Memphis Area Legal Services’ (MALS) recently announced that retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Janice Holder will serve as chair of its 2015 Campaign for Equal Justice. MALS Executive Director/ CEO Harrison D. McIver III said Holder was selected to lead the group’s annual fundraising effort given her longtime commitment to access to justice issues and the prominent role she played in making those issues a priority for the court.

Retired Bradley County General Sessions Court Judge ANDREW FRANKLIN BENNETT JR. died Nov. 27 after a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis. He was 77. A native and longtime resident of Cleveland, Bennett served nine years in the U.S. Army before earning his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1973. After law school, he worked as an attorney in Knox and Bradley counties. Bennett was elected to the bench in 1981 and served in that capacity for 24 years, retiring in 2006.

In October, Nashville lawyer Andrée Sophia Blumstein was named solicitor general and will oversee appellate litigation in state and federal courts, review written opinions and advise the Tennessee attorney general.

Former legislator and TBA senior counselor RALPH WOODSON FARMER Jr. died Nov. 3 at the age of 81. Farmer earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee and then served in the Air National Guard in San Antonio, Texas. After his service, Farmer returned to Tennessee to practice law in Memphis with Nelson, Norvell, Wilson, McRae, Ivy and Farmer. He worked there for more than a decade. During that time, Farmer also was elected to the Tennessee legislature, first to the House of Representatives and then to the Senate.

The Tennessee Bar Association was recognized in October with three Luminary Awards from the National Association of Bar Executives. The Tennessee Bar Journal earned a Luminary Award for The Law Launch Project, which followed 15 law students through their last year of school.

FordHarrison’s co-managing partner Herb Gerson has been appointed to the executive committee of Ius Laboris. He also will chair the organization’s Americans Committee. Ius Laboris is the world’s largest, integrated alliance of human resources and pensions law firms. At FordHarrison, Gerson focuses his practice on domestic and international labor and employment law.

Sharon Lee is Next Chief Justice

The week after Justice Sharon G. Lee won a retention election for an eight-year term to the Tennessee Supreme Court in the Aug. 7 statewide election, she was elected by her colleagues on the court as chief justice. She has been a member of that court since 2008; she will be chief effective Sept. 1. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court, Lee served as a judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals from 2004-2008.

George T. “Buck” Lewis, receives the the Beacon of Justice Award on behalf  of his firm, Baker Donelson, from Jo-Ann Wallace, president and chief executive officer of the National Legal Aid &?Defender Association. Lewis, a past Tennessee Bar Association president, recently was appointed by the American Bar Association to its Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. Lewis has also served as chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission.

Lynn Pointer retired from the Tennessee Bar Association in June after nearly 15 years with the organization. She began in the continuing legal education department, then served most of her tenure as sections & committees coordinator. Before the TBA she was the office administrator for the Metro Public Defender's Office for 15 years.

“I've always worked with lawyers and judges during my 41-year career,” she says, “but am retiring from my most favorite job. I've loved the work and the people at TBA and will treasure the memories and friendships made, always.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court has named Ann Jarvis Pruitt, executive director of the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, as a new member of its Access to Justice Commission.

Phillip Miller’s recent book, Advanced Deposition Strategy and Practice, has been added to the curriculum for the American Association for Justice. Miller is trial consultant and civil litigator in Nashville.