Here is additional information on speakers who will be taking part in programming during the 2021 TBA Annual Convention.

 

Bench Bar Program: Thursday, June 17

 

Elizabeth Kelley
Is a criminal defense lawyer with a nationwide practice focused on representing people with mental disabilities. Kelley co-chairs the Criminal Justice Advisory Panel of The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability and is the editor of Representing People with Mental Disabilities: A Practical Guide for Criminal Defense Lawyers; and Representing People with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Practical Guide for Criminal Defense Lawyers. She has served three terms on the board of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, chaired its Mental Health as well as Membership Committees and is a Life Member. Kelley is active in the ABA, serving on the Council of the Criminal Justice Section, the Editorial Board of Criminal Justice Magazine, the Commission on Disability Rights and the ABA President’s Working Group on Building Trust in the American Justice System.  

Haley Moss
Made international headlines for becoming as the first documented openly autistic attorney admitted to The Florida Bar, where she was subsequently appointed to the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors, the Florida Bar Journal Editorial Board and the Florida Bar Standing Committee on Diversity & Inclusion. Her work on neurodiversity, autism and disability has also been published in national media outlets. Moss is the author of Great Minds Think Differently: Neurodiversity for Lawyers, to be released in Summer 2021 and is working on her next book to help young autistic adults with their transition to adulthood. She holds degrees from the University of Florida and the Miami School of Law.

John D. Bowers
Serves as Patterson Intellectual Property Law’s Chief Operating Officer. Within the firm, he is responsible for leading its vendor relationships as well as developing and implementing Patterson’s business strategy. In addition, Bowers oversees the day-to-day functioning of the Firm’s finance, technology, business development and marketing, facilities, attorney and staff recruitment, human resources and benefits operations. Previously, Bowers led Fox Rothschild LLP’s business development team serving more than 750 attorneys.  He spent 16 years of his professional career developing business for law firms in Philadelphia, where he also served at firms Duane Morris LLP, Saul Ewing LLP and Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association and is an active member of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of Legal Administrators, currently serving on the Education Committee and having served as Treasurer from 2017 to 2021.  

John Coke
Is an Assistant General Counsel at the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). He provides counsel on issues regarding civil law, including drafting and reviewing contracts and leases on behalf of the AOC. Coke is the Reporter for the T.P.I. - Civil Committee, which drafts, revises, and publishes the civil Tennessee Pattern Jury Instructions. He is also the Judicial Program ADA Coordinator, where he oversees the administration of the Judicial Branch ADA Policy. When the General Assembly is in session, he monitors legislation for any potential fiscal impact on the court system in Tennessee. Prior to joining the AOC, Coke clerked for Judge Joseph P. Binkley, 5th Circuit Court of the 20th Judicial District in Nashville. He holds degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Cumberland School of Law.

M. Suzanne Hartness
Joined Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PLLC (GSRM Law) in 2016 following 25 years in the professional services and document services industries at Xerox Corporation and Ricoh USA. As Chief Operating Officer for GSRM Law, she is responsible for the business strategy and operational oversight at the firm. She manages all support functions including finance, human resource management, information technology, business development and marketing, as well as legal staff and attorney recruitment. As a member of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of Legal Administrators (MTALA), she currently serves on the Education committee having served as Past President in 2020 and President/Vice President in 2018-2019. In addition to her roles with MTALA, Hartness currently serves on the development committee for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands’ Annual “Breakfast of Champions” fundraising event. She also serves as an Ambassador in the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program.

Tim Vogus
Is currently the Brownlee O. Currey, Jr. Professor of Management and Faculty Director of the Leadership Development Program at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, and Deputy Director of Business Innovations at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University. Vogus’ research specifies how organizations can become more compassionate, mindful and inclusive such that they are more highly reliable in creating and sustaining meaningful employment for autistic people — and of neurodiversity more broadly —and delivering high quality, safe health care. He also examines how technologies (especially virtual environments and AI) can improve organizational processes, practices, and cultures to make them more inclusive. Vogus has published over 70 scholarly articles and book chapters on these topics.

 

Bench Bar Luncheon: Thursday, June 17 (NO CLE)

 

Brandon O. Gibson
Is the chief operating officer for the State of Tennessee serving in Gov. Bill Lee's office. She was named to the post in May 2020. Gibson previously served as senior advisor to Gov. Lee, working primarily on rural and criminal justice initiatives. Prior to joining Gov. Lee’s administration, Gibson served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals for over four years. She previously served as the chair of the Board of Judicial Conduct and co-chaired the Tennessee Bar Association’s Public Service Academy and Leadership Law program. Prior to her service on the court, Gibson practiced law in West Tennessee. A native of Dyersburg, Gibson earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in agribusiness from Mississippi State University and her law degree from Southern Methodist University. Gibson also serves on the board of directors of the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation and on the advisory council of Leadership Tennessee.

