HARRIS GILBERT PRO BONO ATTORNEY OF THE YEAR

This year’s Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award is presented to a group of Nashville attorneys. The award recognizes private attorneys who have contributed a significant amount of pro bono work and have demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of legal services to the poor. The award is named after Gilbert, a Nashville attorney and past Tennessee Bar Association president, who exemplified this commitment. Gilbert died in February 2023 at age 91.

It began as a way to delay the release of the shooter’s writings.

On March 27, 2023, Tennessee was added to a list that no state wants to be on: the site of a school shooting. A 28-year-old former student of The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville’s affluent Green Hills neighborhood, entered the school that morning and ultimately killed three third graders and three staff members before being killed by police.

From left, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison (SRVH) attorneys Hunter Branstetter, Ryan Holt, Chris Sabis; Nashville attorneys Ed Yarbrough and Hal Hardin; SRVH attorneys Micah Bradley, Eric Osborne, Alex Carver, Dewey Branstetter

Hundreds of pages of writings were found in the shooter’s car and home, and soon the public calls to release those writings began. Dewey Branstetter, an attorney with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison (SRVH) and part of the pro bono team, says that “[the shooter’s] writings were gathered by the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) as part of their investigation into the shooting. Because these records came into the possession of the MNPD, they arguably became records that would be subject to disclosure under Tennessee’s Open Records Act.”

Parents of the victims and survivors implored police and the media not to release the writings, arguing that doing so would further traumatize the students and their families, and could inspire copycats. But according to Branstetter, “[W]ithin just a few weeks after the tragic shooting, several media outlets filed a lawsuit seeking to obtain access to these writings alleging that the writings were all subject to the Open Records Act.”

This is when SRVH, and specifically attorney Eric Osborne, got involved. “The whole thing started because it was about eight days before the end of the school year and the parents wanted to try to delay the release of the writings so the kids could finish up the school year and not have the media spotlight on them. The goal was to protect the Covenant kids and prevent potential copycat actions,” Osborne says. “A Covenant parent who I knew called me and told me what they were going through and that things were moving very quickly. And then he said something I’ll never forget. He said, ‘Will you help us?’ The answer from our firm, over and over, was ‘yes.’”

Branstetter says that the first step was to intervene on behalf of the Covenant families in the Open Records litigation pending before the Nashville Chancery Court. The motion to intervene was filed on May 17, 2023, and granted on May 24, 2023, less than two months after the shooting. “Without this intervention, the Covenant families would not have had a seat at the table or a voice in that lawsuit. None of the original parties to that lawsuit had any obligation, or standing, to protect the interests of the families directly impacted by the shooting, and the chancellor agreed that intervention was appropriate,” Osborne explains.

Early in the proceedings, the issue of the “ownership” of the shooter’s writings was raised. David Raybin, the lawyer for the shooter’s parents — the Hales — helped them make the decision to assign any interest they had in their daughter’s writings to the Covenant families, including any copyright interest. “The more we learned about past school shootings and their aftermath, the more we were convinced that the release of these writings would endanger others,” Osborne says.

The team realized that their best course of action to preventing harm to the families and anyone who might read the shooter’s writings was to invoke the copyright. Branstetter notes that “one of the grounds that Chancellor I’Ashea Myles determined would prohibit the disclosure of the writings was the fact that the Covenant families held the copyright to the writings, as the ownership has been assigned to them by the shooter’s parents. This was a novel concept in Tennessee Open Records Act litigation.”

Branstetter says, “[The Covenant] parents had no voice or any way to assert their claims as to why the Open Records Act should not be applied to the shooter’s writings. The families would have been unable to vindicate their rights in the absence of this pro bono representation.”

