Tennessee Bar Association members may send information about job changes, awards and work-related news.

Send it to The Bulletin Board, c/o The Tennessee Bar Journal, 221 Fourth Ave. N., Suite 400, Nashville, TN 37219-2198, or email to sballinger@tnbar.org.

Submissions are subject to editing. Pictures are used on a space-available basis and cannot be returned.

Compiled by Stacey Shrader and Sharon Ballinger.

Lance Bracy, who has served as disciplinary counsel for the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility for more than 30 years, and most recently as chief disciplinary counsel, will retire May 1. Bracy, who has overseen significant improvements in the operation of the board during his tenure, graduated from the Nashville School of Law in 1962.

Stites & Harbison attorney Bradley A. MacLean has joined The Tennessee Justice Project as assistant director where he will coordinate and direct the organization’s efforts to reform the state’s criminal justice system. MacLean, who has chaired The Tennessee Justice Project board since 2004, will remain of-counsel to Stites & Harbison and will continue to be involved in death penalty cases.

The law firm of Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry PLC has named six new members. Melissa Ballengee Alexander practices commercial litigation. She joined the firm in 2000 after completing a federal clerkship and graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1999. Jay C. Cloud, who joined the firm in 2004, practices primarily in estate planning and administration and matters involving tax-exempt organizations. He earned a law degree in 1994 from the University of Arkansas School of Law and an LL.M. in taxation from the University of Florida in 1998. Chris L. Gilbert handles complex business and commercial litigation. He joined the firm in 1999 after graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Andrew J. Murray joined the firm in 2006 and received his law degree in 1998 from the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. He focuses primarily on health care law. Christopher A. Sloan earned his law degree from the Vanderbilt University Law School and joined the firm in 1999. He advises clients on a variety of intellectual property and technology issues. Wesley G. Weeks joined the firm in 1998 after serving as an attorney for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and earning his law degree from the St. Louis University School of Law in 1996. He represents clients in real estate, land use and governmental matters.

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC attorney Renard François has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee as a special government employee. The committee provides advice to the department on programmatic, policy, operational, administrative and technological issues that affect individual privacy, data integrity and data interoperability. François is an associate in the firm’s litigation practice area. He earned a law degree from the George Washington University Law School in 1998 and an LL.M. in information technology & privacy law in 2001 from the John Marshall Law School.

Benjamin C. Mullins was recently named a partner of the Knoxville law firm of Frantz, McConnell & Seymour LLP. Mullins, who practices general civil litigation, has been with the firm since his graduation from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2000.

The Nashville law firm of Parker, Lawrence, Cantrell & Dean recently announced the addition of associate Mathew A. Moushon. Prior to joining the firm, Moushon clerked for Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen in Peoria, Ill. He earned his law degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2006.

Dr. Harold Naramore has joined the Kingsport law firm of Hunter, Smith and Davis LLP where he will concentrate on health care law and medical malpractice defense. Naramore practiced medicine for 16 years after receiving his medical degree from East Tennessee State University’s James H. Quillen College of Medicine. He recently earned a law degree and masters in business administration from the University of Tennessee.

Jesse D. Nelson has joined Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell PLC as an associate in the firm’s Jackson office. His practice will focus on employment law and tort and insurance law. Nelson earned his law degree in 2006 from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he served as a member and articles editor of the Mississippi Law Journal.

In other news, the Jackson-Madison County Chamber of Commerce recently presented its annual Cornerstone Award to Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell. Each year, the chamber recognizes a locally owned company that has operated in Madison County, or a contiguous county, for more than 20 years and has shown a consistent history of growth, community involvement, employee satisfaction and customer service.

The Chattanooga Bar Association recently named new leadership. Officers are: President James M. Haley IV of Miller & Martin PLLC; President-Elect Cynthia D. Hall with Franklin, Cooper & Marcus PLLC; Secretary/ Treasurer Barry Steelman, Criminal Court judge; and Immediate Past-President Joseph R. White of Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams. TBA members serving on the association’s board of governors are: David M. Elliott of Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison; Ira Long Jr. of Weill, Durand & Long; John T. Rice of John T. Rice PC; Jacqueline E. Schulten, Circuit Court judge; and Christopher T. Varner of Gearhiser, Peters, Lockaby, Cavett & Elliott.

The Knoxville Bar Association also has named its leaders for the coming bar year. They include: President Ruth T. Ellis with Shields & Ellis PLLC; President-Elect Adrienne L. Anderson with Kramer Rayson LLP; Secretary Samuel C. Doak of Arnett, Draper & Hagood; and Immediate Past President J. Steven Collins of Burroughs Collins & Jabaley PLC.