Lang Wiseman
Is deputy and chief counsel to Gov. Bill Lee. Wiseman assists the governor in his day-to-day duties and acts as a liaison between the governor’s office, the legislature and the various departments and agencies in state government, including the judiciary, the attorney general and the district attorneys general. Wiseman also coordinates the legal affairs of the executive branch, reviews judicial appointments and clemency requests, and advises the governor on legal, political and legislative matters. Prior to his appointment, Wiseman was a founding partner at the Memphis law firm Wiseman Bray. He previously worked at Baker Donelson Bearman & Caldwell, as counsel for the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and as a law clerk to the late Judge Harry Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.

 

Better Right Now Program: Thursday, June 17

 

A.C. Wharton
Is an American educator, politician, and attorney who was the first African American to serve as Mayor of Shelby County. An attorney by profession, Wharton knows the importance of consensus building to solve intractable problems in both private and public sectors. He has served in numerous leadership roles, including Director of Memphis Area Legal Services; Chief Public Defender, Shelby County; Mayor of Memphis; was the longest serving Board Member of Tennessee Higher Education Commission; and the Chairman of the Board, Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare. Overall, his broad experiences, from the practice of law to municipal management, involvement in higher education, healthcare and community development make him well-equipped to help both industry and government, create opportunities and solve deeply rooted problems. Wharton holds degrees from Tennessee State University and the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Carmen Foster
Is an Assistant Professor of Practice and the Online Field Coordinator for Middle and West Tennessee at the University of Tennessee and the co-owner of Pieces Training and Consulting, LLC. She is the founder and faculty advisor of the Coalition of Black Social Workers, which connects Black social work students with professional social workers of color for the purposes of engaging, connecting, and empowering the next generation of social workers; and is founder and Chair of the TN Statewide Field Consortium, which includes representation from almost all of the colleges and universities in the state of Tennessee who offer either a BSW or MSW program. She received her BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her MSW at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and is currently pursuing her DSW at the University of Alabama. She regularly presents at national conferences and leads trainings and workshops on SEL, ACES/trauma, vicarious trauma for social workers and teachers, and racial inequity and cross-cultural communication.

Curtis Davis
Holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Social Work from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. in Social Work from Tulane University. Along with experience and specialization in the forensic social work field, he utilizes mixed method approaches to understand, develop, and influence approaches that foster an effective and equitable incarceration and reintegration experience for adjudicated youth and adults. More specifically, his work examines how racism-based trauma is conceptualized, assessed, and treated through interventions. Davis is also passionate about the holistic and meaningful training of burgeoning and seasoned social work practitioners.

David Jones
Is an Assistant District Attorney with the Office of the District Attorney General, Nashville – Davidson County. Prior to this position, Jones was a Litigation Attorney with The State of Tennessee; Health Care, Finance, and Administration where he litigated appeal hearings on behalf of the state in matters concerning TennCare Medicaid benefits; also drafting pleadings, notices, and other legal documents on behalf of the state. Additionally, he served as a legal assistant for the Tennessee General Assembly where he researched and tracked legislation and other concerns to help address constituent issues, built relationships with outside organizations, analyzed legislation regarding the Health and Human Resources Committee and the Government Operations Committee of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Jones holds degrees from the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Jamila Walker
Is a private practice therapist and adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee. She specializes in helping women to identify systems, techniques and approaches to heal and live their best life guided by the motto “real people, helping real people, with real problems.” Walker has a passion for working within the community with adolescents, women, couples and families; and has diverse individual counseling and group facilitation experience, including, work with elderly victims of crime, pregnant and parenting teens, at-risk adolescent girls and K-4th grade boys with behavior problems. She graduated from Tennessee State University with degrees in Psychology and Africana Studies, and later obtained a Master of Science degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee.

Joe Kwon
Is an attorney in Nashville who focuses on family, probate, and bankruptcy law. Kwon’s forte includes legal advocacy for families and individuals, particularly minority community members, operating as an approachable and engaging go-to legal counsel for the underdogs in Middle Tennessee. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with his B.A. degree in Classical Civilizations and the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he was president of the Asian Law Students Association graduating with a concentration in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. 

Joycelyn Stevenson
Is responsible for managing the Tennessee Bar Association and enabling the TBA Board of Governors, House of Delegates, committees and sections to develop and implement policy. Prior to joining the TBA, Stevenson spent 12 years at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings before becoming a shareholder at the world’s largest labor and employment firm, Littler Mendelson PC. She is a graduate of Howard University and Vanderbilt University Law School and has served as president of the Nashville Bar Association, the Lawyers’ Association for Women in Nashville and the Council on Aging of Greater Nashville.

