A Whole Lot of Work
Siegel Honored for Pro Bono Work in Custody Dispute
The American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) honored Memphis lawyer David A. Siegel, of Nahon Saharovich & Trotz, PLC with its Edmund S. Muskie Pro Bono Service Award. The award was presented during the 2007 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco at the Section Annual Awards Luncheon, on Aug. 11.

The Muskie award recognizes TIPS members who have the attributes embodied by Senator Muskie: his dedication to justice for all citizens, his public service, and his role as a lawyer and distinguished leader of TIPS.

“David’s strong sense of commitment to helping others is unparalleled. As an advocate for children’s rights, he strives to make the world a better place for all. We are proud to have David as a member of TIPS,” Section Chair Peter Neeson of Philadelphia said. Siegel received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1985.

Siegel’s area of concentration is serious and catastrophic injury cases. In addition, he is a strong advocate of children’s rights, providing numerous pro bono hours in termination of parental rights and child custody matters. He was recently admitted to the United States Supreme Court in connection with his work on the Anna Mae He child custody case, a case that has received both national and international attention.

Siegel has been defending the Hes’ parental rights since February 2002, when he first appeared on the case as counsel of record in connection with the petition to terminate Parental Rights and for Adoption filed by Jerry and Louise Baker. The trial court proceedings spanned 32 months and generated a technical record containing 11 volumes of motions, responses, and orders. Ultimately, the case made its way through the appellate court system in Tennessee where it was eventually heard by the Tennessee Supreme Court. On Jan. 23, 2007, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed both the trial court and the Court of Appeals, thereby reinstating the Hes’ parental rights and ordering that the parents be reunited with their daughter. This pro bono case was handled with the support of his law firm.

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Briefs

Associate Survey Offers Key Trends: What’s the current state of affairs for new associates at law firms? The American Lawyer offers highlights from its latest survey. The findings: associates aren’t miserable, they don’t plan on staying around more than five years, law firms aren’t too upset by falling retention rates and the supply of new associates — at least in the short term — may not keep up with demand. Connect to this story as well as The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog to see what people are saying about the survey at http://www.tba.org/journal_links

Four Tennessee Attorneys received honors from the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) in August during the ABA annual meeting.

Jonathan O. Steen of Jackson, George T. (Buck) Lewis III of Memphis, and John R. Tarpley and Gail Vaughn Ashworth, both of Nashville, were named to the prestigious TIPS Honor Roll.

Those named were nominated by the Law in Public Service Committee for performing extraordinary pro bono, public and/or bar service. There were 12 honored this year, committee chair Cindy Wyrick said, “so to have four from Tennessee is a testament to the pro bono, public and bar service that Tennessee lawyers are performing across the state and the nation.”

Bankruptcy Rate Remains High: Bankruptcy rates continue to remain elevated in the three highest filing states in the country — Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama — at a time when numbers appear to be slowing down or leveling off in many regions. And Tennessee’s Shelby County has the highest bankruptcy rate of any county in the country. Read what experts are saying about the causes in The Memphis Daily News at http://www.tba.org/journal_links

Better Jury Experience is Goal of New Committee: A new committee has been charged with improving conditions for Tennesseans called to jury service. The Tennessee Judicial Council created the committee to study the jury process and make recommendations for promoting appreciation of the jury system and improving response rates to summonses. Committee members include Chairman Jeff Henry, executive director of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference; Deborah R. Alexander-Davis; 23rd Judicial District Attorney General Dan Alsobrooks; state Representative Rob Briley, D-Nashville; state Sen. Dewayne Bunch, R-Cleveland; Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee V. Coffee; and Tom Hatcher, circuit court clerk for Blount County. Read the Administrative Office of the Court’s press release at http://www.tba.org/journal_links

TBA General Practice Summit Ranked Best in Tennessee: The Tennessee Bar Association’s General Practice Summit was recognized this summer as the state’s top single educational seminar by the Tennessee Society of Association Executives. The award was presented to TBA CLE Director Therese Byrne during ceremonies in Nashville. The program was launched last year under the direction of then-President Larry Wilks as a means of providing solo and small firm practitioners with a broad summary of developments in key practice areas from leaders in those fields.

Footnotes Omitted in Holbrook’s August Column: The print version of Dan Holbrook’s column in the August 2007 Tennessee Bar Journal accidentally omitted the footnotes. The column, “The TIST Test: Tennessee Competes for Trust Dollars,” may be seen in its entirety at http://tba.org/journal_links/where_theres_a_will_0807.html

The Journal regrets the omission.