Nashville lawyer Bill Harbison became the Tennessee Bar Association's president June 19 when Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins administered the oath of office to him at the Lawyers Luncheon during the TBA's 134th annual convention in Memphis. Knoxville lawyer Jason Long is president-elect, Memphis lawyer Lucian Pera is vice president and Jackson lawyer Jonathan Steen is immediate past president.

Bivins also administered the oath of office to the new members of the TBA Board of Governors. Members who came off of the Board of Governors are David Clark, Tom Marshall, Creed McGinley, Jason Pannu, Chris Varner and Cynthia Wyrick.

The TBA’s new president is a member of Sherrard & Roe PLC, working primarily in the areas of corporate law and trusts and estates. He also handles litigation in those same practice categories.He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and received his bachelor’s degree with highest honors in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS

Also at the luncheon, these awards were presented:

• The TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows William M. Leech Public Service Award was given to Claudia Swafford Haltom by Memphis lawyer Charlotte Knight Griffin, for her work in founding the A Step Ahead Foundation.
• The Justice Joseph Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing was given to Nashville lawyers John P. Williams and Jennifer Lacey for their article, deemed the best published in 2014, “Stick to the Plan: The Vested Property Rights Act of 2014 Creates More Certainty for Developers.” Judges for this year’s competition were Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee, University of Memphis Law Dean Peter Letsou and Jonathan Steen.
• The Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award was given to Chancellor James F. Butler.
• The Liberty Bell Award was given to the Howell Edmunds Jackson American Inn of Court for its service to the Jackson-Madison County community in implementing the TBA’s Civics Enrichment for Kids program. The award was established more than 40 years ago by the American Bar Association to acknowledge outstanding community service. Under the leadership of Inn president Laura Williams and Vice President Kristy Rezabek, more than 16 members of the Inn, including many judges, made more than 50 presentations to elementary school classes in West Tennessee.
• Five President's Awards were given:
  • John L. Farringer IV,  for leading the Medical-Legal Partnership Working Group;
  • Shauna R. Billingsley, for leadership as chair of the Public Education Committee work on the Civic Enrichment Program; 
  • Mary Beth Maddox, for providing testimony regarding workers’ compensation legislation on behalf of the TBA; 
  • Jerry Martin, for providing testimony regarding  Construction Lien Law on behalf of the TBA; and 
  • Bridget S. Willhite, for providing testimony regarding indigent representation legislation on behalf of the TBA.

Bench/Bar

The annual Bench Bar Luncheon featured American Bar Association President William Hubbard, who warned that change is coming to the way legal services are delivered. He urged lawyers to be on the forefront of efforts to utilize technology and innovative approaches to respond to public demand for faster, cheaper and more accessible services.

Meetings, CLE, Events

The convention also included meetings of the House of Delegates, Board of Governors, Sections and Committees, Law School Alumni Breakfasts, a luncheon for “seasoned members of the bar,” and many hours of CLE, including San Diego attorney and career coach Janice Brown on emotional intelligence and Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee on American heroes that influenced a generation of lawyers.

Convention attendees celebrated the Tennessee Bar Journal, as it turns 50 this year, with a party that included a trivia game on facts from the last five decades, a photo booth where attendees could have their picture taken for a Journal cover, dancing, and a tribute from Jonathan Steen and Bill Haltom.

Also, the TBA?Leadership Law held its graduation, naming Regina Lambert as recipient of the Larry D. Wilks Leadership Award. The Diversity Leadership Institute graduated and participated in a service project.

Members of the TBA?Young Lawyers Division held its annual meeting, with Rachel Moses returning as president after serving last year when the elected president moved out of state, leaving the office open. Rachel Ralston Mancl took office as president-elect.