Lisa Cole
Is president and managing shareholder of Lewis Thomason and the managing partner of the firm’s Nashville office. As president of the firm, Cole serves as the firm’s General Counsel and risk manager handling all ethical and professional responsibility matters for the firm.  She is a Supreme Court Rule 31 Mediator, and practices in the areas of employment law, professional liability, workers’ compensation and general casualty defense litigation. Cole’s practice for over 25 years has concentrated in the area of complex civil trial litigation in state and federal courts. She has achieved successful results through defense jury verdicts, summary judgment, mediation, and arbitration in each of her practice areas. Her current clients are national, regional and local employers; regional and local health care facilities; and insurance companies. In addition, Cole routinely defends public entities in medical malpractice and civil rights matters.

Luther Wright Jr.
Began his career with a general practice firm in the litigation section after graduating from Vanderbilt University School of Law. He spent the first several years of his legal career practicing in the general litigation area before joining the Labor & Employment team. Wright has significant experience in the areas of labor and employment law, corporate business litigation and complex litigation, including class action and collective action lawsuits. He typically represents management in all forms of employment discrimination litigation, including litigation based on federal anti-discrimination statutes, state statutes and common law, violence in the workplace, Fair Labor Standards Act claims and independent contractor disputes. Wright also devotes a significant amount of his practice to day-to-day client advice and supervisor/employee training.

Mary Beard
Is the TBA Diversity Taskforce Chief Diversity Officer. Beard serves as Senior HR Counsel for HCA, where she advises the Chief Human Resources Officer and his executive team on legal matters, including but not limited to, labor and employment, contracts, and healthcare. A graduate of Vanderbilt School of Law, Beard has served her profession as a former president of the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association, former chair of the Tennessee Judicial Nominating Committee, former co-chair of the Tennessee Bar Associations’ Labor and Employment Executive Council and the Racial and Ethnic Diversity Committee. She is a Fellow of the Memphis Bar Association and Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Jobs for Tennessee Graduates and as President of the Napier-Looby Bar Association.

Psonya Hackett
Is the owner and lead counsel at The Hackett Law Firm in Memphis. She is experienced in many facets the law, particularly family law and employment discrimination. Hackett has represented individuals before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in both the United States District Courts, and the United States Court of Appeals. During the past year, she has litigated a successful Equal Pay action against the United States Navy and NAVOCEANO, and against Shelby County Schools for violation of the civil rights of special needs students in their care. Hackett routinely visited public schools and churches and moderated and served on panels geared toward those typically underrepresented in the legal community, such as How to Choose the Best Law School, The Double Minority, and More than the Traditional Practice of Law at the National Black Pre-Law Conference. One of her proudest accomplishments is serving as counsel for the nine Justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court from 2005 – 2012, where she provided legal counsel to and advised Supreme Court Justices on the application of the law to motions and appeals; made weekly oral and written presentations to panel of Justices and colleagues regarding motions and appeals.

Ruby Wharton
Is widely recognized for her many efforts in the legal system, in the church, and in the community to improve life for minorities and the young. After graduating from law school, Wharton was an advocate for indigent clients in housing matters when she worked for the Neighborhood Legal Services Program in Washington, D.C. She then came to serve as an assistant public defender in Memphis, Shelby County in the Juvenile and Criminal Courts. In 1977, Wharton joined the firm of Adams and Wharton as a partner, which later became Wharton & Wharton & Associates when her husband, A C Wharton Jr., joined the firm as her law partner. She has practiced extensively in the Circuit, Chancery and Probate Courts of Shelby County and in the Federal Court system, and now focuses her law practice in the areas of wills and estates, personal injury, medical malpractice, conservatorships and guardianships, and powers of attorney. She received her J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Shayla Purifoy
Was appointed the position of Judicial Commissioner by the Board of Shelby County Commissioners in 2016. As a Judicial Commissioner, she arraigns defendants, decides order of protection hearings, sets bonds in addition to making probable cause determinations for search warrants, forfeiture warrants, arrest warrants, and preliminary hearings. Purifoy previously worked at Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) and the Family Safety Center for almost 8 years assisting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking with civil legal issues. As an attorney and as a Judicial Commissioner she served on the Young Lawyers' Division of the Memphis Bar Association for multiple years, assisting with community service, CLE planning, social media and pro bono work. She has served as the treasurer, parliamentarian, recording secretary, and co-chaired the Social and Networking Committee for the Ben F. Jones Chapter (BFJ) of the National Bar Association and was recently elected the 2019 vice president/president elect of BFJ. She holds degrees from Rhodes College and the University of Memphis, School of Law.

