| Tennessee Bar Association

February, 2009

Cover Story

The Landscape Around the Diversity Pipeline

By Karen R. Britton

With the historic inauguration of the first Black/African-American president of the United States last month, attention has been drawn to the representation of racially diverse Americans in positions of power in the federal government, to the number of lawyers named to formal positions in the new administration, and to the life...

Cover Story

The Advancement of Women in the Private Practice of Law and Why Guys Should Care

By Karen Neal and Cynthia Sellers

The Issue

Over the past 20 years, law schools, not renowned for embracing radical change (flashback to the feared Socratic Method " still a thriving instrument of terror) have consistently delivered graduating classes of eager young men and women in approximately equal numbers.1

Feature Story

Bye, Bye, Byrd?

Summary Judgment After Hannan and Martin: Which Way To Go?

Feature Story

Just Throw a TARP Over the Problem

The Troubled Assets Relief Program

Government loves acronyms. From ERISA to the EPA, agency-speak sets apart practitioners who understand the language of their particular expertise. The popular media have made much of the United States Treasury's "bail out" of financial institutions and the rescue of the Big Three automakers, and...

President's Perspective

What's So Great About Diversity?

The term "diversity," sort of like the term, "rule of law," means different things to different people. Elected officials like to say that they are going to bring "diversity" to their administrations. Law firms have "diversity" links on their Web pages. Law schools like to tout the "diversity" of their student bodies. I think it's healthy to remind...

People

Law Firm Diversity Programs Flourish

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell...

But Seriously, Folks

Legal Rawhide: Time to Brand Them Dogie Lawyers!

Long before I dreamed of being a lawyer, I wanted to be a cowboy. I wanted to sit tall in the saddle like the Marlboro Man or Roy Rogers or Gene Autry. That's because I grew up watching TV Westerns such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Wyatt Earp.

My all-time favorite TV Western was Rawhide. The show featured cattle...

Book Review

Claim of Privilege

By Barry Siegel | HarperCollins | $25.95 | 314 pages | 2008
Reviewed by Hon. Roger E. Thayer

In October 1948, a U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortress crashed near Waycross, Ga., shortly after taking off during daylight hours. Six members of the crew and three civilian engineers died. Three crew members survived the accident....

News

Court Requests Comments on IOLTA Petition, Mediators

Let the court know what you think

IOLTA changes, comments due Feb. 20
The Tennessee Supreme Court released for comment in December a proposal to adopt changes to the Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program filed in late November by the Tennessee Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Association, Tennessee...

Letters of the Law

Brittenum was manager in 2005

The "People You Need to Know" section of the January 2009 edition of the Tennessee Bar Journal contains a statement that Melvin Malone "is believed to be the first African-American to serve as manager of a large Tennessee law firm." For your information, Dedrick Brittenum, an African-American, served as...

Disciplinary Actions

Reinstated

The following attorneys have been reinstated to the practice of law after complying with Supreme Court Rule 21, which requires mandatory continuing legal education: Bruce Dwain Atherton, Louisville, Ky.; Robert Natole Farinacci, Concord, Ohio.

The following attorneys have complied with Section 20...

Paine on Procedure

The Statute of Limitations for Conversion of Personal Property

A new client enters your law office to complain about conversion of personal property. After introductory pleasantries, you should ask "When?" The client may say, "Well, I found out on [a date more than three years ago]." Probably you will need to advise this soon-to-be-former client that the matter must be placed in the category of tough.

The Law at Work

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008: Who Isn't Disabled?

While most of the nation wondered if and when the federal government would intervene in the crisis in financial markets, on Sept. 25, 2008, President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008,[1] which explicitly rejects a line of Supreme Court decisions which had, over the course of years, narrowly interpreted the reach of the Americans with...