Have you registered for the 2014 TBA Annual Convention?  You haven't...why not?  Click here to register today!

Schedule for the 2014 TBA Convention

Mark is admitted to practice in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, the Tennessee Court of Civil Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals–Fifth and Sixth Circuit. Mark graduated from Lambuth University with a Bachelor of Science degree and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1984.

Mark is certified as a criminal trial specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a former assistant district attorney for the 4th Judicial District of Louisiana and has been defending criminal cases for several years. He has been involved in a wide range of criminal cases including murder, narcotics offenses and Medicare and insurance fraud. He has represented doctors, lawyers, businessmen, law enforcement officials, and juveniles.

As the chairman of the Technology Section of the State of Tennessee Bar Association, Mark lectures on the uses of technology in the practice of law and the presentation of witnesses and exhibits at trial.

He was selected to become a life member of the United States 6th Circuit Judicial Conference at the invitation of United States District Judge James Todd.

By maintaining membership in several bar associations, the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, Mr. Donahoe and the firm stay prepared to regularly litigate in all courts in Tennessee.

Memberships

• Tennessee Bar Association (former Chairman, Technology Section)
• National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
• Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys

Have you registered for the 2014 TBA Annual Convention?  You haven't...why not?  Click here to register today!

Schedule for the 2014 TBA Convention

Each bar year the Executive Council is tasked with developing a CLE on behalf of TBA Tort & Insurance Law Section, sending out news to its section members, and responding to legislation.

Do you have an idea for a topic or speaker that you would like to see at our 2014-2015 CLE?  Do you have news that you think would be beneficial to section members or would be interested in contributing articles during the upcoming bar year?  Do you have concerns about legislation that may need to be reviewed during the upcoming bar year?  If so, send an email to cgibson@tnbar.org either now or anytime during the bar year and we will be happy to review your suggestions.  

It is important that our section members feel that they can contact us with concerns or suggestions.   

We look forward to hearing from you!

We would like to extend a special thanks to the TBA Tort & Insurance Law Section Executive Council for their dedication and hard work during the 2013-2014 Bar Year. 

2013-2014 Executive Council

Chair
Stewart Stallings
Farmers Insurance Exchange and Affiliates
Brentwood, TN


Incoming Chair
Julie Peak
Liberty Mutual Group Inc.
Brentwood, TN


Immediate Past Chair
Jim Wright
Butler, Vines & Babb
Knoxville, TN


West TN Delegate
Richard Charlton
Winchester Law Firm
Memphis, TN

Middle TN Delegate
Kreis White
White & Rhodes, PC
Brentwood, TN

Middle TN Delegate
Hank Fincher
Henry D. Fincher, Attorney at Law
Cookeville, TN

East TN Delegate
Joe DeGaetano
DeGaetano Law Firm
Chattanooga, TN


East TN Delegate
Jamie Ballinger-Holden
London & Amburn
Knoxville, TN


East TN Delegate
Parke Morris
Parke Morris & Associates
Chattanooga, TN

Julie Bhattacharya Peak is the Resident Attorney of Tennessee’s Field Legal offices in Brentwood, Tennessee.  Ms. Peak is a 1997 graduate of Rhodes College and 2000 graduate of The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law, where she was selected Managing Editor of The University of Memphis Law Review. Following law school, Ms. Peak served as the judicial law clerk to the Honorable William C. Koch at the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  Prior to joining Liberty Mutual, Ms. Peak was an equity partner of Ortale, Kelley, Herbert & Crawford where she practiced in the areas of complex insurance defense and coverage litigation including, but not limited to, construction and premises defect, products liability, medical and professional liability, trucking and automobile litigation, and employment discrimination. Throughout her tenure in private practice and now in an in-house capacity, Ms. Peak excels at strategic litigation to aggressively press matters to resolution, whether through courtroom litigation or boardroom negotiations. Ms. Peak has successfully defended high exposure commercial and personal liability claims from inception through jury trials and appeal throughout the State of Tennessee.

Ms. Peak is a valued member of her legal community, receiving an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubble continuously since 2010. Ms. Peak was peer-nominated and selected as a Rising Star in 2010, 2011, and 2012 by SuperLawyers in the field of Insurance Defense and Coverage.  In 2012, Ms. Peak was recognized as Best of Nashville Attorneys by the Editors of the Nashville Scene and was elected a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation in the same year by her peers.  For her leadership, she was selected to be an inaugural member of the Tennessee Leadership Law program in 2004 and has continually served the legal community and the community at large.  She is currently a member of the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Association where she served on the Bench and Bar Committee and serves as the Membership Coordinator for the Tennessee Lawyer’s Association for Women.  After joining Liberty Mutual, Ms. Peak founded and now chairs the Staff Counsel Subcommittee within the Tort and Insurance Practice Group, of which she is Vice Chair, of the Tennessee Bar Association.  She also has presented to the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators, of which she is a member, and other industry specific forums.  To contribute to her community, Ms. Peak has served on the Board of the Tennessee Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Bengali Association of Greater Nashville and continues to volunteer with these and other local organizations.

Ms. Peak is fluent in Bengali and has advanced proficiency in Hindi.

PracticeAreas

Tort and Insurance Practices

Trucking and Automobile Liability

Construction and Premises Defect

Professional Liability

Employment Discrimination

Education

Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

The University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

Juris Doctorate 2000

Rhodes College, 1997

Memphis, Tennessee

B.A. in International Studies

BarAdmissions

Tennessee Supreme Court, 2000

U.S. District Courts for the Western, Middle, and

Eastern Districts of Tennessee, 2000

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, 2004

Email: Julie.Peak@LibertyMutual.com

Mrs. Akin is currently the Assistant General Counsel for Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., an International Labor and Employment law firm with offices in both Memphis and Nashville.  Prior to working at Ogletree, Mrs. Akin was an in house litigation attorney at a global Fortune 100 Company where she focused primarily on employment law.  Mrs. Akin is also a former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General where she focused on civil rights defense. 

Mrs. Akin has extensive litigation experience in federal and state courts throughout the United States.  She is a frequent speaker on litigation strategies, voire dire and best practices for corporate counsel. She has conducted training on corporate management and the law, labor relations issues, sexual harassment and other workplace related issues. 

Mrs. Akin received an AV peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell and was the Distinguished Service Award recipient from the Tennessee Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division in 2008.  Mrs. Akin was selected into the Tennessee Leadership Law class in 2008 and she is the incoming chair of the Executive Counsel for the Litigation section of the Tennessee Bar Association. 

Have you registered for the 2014 TBA Annual Convention?  You haven't...why not?  Click here to register today!

Schedule for the 2014 TBA Convention