Five SRVH lawyers have contributed more than 50 hours each to the project, including Eric Osborne, Chris Sabis, Bill Harbison, Dewey Branstetter and Francis Perkins. Other lawyers who contributed their time include Alex Carver, Hunter Branstetter, Amy Mohan, Carla Lovell, Chris Whitson, Jack Weber, Micah Bradley, Mark Ison, Mark Smith, Ryan Holt and Will Pugh. Osborne’s assistant, Jayme Hartness, also spent an extraordinary amount of time assisting throughout the proceedings. Osborne recruited expertise outside of SRVH, including Ed Yarbrough and Sara Naylor from Spencer Fane, Hal Hardin of the Hal Hardin Law Office and Mark Patterson of Patterson Intellectual Property Law.

Since the start of the case in May 2023, the team assembled by Osborne has contributed over 1,350 hours with a value in excess of $700,000, and their representation continues. Every lawyer associated with the work on behalf of the Covenant families serves as an example of the power of collaboration in pro bono work. Bransetter says, “We are at our best when we are helping others, whether compensated or not, and lawyers can join forces with other lawyers to do what no individual lawyer or a law firm could do on their own.”

“We wanted eight days,” Osborne says. “It’s been more than two years.” |||

— By Julia Canada Wilburn, Editor, Tennessee Bar Journal

Watch Osborne’s award acceptance speech during TBA’s Annual Convention in June: youtu.be/u4hFfhVrB5k.

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LAW STUDENT VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

The Law Student Volunteer of the Year recognizes a Tennessee law student who provides outstanding volunteer services while working with an organization that provides legal representation to the indigent. This year’s honoree is David Lee Myers, a recent graduate of Belmont University College of Law.

For David Lee Myers, law school wasn’t part of the original plan. In fact, it was his mother’s idea — and in an act of teenage rebellion, he originally dismissed the notion. “My mother’s father … I never met him, but he was a lawyer,” Myers says. Because his mom encouraged it, he was against it. “You know how you don’t want to do what your parents want you to do? That was me.”

David Lee Myers

But that changed after his undergraduate years, when Myers became deeply involved in the housing justice movement and saw how the legal system could be a tool for change. “We went in person and watched eviction judgments, and it was pretty one-sided,” he recalls. “Almost to the point that it was like a factory for making people homeless.”

Originally from Knoxville, Myers moved to Middle Tennessee before kindergarten and experienced Nashville’s housing crisis firsthand. His single-parent household relocated nine times during his 13 years of primary and secondary school due to a lack of affordable housing. At times, missed payments for heat or water added to the instability. “Growing up in that precariousness is what initially led me to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity in college,” he says. “The more I reflected on my experience, the more I realized that my background wasn’t considered normal. I thought, ‘This is pretty bad, and people shouldn’t have to deal with this, so let’s see what I can do.’”

At Belmont Law, Myers quickly built a reputation for tireless pro bono work and a focus on housing rights. He accumulated an extraordinary 350 pro bono hours on top of more than 300 internship hours with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands’ (LAS) Eviction Right to Counsel unit and with the Tennessee Fair Housing Council. His work included tabling at the courthouse during General Sessions Court, helping at legal clinics, assisting attorneys in providing advice to tenants facing eviction, researching case law and even contributing to an active federal housing discrimination lawsuit.

One of his most memorable moments came during his first week interning at LAS. “It was an unlawful eviction case,” he says. “I found a case that was right on point. The attorneys at LAS are so busy they sometimes can’t research every client’s defense in depth, so they rely on interns. We used what I found to stop the eviction, and it caused the landlord’s attorney to withdraw. That happened within my first week of doing legal work.”

With his law degree now in hand, Myers is heading west to begin a two-year fellowship with the Inner- City Law Center in Los Angeles, a legal aid nonprofit working to ensure people experiencing homelessness have safe, affordable housing. There, he will focus on eviction defense and tenant-side plaintiffs’ work. “I want to resolve issues before they become evictions,” Myers says.

Whether in Tennessee or California, Myers plans to keep pushing for fair housing policies, tenant protections and a legal system that treats all parties with dignity. “Just think about regular working people who need housing and are not being treated equitably by the legal system. There needs to be fundamental reform there.” |||

— By Azya Thornton, TBA Communications Coordinator

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COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES (CASA) VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD

This year’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Amy Dorman of CASA Works. The award, which is presented each year by the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the Tennessee Bar Association, recognizes a volunteer who goes the extra mile in their work with children in the state. CASA volunteers are appointed by the courts to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children and to ensure they do not get lost in the legal system or languish in an inappropriate group or foster home.

