The 2013 class of the TBA Diversity Leadership Institute was announced today. The six-month leadership and mentoring program for law school students is sponsored by the TBA's Young Lawyers Division. This year it is made up of 18 students who will gather for their first meeting Jan. 18 in Nashville in conjunction with the TBA Leadership Conference.
Class members are: Shana Berkeley, Brett Knight, Kimberlee McTorry, Daniela Quintero and Ashley Upkins from the Belmont College of Law; Aisha DeBerry from the Duncan School of Law; Sonia Boss, Cynthia Brown, Cole Rogers, Mike Sandler and Tracey Williams from the Nashville School of Law; Anthony Adewumi, James Cobb, Jayniece Higgins and Jerry Ivery from the University of Memphis School of Law; and Estefania Chavez, LaToyia Trotter and Yessle Yi from the University of Tennessee College of Law. The program is being chaired this year by Memphis attorney Ahsaki Baptist and Nashville lawyer Brian Winfrey.
The TBA YLD Fellows held its annual meeting and inducted new members at the YLD & Fellows Dinner, held in conjunction with the TBA Convention. New officers elected were President Angelia Morie Nystrom with the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; Vice President Andrew V. Sellers with Purcell Sellers & Craig in Jackson; Secretary Charlotte Knight Griffin with Memphis Light, Gas & Water in Memphis; and Treasurer J. Russell Parkes with Hardin, Parkes, Kelley & Carter in Columbia. Cynthia Richardson Wyrick with Ogle, Gass & Richardson in Sevierville assumed the office of immediate past president.
The group also welcomed nine new members: Tara M. Aaron with Aaron Sanders Law in Nashville; Tasha C. Blakney with Eldridge, Blakney & Trant in Knoxville; Anna Banks Cash with the Office of the 26th District Attorney in Jackson; E. Evan Cope with Cope, Hudson, Reed & McCreary in Murfreesboro; L. Carter Massengill with Massengill, Caldwell & Coughlin in Bristol; Alicia Brown Oliver with Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel in Chattanooga; Candice Reed with Ceridian Corporation in Nashville; and Michael P. Sayne with Pilot Travel Centers in Knoxville. Knoxville lawyer Harry P. Ogden was named an honorary Fellow for his support and mentoring of young lawyers. He practices with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz.
Above: Cindy Wyrick (left) welcomes Harry Ogden as the YLD Fellows 2012
Honorary Fellow
Finally, the Fellows awarded it annual William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award to former Springfield lawyer and TBA president Larry Dean Wilks, who died Aug. 30, 2011. The award, presented posthumously, recognized Wilks’s service to the practice of law, the bar and the profession. The award was presented by Wyrick and accepted by Wilks' widow Jan and son John. Given annually by the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows, the Leech Award is named for former Attorney General William M. Leech. It honors a lawyer who has given outstanding service to the profession, legal system and the community.
Above: Jan Wilks thanks the TBA YLD Fellows for recognizing her late
husband and former TBA president Larry Wilks with the 2012 Leech Award
Members of the outgoing TBA Young Lawyers Division Board gathered on June 8 for a final dinner and award ceremony recognizing service during the past year. The event also featured the annual meeting of the TBA YLD Fellows and a graduation ceremony of the Diversity Leadership Institute class. In what has become a tradition, the evening ended with a gavel pass from all former YLD presidents in attendance to incoming president David Veile of Franklin. Photos taken by Barry Kolar and Stacey Shrader
News from the Young Lawyers Division
David Veile, with the Franklin firm of Schell Binkley & Davies LLC, took office as the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) president at the division’s annual meeting June 8. Also taking office were President-Elect David McDowell of Chattanooga, Vice President Stacie Winkler of Memphis, Secretary Marisa Combs of Nashville and Treasurer Steven King of Memphis. Two contested elections were decided at the meeting, with Knoxville lawyer Paul Whitt retaining his seat as East Tennessee Governor and Nashville lawyer Mary Beth Haltom being reelected as Middle Tennessee Governor. Jackson lawyer Ashley Holliday was elected to fill a vacancy for West Tennessee Governor. Members of the outgoing TBA YLD Board gathered that evening for an award ceremony.
Lawyers Luncheon Highlight of 131st Annual TBA Convention
Nashville lawyer Jacqueline B. Dixon took office as the Tennessee Bar Association's 130th president at the association's annual convention in Memphis today. After being sworn into office by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Connie Clark (above), Dixon laid out her vision for the year, which will include a focus on civics education, civility in the profession, pro bono efforts and working to preserve an impartial judiciary.
News from the YLD Fellows
Springfield lawyer and former TBA president Larry Dean Wilks, who died Aug. 30, 2011, was posthumously presented the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award by the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) Young Lawyers Division Fellows at the TBA’s annual meeting in Memphis. Wilks was recognized for his service to the practice of law, the bar and the profession. The award was presented by Fellows President Cynthia Richardson Wyrick, a lawyer in Sevierville, and accepted by Wilks' widow Jan and his son John.
News from the Young Lawyers Division
Two Knoxville students earned first place in the 2012 Law Day Art & Essay Competition, reports the TBA's Young Lawyers Division, which holds the statewide competition each May. This year's competition was coordinated by Jackson lawyer Ashley Holliday with West Tennessee Legal Services. The theme, "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom," asked students to consider the importance of the courts and their role in ensuring access to justice for all Americans.
Tennessee lawyers are sharing their insights and expertise with young lawyers from across the country at this weekend’s meeting of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division in Nashville. The capstone of the three-day meeting is a luncheon on Saturday with Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William C. Koch, Vanderbilt Law School Professor Brian T. Fitzpatrick, Tennessee Bar Association Executive Director Allan F. Ramsaur and Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch speaking on this year’s Law Day theme “No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom.” Other lawyers presenting seminars during the meeting include Gail Vaughn Ashworth, George Barrett, Lisa Cole, Mark Chalos, Matthew Curley, Margaret M. Huff, Anne C. Martin, Bruce McMullen, Barbara Moss, Lucian T. Pera, E. Todd Presnell, Eli J. Richardson, Lisa Rivera, Matt Sweeney, Kendrick Vaughn and Heather Howell Wright.