The Memphis Bar Association has elected its new leaders. David M. Cook with The Hardison Law Firm PC has been named president. Amy J. Amundsen with Rice, Amundsen & Caperton PLLC is vice president. Art Quinn with The Bogatin Law Firm PLC takes over as treasurer. Ricky Wilkins with The Law Offices of Ricky E. Wilkins assumes the role of secretary. And Barbara Zoccola with the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee moves to immediate past president.

The Nashville Bar Association has elected its new officers. Lela Hollabaugh with Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis takes over as president. William Scott Sims with Walker Tipps & Malone assumes the office of president-elect. Joelle Phillips with BellSouth Telecommunications Inc. has been named secretary. And Ed Lanquist with Waddey & Patterson PC moves into the treasurer position.

A number of county bar associations also have elected new leadership for 2007. At the Blount County Bar Association, Matthew C. Haralson with Kizer & Black in Maryville has been re-elected president, while Laura Rule with Legal Aid of East Tennessee takes over as secretary. At the Campbell County Bar Association, Robert R. Asbury of Jacksboro has been named president and Jody Troutman with Troutman & Troutman PC in Lafollette has been elected vice president. At the Coffee County Bar Association, Craig Northcott with Van Cleave & Northcott in Tullahoma takes over as president while Ed North with Rogers & Duncan in Manchester steps into the vice president role. At the Giles County Bar Association, Kyle Dodd takes over as president, while Kim Tycer remains as secretary; both are from Pulaski. At the Montgomery County Bar Association, Ted Crozier, clerk and master for the county chancery court, has been elected president and Ray Runyon with Runyon & Runyon in Clarksville has been elected vice president. At the Putnam County Bar Association, Britton Jared takes over as president and Dale Bohannon assumes the office of treasurer; both are from Cookeville. At the Roane County Bar Association, Jennifer Eldridge Raby with the Cooley Law Firm in Rockwood has been elected president. At the Rutherford/ Cannon County Bar Association, Mitchell Keith Siskin has been named president while Robert (Tim) Hogan has been elected treasurer; both are from Murfreesboro. At the Washington County Bar Association, Bryan Bradley Martin takes over as president, David Harvey assumes the office of vice president and Jeff Miles with Richard W. Pectol & Associates has been named secretary; all are from Johnson City.

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC has elected six new shareholders in its Tennessee offices: Mark A. Baugh, who handles labor and employment cases in the Nashville office; John B. Burns, in Memphis, who works on tax law matters; Mark A. B. Carlson, who focuses on securities, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions in the Memphis office; Angie C. Davis, who practices labor and employment law and handles business litigation in the Memphis office; Gary L. Edwards II, who handles labor, employment and business litigation in the Tri-Cities office; and Clinton J. Simpson, who litigates health services and products cases as well as business matters in the Memphis office.

Steven G. Ohrvall has joined the Memphis law firm of Rosenblum & Reisman PC where he will practice in the areas of medical malpractice and nursing home malpractice.

The Nashville law firms of Mink & Blair and Taylor, Pigue, & Marchetti merged as of Feb. 1 to form Taylor, Pigue, Marchetti & Mink. The reconstituted firm is located at 2908 Poston Avenue.

The Memphis law firm of Thomason, Hendrix, Harvey, Johnson & Mitchell recently announced that Justin E. Mitchell and M. Casey Shannon have joined the firm as associate attorneys. Both are 2006 graduates of the University of Memphis School of Law.

Timothy A. Davis of Lebanon has been named the new president of the 15th Judicial District Association. He earned his law degree in 1999 from the Nashville School of Law.

The Nashville law firm of Ortale, Kelley, Herbert & Crawford has named Julie Bhattacharya Peak and J. Brent Moore as partners. Peak joined the firm in 2001 after earning her law degree in 2000 from the University of Memphis School of Law. She practices civil litigation, with a primary focus on medical malpractice defense, employment discrimination and commercial litigation. Moore joined the firm in 2001 after obtaining his law degree from the Nashville School of Law. He practices in the area of civil litigation, including workers’ compensation, employment, commercial and tort litigation.

Nashville attorneys Charles Grant, a shareholder at Baker Donelson Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC and Natasha Blackshear with Blackshear Capital & Legal PLLC recently authored an article for the Nashville Business Incubation Center on why small businesses should engage an attorney, and particularly an attorney with business experience, early in the company’s formation. The article appeared in the February 2007 issue of Inkubator Ink.

