll.
John H. Richardson, Jr. was selected as one of three finalists by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission for the Circuit Court Judge vacancy in the 17th Judicial District. Richardson, of Fayetteville, is a sole practitioner with McCowan, Richardson and McCowan.
- Sharon Massey-Grimes was appointed to an unexpired term for Montgomery County General Sessions judge. (2021)
- Beth Boone, a partner and shareholder of Hall Booth Smith, PC has been accepted into the American Board of Trial Advocates. Ms. Boone practices in professional negligence, medical malpractice, and aging services defense in the firm’s Brunswick, Ga. office. (2020)
- Chris Kelly joined Argent Trust company as Nashville market president. He serves as senior leader of trust, estate and retirement services administration in Middle Tennessee. (9/1/2020)
- Allen D. Hale has joined the Brunelle | Conklin firm as an associate attorney. He previously was an Assistant District Attorney in Rutherford County.
- John Griffith has been elected president elect of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association for the 2019-20 term. He practices law in Franklin. (2019)
- The Montgomery County Veterans Treatment Court, which is presided over by Judge Kenneth Goble, treated participants and their families to a picnic and celebration at Rotary Park in Clarksville. The event included mini games and painting for the kids, as well as a cornhole competition.
- Judge Barry R. Tidwell, was selected as one of three finalists by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission for the Circuit Court Judge vacancy in the 16th Judicial District – Rutherford and Cannon Counties. Tidwell has been a general sessions judge in Rutherford County since 2014.
2020: Frank Rudy has joined the Board of Trust of Cumberland University, a private university in Lebanon.
2019: The Tennessee Juvenile Court Services Association presented their Leadership Award to Williamson County Juvenile Court Judge Sharon E. Guffee.
- Sherie Edwards received the Jonathan S. Silber Outstanding Network Member of the Year, awarded by the Association of Corporate Counsel in recognition of leadership within the organization, contributions to in-house practice, and contributions to the community through volunteer and pro bono work. She is vice president of Corporate & Legal for State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company. Edwards also was elected Vice President of the Tennessee Bar Association.
- Sherie Edwards was named to Nashville Business Journal‘s Best of the Bar – Corporate Counsel for 2018. She is the VP of Corporate and Legal for SVMIC.
- Johnny Ellis prevailed before the Tennessee Supreme Court in his case, Darryl F. Bryant, Sr. v. Darryl F. Bryant, Jr., which addresses property rights concerning joint tenancy with an express right of survivorship.
- David Gold presented an ethics CLE at a criminal law conference in April 2017.
- Thomas Norris, Jr. recently presented two CLEs with University of Tennessee Business Law Professor Joan MacLeod Heminway on Drafting and Negotiating Indemnification Provisions at the Business Law Forum 2017.
2021: Third Judicial District Chancellor Douglas T. Jenkins, who serves Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, and Hawkins counties was elected president of the Tennessee Trial Judges Association.
2020: Jimmy W. Bilbo was named the 2020 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for Lee University’s Department of History, Political Science, and Humanities.
Trisha L. Henegar was selected as one of three finalists by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission for the Circuit Court Judge vacancy in the 17th Judicial District. Henegar, of Shelbyville, is self-employed with Wilson and Henegar.
Steven Bourne of Hopkinsville, Ky., has been named Director of Planning and Development for Walton County, KY.
Chancellor Douglas T. Jenkins was elected a Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation, an association of 841 attorneys across the state. Jenkins serves as Chancellor for the Third Judicial District, which serves Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, and Hawkins counties.
- Julie-Karel Elkin has returned to Spicer Rudstrom in Nashville as a partner and leader of the new health data practice group. Elkin worked at the firm for more than a until 2007. Elkin also will serve as the firm’s health data and privacy officer.
- 2021: 16th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge David Bragg retired in January 2021 after more than 12 years on the bench. Judge Bragg also was on the faculty at the School.
- Clarksville Municipal Court Judge Charles W. Smith was awarded the Sharon G. Lee Award for Excellence from the Tennessee Municipal Court Judges Conference.
- Lannie J. Cates is pursuing an LL.M at the University of Alabama School of Law.
- Judge Charles Smith won his fifth term as Clarksville city judge with in November. Judge Smith has held the office for 16 years.
2020 – Guy Jones was named executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference.
Dr. Theresa Muckleroy has been selected as principal for the Middle College High School at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville.
2020: Maria Salas was named a board member of the Nashville Public Library Foundation.
Jeffrey Layne Has been named Chief Operating Officer at Meritage Midstream in Denver.
2020: Henry County attorney Vicki Hodge Hoover was elected Chancellor in the 24th Judicial District to fill a remaining 2-year term.
Carleton Edmunds recently retired from APTIM, and its predecessors, CB&I, The Shaw Group, and The IT Group, having served for 29 years in the area of Environmental Law. Mr Edmunds started with the Tennessee Division of Water Quality in 1974 and saw experience in all phases of environmental law, from initial investigations to its final phases of control and cleanup. Early work following graduation from NSL led to the passage of the Federal Facilities Act, FFA that applied EPA regulations to all Federal activities.
The Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference has elected Donna Orr Hargrove to serve as the president of the Conference for 2017-2018. Hargrove is the district public defender for the 17th Judicial District, which includes Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall and Moore counties. She was elected to the position in 1998, 2006 and 2014. Prior to this, she was an assistant public defender for five years. She has previously served as secretary/treasurer and vice president for the Conference, as well as a representative for the Middle District on the Conference’s executive committee.
Roger Horner has taken a position as a Senior Legal Editor with Practical Law, an online legal resource of Thomson Reuters. Horner starts the new role in January after his retirement as city attorney for Brentwood, where he served 33 years.