Amy Dorman, a retired engineer, has been recognized for being a voice for abused and neglected children of Tullahoma. As an active CASA volunteer for the past 10 years for CASA Works Inc. she has worked tirelessly with 55 families and advocated on behalf of over 113 abused and neglected children in the juvenile courts of Bedford, Coffee and Frankin counties. The organization, in its 25th year, has five core values: advocacy, commitment, stability, protection and permanence. Wanda Strayhorn, executive director, describes Dorman as “outstanding, dependable, diligent, loyal and determined to help these children anyway that she can.” Retired Judge Walter Kurtz, who wrote in support of Dorman’s nomination, says she is “the epitome of what a CASA should be.”

Amy Dorman

Dorman’s journey to CASA started a few months before retiring as she began to look for volunteer work stating she was “going to need something to fill the void.” CASA was put in front of her three times, she says. First, in an article she clipped out of the Tullahoma newspaper. Second, when she overheard someone speaking about CASA, and lastly on a late-night radio advertisement on a drive back home from Nashville. Never having heard of CASA before, she knew that God was speaking to her. The next day she called Dana Farris, now her Franklin County supervisor, and learned about the program. She points out that this position has taken her out of her comfort zone. It is not easy “to walk up to a stranger’s home” or “visit an addict in jail” but she feels God has placed her in this role to “grow me” and has helped her through it all.

After nearly 35 years in the field of engineering, Dorman now finds that the skills she developed working in quality control at an engineering firm continue to serve her well. Her previous position involved sitting down with a lot of different people, conducting interviews, “getting to the bottom of things,” and writing clear and concise reports. She feels these skills are her greatest strength as a CASA.

The hardest part of the position is seeing how the children struggle. Sadly, almost all of them “will carry a burden” due to their trauma. Thankfully, she believes, in the end, they wind up in good homes. She also expresses compassion for the parents who struggle as well. She states, “They love their children. It is not what they thought life would be like.” She knows that many work hard to overcome addiction, and it hurts when they simply cannot.

According to Dorman, the best part of the position is seeing the success stories — mainly when parents are able to get their children back. When you see parents overcome the obstacles (drugs, mental health and/or environmental issues) and they are ready and equipped to parent again — that is success, she says.

Dorman believes others should try volunteering with CASA. “If you love children and want to make a difference, reach out to your local organization,” she says. Though many volunteers have related backgrounds, such as former teachers, professors and mental health professionals, many like Dorman do not. But the supervisors provide excellent training and mentorship. She also has a special plea for more males to volunteer, as she believes it would make a difference for so many teenage boys.

Having grown up in a middleclass, Southern Baptist family, with no experience or knowledge of drug abuse, child abuse/neglect or the court system, Dorman knows she grew up in a bubble and has a comfortable life. Knowing that other people do not have these same advantages “makes you thankful for what you got,” she says. For now, this Auburn graduate is doing what she is supposed to be doing. Being a CASA is “who I am and what I do.”

Upon learning of her selection for this year’s CASA Volunteer of the Year Award, Dorman says, “I was shocked and so very honored … My time working as a CASA volunteer has meant so much to me. It has given me an opportunity to give back to our community, and it has also opened my eyes to the struggles that so many go through. I have had the opportunity to work with many wonderful CASA volunteers, DCS workers, lawyers and court officials — all striving to ensure that our children have the opportunity to grow up in loving, nurturing homes.”

Dorman was honored in June during the TBA’s Annual Convention. In presenting the award, then-YLD President Sean Aiello said, “The YLD is honored to have selected Amy as this year’s CASA volunteer award winner. In addition to serving the professional needs of young lawyers across the state of Tennessee, the YLD is dedicated to being the service arm of the bar. Amy exemplifies service to her community and is clearly an asset to the organization, as she is not only a zealous advocate for children but also assists her fellow volunteers and helps to write grants for CASA Works Inc. She goes above and beyond.” Both Dorman and CASA Works Inc. received a cash award in recognition of their work.

