This month’s Attorney Interview features Nashville lawyer Elta Breen. She is what some may call a “unicorn,” because she is a Nashville native. She went away to college, Cornell University, and law school, Boston College Law School, but after that, she was ready to return home to practice law in the healthcare space. Breen began her legal career at TennCare, where she was an administrative judge. She is now at the Tennessee Department of Health.
 

Q. What is your favorite thing to do in Nashville when you are not working?
A: Zanies Comedy Club

Q: Why is the Department of Health the best place to work?
A: It is meaningful, interesting work with just enough structure.

Q: If you had not gone to law school, what career would you have chosen?
A: Civil engineer!

Q: What is your favorite part about being a lawyer?
A: I win every argument with my spouse.

Q: Any words of wisdom for new lawyers?
A: Keep networking, even after you land your first job or when you aren’t specifically job searching.

Make plans now to join young lawyers from across the south for a magical experience that only Disney World can provide. Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club will serve as host hotel for the conference, which will include compelling continuing education programs, collaboration, networking opportunities and some fun after several COVID-challenged years. Registration for the summit will end on Aug. 22, so don’t miss this opportunity. For hotel accommodations, there are only Friday night rooms left at the Yacht & Beach Club, but we have rooms at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge for Saturday night if you still need a room and don't mind moving hotels. Both properties are honoring our group rate of $249 per night plus tax until these rooms are filled. If you want to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for the entire time, we have 10 rooms available for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the higher rate of $315.60 plus tax per night. Rooms must be booked by Aug. 24.

We also are looking for sponsors to underwrite this event. Partnering with TBA YLD will provide a unique opportunity for your firm or legal service to showcase its areas of expertise, build its reputation in the region and highlight opportunities for collaboration and referral work. Sponsorship opportunities range from $250 to $1,000! Contact TBA Sponsorship Coordinator Stacey Shrader Joslin for more information about these opportunities.

Finally, please share your Mickey pictures! We want to see your Disney baby pictures (or from any timeframe of life)! We will feature pictures in upcoming issues of this newsletter. Email pictures to yldpub@tnbar.org.

The TBA Estate Planning Section is back with its popular Tee-Off CLE at Nashville’s Topgolf! The Aug. 31 program will feature three hours of programming, breakfast, lunch and two hours of golf. Speakers include Newman Bankston with Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis in Knoxville; Lebanon attorney James Barry Jr.; Jennifer Exum with Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel in Chattanooga; and Aaron Flinn with Waller Lansden in Nashville; and Ashley Stearns with Trail, Coleman & Stearns in Murfreesboro. Make plans now to join colleagues for this unique program. Thanks to sponsors Pendleton Square Trust Company and American Cancer Society for their support.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today held the first of two days of formal interviews for the six applicants for Tennessee’s new attorney general and reporter. Each applicant introduced himself, followed by extensive questioning from each of the justices, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. A video of the proceedings is now available online. “The applicants were all remarkable, experienced, and gracious in their answers during a robust interview process,” Chief Justice Roger A. Page said. The court will continue its process tomorrow.

At the American Bar Association annual meeting this past week in Chicago, three Tennessee lawyers were recognized. Former TBA president Danny Van Horn took office as chair of the ABA’s Litigation Section and was celebrated at a reception hosted by his firm. He will serve during the 2022-2023 bar year, which marks the section’s 50th anniversary year. Van Horn is a trial attorney in the Memphis office of Butler Snow. Then at a reception hosted by the TBA, Knoxville lawyer Heidi Barcus and Nashville lawyer Sam H. Poteet Jr. were honored for their ABA service. Barcus, a special counsel at Lewis Thomason, is the immediate past chair of the ABA Law Practice Management Section and an ABA Fellow. Poteet, a principal at Manier & Herod, is a past chair of the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section and past chair of the ABA Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Fidelity & Surety Law Committee. See more photos from the meeting.

A drop in demand for legal services, combined with rising pay and overhead costs, could spell trouble for U.S. law firms this year, Reuters reports. The Thomson Reuters Law Firm Financial Index, a quarterly composite score of demand, expenses, rates, productivity and other economic indicators at large and midsize law firms, was released today. It showed the index fell to its lowest point this past quarter since its 2006 founding. A year ago, the index was at an all-time high. So, what changed? Reuters points to a decrease in demand for law firm services combined with a 12% rise in direct expenses.

A new lawsuit has been filed on behalf of six Davidson County children, collectively known as the “Baby Doe Plaintiffs,” all of whom were born dependent on opioids as a result of in utero exposure. The claim, which was filed under the Tennessee Drug Dealer Liability Act (DDLA), seeks compensation for the harm inflicted on the children by the alleged actions of numerous drug producers, distributors, pharmacy chain and pill mill defendants. Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings is handling the case. Read more in a release or read the filing.

The U.S. Justice Department declined to pursue a civil rights investigation of a federal agent allegedly captured on video placing his boot on the neck of a Latino worker at a Grainger County slaughterhouse, Tennessee Lookout reports. The department’s refusal to probe the actions of agent John Witsell in the April 2018 raid on Southeastern Provision was disclosed in a recent filing in U.S. district court. The motion states that the department’s Civil Rights Division was notified of the alleged excessive force but, within days, decided not to conduct a formal inquiry. The motion also reveals that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Professional Responsibility declined to take disciplinary action against Witsell. Latino workers at the slaughterhouse have filed a civil rights conspiracy suit, arguing they were targeted solely because of their race or ethnicity. They claim they were handcuffed, detained without any proof of wrongdoing, mocked and brutalized. As part of their suit, they are seeking access to the video in question.

The Tennessee Bar Foundation has announced the process for applying for its grant awards for 2023. The grant application and additional instructions will be available on Aug. 17 on the foundation’s website. Though applicants will fill out the form electronically, only a hard copy of the completed application should be submitted. Applications must be postmarked no later than midnight on Sept. 14. New and current recipients of IOLTA grants are invited to participate. Read more in the attached announcement.

An item in Friday's issue of TBA Today was not clear about the groups holding a networking reception this Thursday in Nashville. The event at Pins Mechanical Company is being hosted by the Lawyers' Association for Women (LAW) - Marion Griffin Chapter and the Tennessee Stonewall Bar Association. The event will take place from from 5:30 to 7 p.m. CDT. Attendees will gather for games and libations and pizza will be provided. Discounted parking is available on the lower levels of the Broadway Whole Foods garage. Bring your ticket to the event for validation. PINS Mechanical is located at 1102 Grundy St., Nashville, 37203. RSVP here