2020: Charles “Chuck” Cagle, a shareholder and chair of the education law and government relations practice group at Lewis Thomason, was appointed as Tennessee representative and counsel to the Council of Administrators in Special Education.
- 2021: Mark McGee was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
- 2019: Leslie Barrett Kinkead was recognized for her decades of service at a statewide conference for juvenile court professionals. She is coordinator of the Tennessee Court Improvement Program at the Administrative Office of the Courts.
- Mark McGee was named executive director of United Way of Bedford County. McGee also serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Communication at Lipscomb University in Nashville.
- 2019: Jeff Long was named by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to the post of commissioner of the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security. He previously served 10 years as sheriff in Williamson County.
- The Tennessee General Assembly passed a resolution honoring Vanessa Pettigrew Bryan on her distinguished service to the state as district public defender for the 21st Judicial District. (2021)
- Bonita Jo Atwood was appointed circuit court judge in the 16th judicial district by Gov. Bill Lee. (2020)
- Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Davenport was nominated for an ATHENA Award.
- District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn was the commencement speaker at Walters State Community College.
- 2021: 19th Judicial District Attorney General John W Carney Jr. retired after serving nearly three decades in the office.
- Anne L. Russell of Adams and Reese’s Nashville office was named to the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Her work in litigation and controversy – tax was cited. Russell has also taught Wills at the School.
2019: Austin Peay State University announced it would honor 1983 alumnus Kevin Kennedy and his wife, Rhonda, with the 2020 Spirit Award.
Chattanooga Council Member Carol Berz was honored by the Chief John Ross Chapter, NSDAR as an Outstanding Woman in American History. Dr. Berz is also the owner and chief executive officer of Private Dispute Resolution Services, LLC, a mediation services and training organization headquartered in Chattanooga.
Katie Edge, a member at Butler Snow was named to Nashville Business Journal’s 2017 Power 100: Dealmakersfor her work in the banking industry. Edge has also been an instructor at the School.
Tom Humphrey, retired Nashville bureau chief for the Knoxville News Sentinel and contributing editor for the Tennessee Journal was inducted into the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame. Humphrey wrote a popular blog and weekly column for the News Sentinel and covered Capitol Hill politics for almost 40 years, originally for United Press International.
- 2021: Marlene Moses has announced the merger of MTR Family Law with GSRM. The firm also includes NSL alumni Virginia Connell, Sadie R. Davis, and Blake Taylor.
- 2020: Marlene Moses has been included in Lawdragon’s 2020 Leading Family Lawyers in the United States. She is one of only two Tennesseans on the list. She also was named president of the International Academy of Family Lawyers.
- 2019: Marlene Eskind Moses was named to Nashville Business Journal‘s Best of the Bar – Family Law for 2018. She is founding partner of MTR Family Law in Nashville.
- Tom Lawless was named to Nashville Post’s In Charge – Legal honor roll. Lawless serves as an Oak Hill city judge and on the Tennessee Registry for Election Finance Commission and the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct.
- A portrait of former Sumner County Chancellor Tom E. Gray was unveiled in January at the Sumner County Courthouse. Gray was elected to General Sessions Court Division II where he oversaw juvenile court. He was later elected as chancellor for the 18th Judicial District in 1986, and served until his retirement in 2014.
- The National Board of Trial Advocacy has recertified Marlene Eskind Moses, founding manager of MTR Family Law, PLLC, as a family trial advocate.
- David E. High of High Law Office in Nashville has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2018.
- Judge Allegra Walker has appointed attorney Renard Hirsch, Sr. to serve as the referee for the Nashville General Sessions Environmental Court. The court oversees enforcement of Metro Code violations, including regulation of short-term rentals, trash and pets. Hirsch has been an attorney for more than 30 years, including currently at Smith & Hirsch. He previously served as an instructor at the School.
- 2019: Sumner County General Sessions Judge James Hunter was recognized by the Tennessee Association of Recovery Court Professionals for his work helping people with substance use disorders.
- 2019: Judge Mark Fishburn was recognized by Nashville School of Law as its Distinguished Alumni at the annual Recognition Dinner.
- Judge Mark Fishburn was appointed to the Tennessee Private Probation Services Council. The Council regulates and oversees the conduct of private probation services in the state.
- 2019: Phillip Miller has been accepted into the Baylor University Executive LLM in Litigation Management program. Miller will continue his personal injury law practice while earning his LLM.
- 2017: Stan Reynolds has been appointed to preside over the recently recreated Dickson Municipal Court. The Dickson City Council unanimously approved Mayor Don L. Weiss Jr.’s recommendation.
- 2019: Don Eledge was named president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference.
- Tom Thurman has been inducted into the Martin Methodist College Sports Hall of Fame.
- 2021: Judge Haywood Barry announced his retirement as General Sessions Court Division II Judge in Wilson County. Judge Barry was elected in 2014. Prior to being elected as General Sessions Division II judge, Barry served two terms as a representative on the Lebanon City Council. He also served as Division I General Sessions judge from 1974 to 1998.
- 2019: Former Williamson County Juvenile Court Judge and current Magistrate Jane C. Franks was awarded “The You Inspire Us All Award” by the Tennessee Council of Juvenile Judges. This award is presented to “an individual who consistently inspires others to believe in children, to believe in our work, and to believe in our ability to make a difference.”
- 2020: Robert “Bobby” Goodall was inducted into the Gallatin High School Hall of Fame.
- 2019: Thomas Cone Sr. was recognized by Belmont University for his $2 million gift to the school’s endowment. In honor of his gift, Jack C. Massey College of Business’s center of entrepreneurship will be named the Thomas F. Cone Sr. Center for Entrepreneurship. Cone serves on NSL’s Board of Trust.