Terrence Reed
Is a Senior Counsel at FedEx Express who litigates class action lawsuits throughout the country. Reed specializes in employment law and complex commercial litigation. He has tried cases in various state and federal courts including Nashville, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Rafael, Manhattan and Long Island. Prior to joining FedEx's legal team, Reed practiced law in Nashville at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP.  He has been practicing law for 15 years. Reed holds leadership positions in the International Association of Defense Counsel ("IADC"), the Memphis Bar Association and the Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inns of Court; and has held a leadership position in the Tennessee Bar Association and the Nashville Bar Association. This year, Reed co-authored an article for the IADC titled The Status of Employee Class Actions After Wal-Mart v. Dukes and Comcast v. Behrend.

Willie Santana
Is an Assistant Public Defender with the Tennessee Public Defenders Conference. Prior to this, Santana was a soldier and a banker before enrolling at the University of Tennessee College of Law. His intent was to become a transactional lawyer but learned very quickly that he enjoyed advocacy much more than transactional work. His interest in public service led him to the Knox County District Attorney’s office where he prosecuted white collar crime and elder abuse cases. The lack of time to deal with real and systemic issues facing the local justice system eventually led him to becoming a public defender. Santana finds it rewarding to help clients with the most important thing going on in their lives and to see justice being done.

 

Legislative Update: Friday, June 18

 

House Majority Leader: William Lamberth, R-Portland
Is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing District 44. He assumed office in 2012. His current term ends on November 7, 2022. Lamberth began serving as state House majority leader in 2018. Lamberth (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Tennessee House of Representatives and won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Rep. Michael Curcio, R-Dickson
Is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives and a fourth generation Dickson County native serving Dickson, Hickman, and Maury counties or District 69 in the Tennessee General Assembly. He assumed office on November 8, 2016. His current term ends on November 7, 2022. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville
Is a Republican, representing the 45th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives since 2019. He attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville where he obtained a B.S. degree in General Business, later obtaining his J.D. at the Nashville School of Law. As a lawyer, Garrett represents small to medium size businesses, entrepreneurs who need guidance on starting their businesses, and individuals who need assistance in probate and estate planning matters. He has served on the Board of Directors for Goodpasture Christian School, Volunteer State Community College Foundation, Goodlettsville Help Center, United Way of Sumner County and the Salvus Center in Gallatin.  

Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis
Was elected to the Tennessee state senate in fall of 2018 after serving as a state representative for five years. Akbari is a member of several senate committees; including the commerce and labor committee, the senate energy, agriculture and natural resources committee, the senate ethics committee and serves as second vice-chair of the senate education committee. She is the recipient of several honors and awards from the council of state governments and its affiliated southern leadership conference; the national council of state legislatures; the state legislative leaders foundation; NBCSL; NOBEL.; the national juvenile justice network; and governing magazine’s governing institute for outstanding appointed or elected women officials. Akbari continues to introduce legislation affecting education and educational policy, criminal justice reform, job growth incentives, and other areas that affect her constituents as well as Tennesseans from all walks of life.

Sen. Sara Kyle,  D-Memphis
Is a member of the Tennessee State Senate, representing District 30.  She assumed office on November 4, 2014. Her current term ends on November 11, 2024. Kyle ran for re-election to the Tennessee State Senate and won in the general election on November 3, 2020.  Kyle is a former director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. She was first nominated to the position by then State House Speaker James Naifeh in 1996. She was re-appointed to six-year terms in 2002 and 2008. Kyle was born in Upper East Tennessee in 1952. After graduating from Austin Peay State University, she taught elementary school in Clarksville and attended graduate courses at Middle Tennessee State University. She earned her J.D. and served as a public defender before her election to the Memphis City Court bench in 1991.

Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon
Is a Tennessee Senator in the 24th District. Senator Stevens was elected to the State Senate in 2012 and represents Obion, Weakley, Henry, Gibson, Carroll and Benton Counties in Northwest Tennessee. Sen. Stevens is the first Republican to ever represent Obion and Weakley counties in the State Senate. Sen. Stevens lives in Huntingdon, Tennessee.

Berkley Schwarz
Is the Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs for the Tennessee Bar Association. Prior to joining TBA, Schwarz practiced as a litigator in Jackson, Mississippi, then made her way to Washington, D.C., where she worked as a legislative assistant and later at the U.S. Department of Justice as attorney advisor in the Office of Legislative Affairs. She holds degrees from Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Brad Lampley
Serves as legislative counsel to businesses and trade associations with interests before the Tennessee General Assembly and Tennessee state government. He has particular experience advising clients in the energy, environmental, health care, insurance, legal services, public utilities and transportation industries; and he brings years of experience as a corporate litigator to the advice he provides to government relations clients. Lampley also has extensive experience advising national and multinational companies on economic development matters, negotiating state and local incentive packages for companies that wish to relocate their businesses to Tennessee. Lampley was appointed by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to serve on the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees, which is the governing body of the University of Tennessee and its five campuses across the state. He has also served on the board of directors of the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl for over 15 years, during which time the bowl has grown dramatically.