Redefining Success

Studs Terkel, author of the classic history of the Great Depression Hard Times, passed away Oct. 31, 2008. Studs never saw most of this recession we are in now. His account of the Great Depression illustrates the stark differences and haunting similarities between 1934 and 2009.

In one interview, a San Francisco waterfront laborer told Studs that when a sugar refiner posted a few jobs, “a thousand men would fight like a pack of wild dogs” over them at the gates of the refine

TBA Young Lawyers Division

Memphis Team Wins State Mock Trial Competition

White Station High School’s Green Team claimed the state mock trial title in March, defeating Battle Ground Academy of Franklin in the 29th annual Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition. The team, which is coached by Memphis attorneys Eugene “Buddy” and Michelle Bernstein, will represent Tennessee at the national competition in Atlanta May 6-10.

This year the Mock Trial Committee presented a new sportsmansh

The Tennessee Bar Foundation inducted its 2008 class of Fellows in January at a dinner in Nashville. New fellow are:
Paul A. Bates, Lawrenceburg
Mark S. Beveridge, Nashville
Judge Joe P. Binkley Jr., Nashville
Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins, Franklin
Andrew C. Branham, Memphis
Gary E. Brewer, Morristown
A. Stuart Campbell, Nashville
L. Webb Campbell II, Nashville
Frank S. Cantrell, Memphis
E. Franklin Childress Jr., Memphis
Catherine B. Clayton, Jackson
Chancellor William C. Cole, Atoka
Judge Curtis L. Collier, Ch
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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:
Matthew Edward Davis, Gilbert, S.C.
Nicole Pyne, Salt Lake City, Utah
Darren E. Ridenour, Knoxville

Censured

A censure declares conduct improper but does not limit the right to practice law.

On Feb. 25, Kentucky lawyer David Randall Steele was censured by the Board of Professional Responsibility for violating several Rules of Pro

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

By Jon Meacham | Random House | $30 | 512 pages | 2008

Partisan politics of the basest nature, and economic and banking worries trouble the United States. War and rumors of war resound through the houses of Congress. Sex scandals enmesh the winning presidential candidate during a contentious election and embroil his Cabinet sessions. The civil rights and liberties of oppressed minorities divide the nation deeply. Issues that cut squarely to the hear

Remembering United States District Judge Robert L. Taylor

Edited by Judge Charles D. Susano Jr. | Tennessee Valley Publishers | $19.95 | 220 pages | 2009

Robert Love Taylor was the federal judge in Knoxville from 1949 until 1985. This collection consists of war stories from lawyers who endured his wrath. Judge Taylor was not endowed with a judicial temperament. Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Charlie Susano has edited the many letters he received and arranged them in Remembering United States Di

Recreation Limits Litigation

Everyone knows that Tennessee has rejected the historic invitee, licensee, and trespasser method of determining duty in premises liability cases.[1] Today, we know that when determining the duty that possessors of land owe to a particular plaintiff the court “balances the foreseeability and gravity of the potential harm against the feasibility and availability of alternatives that would have prevented the harm.”[2] Right?

Not always. By the adoption of the so-calle...
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How Rules of Procedure Are Made

Occasionally a lawyer or judge fusses at me about the work product of the Advisory Commission to the Supreme Court on Rules of Practice and Procedure. I tell these fussbudgets that I am merely Reporter to the Commission and am not allowed to vote. Then I explain the procedure, which may be of interest to you readers.

We meet four times annually by video at five locations. Chairman Hugh Moore does a superb job of letting all of the 21 Commissioners have their say. Ju

Twelve Angry Tweeters

When I first heard my fellow lawyers using the word “twitter,” I thought they were referring to the little birdie who co-starred on the Bugs Bunny Show (“I taught I taw a putty tat!”) or a famous country music singer (“Hello, darling! Nice to see you! It’s been a long time!”) Recently, a young female attorney asked me whether I “twitter,” and I was frankly embarrassed. Without hesitation, I replied, “Young lady, I will have you know that I have been happi