TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Aug 7, 2025

Judge Robert Lynn Echols Sr. died Aug. 2 at age 84. A 1964 graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Law (now Winston Law), Echols joined the Tennessee Army National Guard in 1966, embarking on a military career that spanned nearly four decades and eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general. After a brief time in Washington, D.C., he settled in Nashville and was a founding member of the Dearborn & Ewing law firm. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in 1991, and served as chief judge from 1998 to 2005. Echols continued to serve the court as a senior judge until 2010. He later practiced law with Bass, Berry & Sims and Neal & Harwell until his retirement in 2019. Services were held Wednesday. Memorial contributions may be made to Abe's Garden Community, 115 Woodmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37205.