Tennessee Bar Association President Bill Harbison joined attorneys from across Tennessee and other states in honoring Memphis attorney Randy Noel during a reception in his honor during the annual American Bar Association Convention in Chicago in August. Noel, with Butler Snow, is a former TBA president and a former Tennessee delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. Support for the event was provided by the University of Tennessee College of Law, University of Memphis School of Law, Belmont University College of Law and Vanderbilt University Law School.

Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade, who has served the Tennessee judiciary for 28 years as a judge, justice and chief justice, will retire this month and take over as dean of the John J. Duncan Jr. School of Law at Lincoln Memorial University. He replaces Matthew Lyon, a professor who has been serving as acting dean since March. Justice Wade was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Phil Bredesen in 2006 and was elected by his fellow justices to serve a two-year term as chief justice in September 2012. Read more about Justice Wade in the October Tennessee Bar Journal.

Nashville attorney Kenneth “Kenny” Byrd received the Tennessee Association for Justice’s 2015 Paladin Award for his successful litigation against several cigarette manufacturers. Byrd, a lawyer with Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, represented a number of plaintiffs who began smoking as teenagers in the 1940s to 1960s. The legal team argued that the cigarette industry knowingly marketed to children during those years. The award is the organization’s highest honor given each year to an attorney who demonstrates superior skills as a trial advocate.

The firm also recently announced that Mark Chalos, managing partner of the Nashville office, has been named chair of the American Association for Justice’s Public Education Committee, and has been re-elected to the Tennessee Association for Justice Board of Governors and Executive Committee.
 
The Nashville office of Shuttleworth Williams has moved to the L&C Tower at 401 Church St., Suite 2700, Nashville, TN 37219. The office can be reached at (615) 833-3390 or online at www.shuttleworthwilliams.com.

The Murfreesboro law firm of Hagan & Farrar has become Farrar | Wright with Amy Farrar and Sonya Smith Wright continuing as partners. The firm will handle business advice and litigation, employment law, estate planning, real estate and insurance law. It can be reached at (615) 800-4747 or online at http://farrarwright.com.

Former partner Mary Beth Hagan has left the firm to open the Hagan Law Group, which will focus on construction and real estate disputes.

Adams and Reese has named Kolin Holladay as the new partner in charge of its Nashville office. Holladay, who also serves as head of the firm’s corporate, securities and mergers and acquisition practice, replaces Brad Lampley, who has led the office for seven years. Lampley will remain at the firm as a partner.

The firm also recently announced two new hires. ERISA attorney Rob Breunig has joined the Nashville office after working for three years at Wolds Law Group in San Diego, while Shawn Sentilles has joined the firm’s Memphis office as a special counsel in the Special Business Services Practice Group. He most recently was in-house patent attorney for Wright Medical Technology Inc. He rejoins Adams and Reese after working for the firm early in his career and serving as part of its first patent group.

Lisa Lichterman, a shareholder in the Memphis office of Littler, has been elected to the Fellows of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. She will be inducted Nov. 7 in Philadelphia. At the firm, Lichterman assists clients with policies and procedures to improve employee morale, strengthen relationships between management and employees and ensure compliance with employment and labor laws.

The firm also announced that Joycelyn Stevenson was among community leaders honored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and YP Nashville with a 2015 Nashville Emerging Leader Award. Stevenson was named a leader in the legal services category. She is a shareholder at Littler where she practices labor and employment and business immigration law.

The Tennessee Justice Center has named Nashville lawyer Mike Abelow with Sherrard & Roe as its new board chair. It also has appointed several new board members. TBA members among them are Nashville lawyers Ronette Adams-Taylor with Meharry Medical College, Robb Bigelow with Dickinson Wright and Jerry Taylor with Burr & Forman; Memphis lawyer and former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Janice Holder; and Knoxville lawyer Brad Morgan with the Institute for Professional Leadership at the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Waldrop & Hall has named Jackson lawyer Hailey David as its newest partner. David works in the areas of trust and estate planning, insurance defense, probate, elder, employment and business law. She has been with the firm since 2008.

The Creditor Rights / Insolvency Group at Evans Petree was named “Bankruptcy Counsel of the Year” by TD Auto Finance for the second year in a row. The group — which includes shareholders Robert Fehse, Aaron Nash and Jacob Zweig and associates Bert Echols and Kandace Stewart — represents TD Auto Finance in bankruptcy cases.

The Williamson County Bar Association has elected new officers for the 2015-2016 bar year. The new president is Franklin city attorney Shauna Billingsley, vice president is David ONeil with the Brentwood Police Department, treasurer is Kristen Corn with the office of the Franklin city attorney and secretary is Katie Zipper with the Franklin law firm of Cordell & Cordell.

Willie Santana, a lawyer with the Morristown law firm of Capps, Cantwell, Capps & Byrd and chair of the Hispanic Outreach Leadership Association of the Lakeway Area (H.O.L.A. Lakeway), recently spoke to the East Tennessee Regional Leadership Association’s Leadership class about the challenges facing Hispanic and Latino families in East Tennessee.

April Holland with Miller & Martin has been selected for the 2015-2016 Leadership Chattanooga class. Sponsored by the Chattanooga Chamber Foundation, the program brings professionals throughout the city together to cultivate leadership and community growth.

The Chattanooga Bar Foundation has announced its class of 2015 Fellows. TBA members among the group are: John Randolph Bode, Miller & Martin; Roy Maddox Jr., Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams; Timothy Mickel, Evans Harrison Hackett; Alicia Brown Oliver, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee; J. Bart Quinn, Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel; Ross Schram, Baker Donelson; and Richard Schulman, Patrick, Beard, Schulman & Jacoway.