Kathryn A. Brothers has joined the Nashville law firm of Hollins & Associates PLLC. In addition to practicing in the areas of commercial transactions and real estate, she manages the firm’s Residential Title Group. Brothers earned her law degree and a masters of arts degree from the University of Kentucky. Prior to joining the firm she served as senior credit officer at Regions Bank in Nashville.

Daniel D. Coughlin and L. Carter Massengill recently were named shareholders in the Bristol law firm of Massengill & Caldwell PC. Coughlin graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1994 and is a certified civil trial specialist. He currently serves on the executive councils of the TBA Litigation Section and the General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section. He also is a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Massengill earned his law degree from the Mississippi College School of Law in 2004 and handles general civil and criminal cases for the firm. He has served as president of the Northeast Tennessee Young Lawyers Association since 2005, and is immediate past president of the Bristol Bar Association.

Nashville attorney Brant Phillips has been named legal counsel for the Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP). A member of the litigation and government relations groups at Bass, Berry, & Sims PLC, Phillips served as a volunteer lawyer for the TNDP during the last four election cycles and as general counsel to state Sen. Lowe Finney’s campaign in 2006. Phillips received his law degree from Washington & Lee University in 1997 and a masters of arts in public policy from Duke University.

Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs LLP has named Kathleen Uhlhorn a new partner in its Memphis office. Uhlhorn concentrates her practice in the areas of real estate and commercial lending and mergers and acquisitions. She graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1999. In addition, the firm has named three new associates. They are: J. Leland Murphree, who earned his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law in 2006; Jordan Reifler, who obtained his law degree from Emory University in 2004; and Marija Sokolov, who received a law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law in 2006.

The law firm of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan PLLC recently welcomed 12 new associates to its various Nashville offices. Attorneys joining the Chattanooga office are: James F. Exum III, who earned his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 2006; Teri N. Harris, who received a law degree from Emory University School of Law in 2006; and Peter T. Metzger II, who earned his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2006.

Attorneys joining the Knoxville office are: C. Edward Baker, who earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2005 and C. Justin Whitaker, who received his law degree from the College of Law in 2006.

Attorneys joining the Memphis office are: Karl C. Bauchmoyer, who earned his law degree in 2006 from the University of Mississippi School of Law; H. Case Embry, who obtained his law degree from the University of Mississippi in 2006; Nicole M. Grida, who earned a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2006; and Steven N. Snyder, who received his law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2006.

Attorneys joining the Nashville office are: Elizabeth A. Bernard, who graduated from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 2006; Paul Brewer, who earned a law degree in 2006 from the University of Memphis School of Law; and Ashley F. Ragsdale, who received her law degree from the Cumberland School of Law in 2006.

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Passages
CARY CORNELL TAYLOR SR., 58, died Feb. 25 after suffering a heart attack. A practicing attorney for 32 years, including service as juvenile judge of Kingsport, he had recently opened a new law office with his youngest son. Taylor earned his law degree from the University of Memphis in 1975. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association (P.O. Box 985, Kingsport 37662), St. Jude Children’s Hospital (501 St. Jude Place, Memphis 38105), Kingsport First Baptist Church’s building fund or Celebrate Recovery ministry (200 West Church Circle, Kingsport 37660) or the charity of one’s choice.

Former Tennessee Bar Association president ROBERT KIRK WALKER died March 1 at the age of 81. Born in Jasper, he lived all but four years of his life in Chattanooga. Walker earned his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1948, and served as president of the Chattanooga Bar Association in 1962 and of the Tennessee Bar Association from 1965-66. He also served as Chattanooga’s mayor from 1971-75. He was a member of the law firm Strang, Fletcher, Carriger, Walker, Hodge and Smith for over 50 years and at the time of his death was serving as counsel for the law firm of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC.

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Staff Changes
LEE ANN BRACKETT is the TBA’s new curriculum development coordinator, a new position. She has a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C. Previously, she worked on Capitol Hill and at the White House as a legislative and policy aide to former Vice President Al Gore. She also worked as counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Most recently, Brackett has taught law courses for paralegal students and worked for an education company designing online law courses.

SONYA THOMPSON is the TBA’s new CLE coordinator. Thompson worked in production, publicity and marketing for the past 15 years in music and publishing industries, most recently at Thomas Nelson Publishers. She has her bachelor’s degree in recording industry management from Middle Tennessee State University and is an ABA-certified paralegal, educated at Southeastern Paralegal Institute in Nashville.

Also, the TBA says goodbye to KATHLEEN CAILLOUETTE, who served as CLE administrator for five years.