Dorman and her husband of 48 years, Ed, live in Tullahoma. They have three children. Her youngest passed the Tennessee Bar Exam in 2024 and practices law in Knoxville. |||

— By Laura Labenburg, TBA Director of the Young Lawyers Division and Law Student Development

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ASHLEY T. WILTSHIRE PUBLIC SERVICE ATTORNEY OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year Award is given to attorneys who have provided dedicated and outstanding service while employed by an organization that is primarily engaged in providing legal representation to the poor. This year’s award was presented to the executive directors of the state's three Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funded organizations: Ashley Holliday with West Tennessee Legal Services, Debra House with Legal Aid of East Tennessee and DarKenya W. Waller with Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.

Tennessee is incredibly fortunate to have a connected, diverse community of legal service providers and advocates, including at the state’s three Legal Services Corporation (LSC) grantees: West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS), Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) and Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands (LAS). LSC is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid via grantees across the country. Despite relentless threats to its work, LSC remains the nation’s single largest funder of civil legal aid; LSC’s 130 grantee organizations currently serve every congressional district in every U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia, via 900 offices.

From left: DarKenya Waller, Deb House, and Vanessa Bullock and Caitlin Hakim, accepting on behalf of Ashley Holliday

Tennessee LSC executive directors Ashley Holliday, Debra House and DarKenya Waller’s leadership is especially valuable at a time when all legal service organizations are navigating unanticipated and severe resource shifts. Despite the ripple effect of federal funding cuts, these leaders — and their teams of staff and volunteers — are providing direct legal services to those in immediate need, as well as building longterm strategies to help protect housing stability, secure safety for survivors of abuse, ensure access to care, preserve livelihoods and help families succeed.

The LSC-funded organizations are ideal examples of how our state’s legal aid and pro bono communities are consistently integrating meaningful collaborative elements throughout their work: needs assessment, strategic program design and evaluation, data collection, partner and other stakeholder engagement, pathways for expansion and of course, use of technology. Holliday, House and Waller’s brave leadership for access to justice is demonstrated in ample ways, large and small, in their roles as executive directors, bar leaders and engaged community members.

ASHLEY HOLLIDAY

Holliday became executive director of WTLS in January 2024 after 14 years with the organization in roles including general counsel and managing attorney. Holliday is leading WTLS in a period of record growth, including expanding services in family law, disaster relief and veterans’ services, as well as geographically. Holliday began her career in private practice in Jackson.

DEBRA HOUSE

House has been with LAET since 1988 and was named executive director in 2022, after serving in multiple leadership roles within the organization, including interim executive director, and directing LAET’s development, pro bono and compliance programs. House has been instrumental in strengthening partnerships that extend LAET’s reach and is an active leader in the TBA, as a past chair of the Access to Justice Committee and the Family Law Section and now serves as deputy speaker of the TBA House of Delegates.

DARKENYA W. WALLER

Waller joined LAS in 2008 as a staff attorney focused on family law and domestic violence, became managing attorney of the Nashville office in 2010 and executive director in 2018. Waller is widely recognized for developing beneficial partnerships, including with Metro Nashville’s Office of Family Safety. Waller has been active with TBA as a Leadership Law program alumna and a frequent CLE and program presenter, as well as in her service on the Access to Justice Committee.

In addition to helping clients stabilize and improve their lives and families, strong legal aid services benefit the entire community. A recent LSC research brief highlighted 20 years of economic impact studies that all found a positive return on investment for civil legal aid spending, with an average return of $7 for every $1 invested in legal services. The studies, including a 2015 Tennessee report, detail the extensive ways in which legal assistance is able to provide this degree of community benefit, including helping improve family stability, leading to increased participation in local economies and reduced reliance on other forms of assistance. Legal Aid also helps clients resolve or even prevent problems that contribute to costly public expenditures such as emergency medical care, law enforcement and shelters. |||

— By Liz Slagle Todaro, TBA Director of Access to Justice