Lucie Brackin with The Landers Firm in Memphis has been certified by the Arkansas Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission to mediate cases from the domestic relations divisions of the Arkansas circuit courts.

Two attorneys received the 2015 Women in Music City Award from the Nashville Business Journal. They are Lynn Morrow, partner-in-charge of the Music Row Office of Adams and Reese, and Brittany Schaffer, an attorney with Loeb & Loeb. The award recognizes women making a creative and economic impact on the music industry.

Two Nashville construction attorneys have joined Dickinson Wright as members. Rob Dodson, a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, will focus on commercial, insurance and products liability litigation. Slade Sevier, a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, will handle litigation and transactional work related to construction, real estate, development and general business matters. He is also a registered patent attorney and a licensed professional engineer. Both previously served as special counsel at Adams and Reese.

Jason Salomon, an estate planning lawyer with the Memphis firm of Harkavy Shainberg Kaplan & Dunstan, has been elected chair of the Memphis Bar Association’s Probate & Estate Planning Section. Salomon received his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law.

First Judicial District Circuit Judge Thomas Seeley Jr., who retired in June after 30 years on the bench, was honored at a reception in Unicoi. During the event, Seeley
received proclamations from local and state dignitaries and a plaque from the city.

Christopher Steger has been appointed U.S. magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He was sworn in recently at a private ceremony in Chattanooga.

The Nashville School of Law recently received a 2015 State Impact Award from Habitat for Humanity for its community partnership with the group. A legal clinic at the school helps Habitat families with legal documents and problems. The school’s dean William Koch and professor John Lewis, who coordinates the clinic, accepted the award.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Service recently announced the recipients of its 2015 Access to Justice Awards. TBA members among them are David Yoder and Robert Downs with Legal Aid of East Tennessee in Knoxville. Yoder will receive the Janice M. Holder Award for his contributions to increasing access to justice in Tennessee, especially in the areas of domestic violence advocacy and medical legal partnerships. Downs will receive the New Advocate of the Year Award for his creative and effective advocacy efforts on behalf of domestic violence victims in the Knoxville area.

The Administrative Office of the Courts recently named new members to various judicial boards and commissions. TBA members among them are: William Wray, who was appointed to serve the remainder of James Lauderback’s term on the Tennessee Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission; Judges Timothy Irwin and Alan Glenn, who were reappointed to an additional term on the Judicial Ethics Committee; and Judge Norma McGee Ogle (who replaced Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins) and Edward Phillips (who replaced David Wedekind) on the Board of Judicial Conduct.

Memphis lawyer Carmalita "CC" Carletos-Drayton has joined Baker Donelson's Real Estate and Finance Group as a shareholder. She will focus on economic development and environmental law with an emphasis on water quality, sewer systems and storm water infrastructure. Prior to joining the firm, Drayton was senior assistant city attorney for the city of Memphis.

The Nashville Bar Foundation has announced the members of its 2015-2016 Leadership Forum class. TBA members among them are Tracy Alcock, Tennessee Attorney General’s Office; Raquel Bellamy, Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings; Jonathan Carlton, Harrington Law Office; Caldwell Collins, Baker Donelson; Allison Cotton, Ford & Harrison; Ashonti Davis, Butler Snow; Mark Donnell, Waypoint Law; Elizabeth Foy, District Attorney General’s Office; J. Wallace Irvin, Lewis Thomason; Cornell Kennedy, Sherrard & Roe; Adrienne Laraby, Vanderbilt Office of General Counsel; Tera Rica Murdock, Waller; Peter Robison, Cornelius & Collins; Joshua Rosenblatt, Frost Brown Todd; Audrey Dorrough-Seamon, Legal Aid Society; Patrick Warfield, Burr & Forman; Susan Neal Williams, Bone McAllester Norton; and Sean Wlodarczyk, Anderson & Reynolds.

The Tennessee Bar Association this month welcomes three new staff members. Brenda Gadd is the TBA’s new public policy coordinator. She will work closely with the Government Affairs Committee to help represent the TBA and its members before the General Assembly and other policy making bodies. Prior to joining the TBA, the recent Nashville School of Law grad served in a variety of consulting and management roles for campaigns in Tennessee, including the Keep Tennessee Courts Fair Coordinated Campaign. She also has served as legislative liaison for a state agency and as chief of staff for a Tennessee senator.

Also new to the TBA is Kate Prince, who will serve as TBA Leadership Law Coordinator, as well as managing the TBA’s Mentoring Program and working with a new committee studying advancements in the delivery of legal services. Prince holds a degree in electronic journalism and criminal justice from Middle Tennessee State University and most recently served as logistics and volunteer coordinator for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Nashville.

Amelia Ferrell, in the new position of communications coordiantor, will bring news and information to TBA members through TBA Today and the Tennessee Bar Journal, as well as expanding the TBA’s activity on social media platforms. She will also coordinate media relations for the association, working with media outlets across the state. Prior to coming to the TBA, Ferrell was a reporter, producer and digital journalist for WOWK 13News in Charleston, West Virginia. She had also served as an adjunct faculty member at Marshall University, where she earned her masters degree in Communications Studies.
 

Compiled by Linda Murphy and Stacey Shrader Joslin. Tennessee Bar Association members may send information about job changes, awards and work-related news. Send it to SUCCESS! c/o The Journal at 221 Fourth Ave. N., Suite 400, Nashville, TN 37219-2198, or email to lmurphy@tnbar.org.

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