34 minute read
Capitol Notes
A Journey with COVID-19
I am writing this to you on April 26, 2020, which marks day 45 of quarantine for which I have stayed at home and social distanced. As you read this, I hope most—if not all—of us are back in our offices practicing law in a somewhat normal way. June 1 will be the 80th day since I became ill with COVID-19. Who is counting? Every medical professional studying the virus and every person who has and will get the virus.
I had just arrived home on March 10 from traveling to Portland, Seattle, Austin, home briefly, Orlando, Washington DC, and Orlando again, and I was tired. Facing the demands of preparing for a high profile, two-week trial in federal court, I knew it would be a crazy day—and it was. As it progressed, I just didn’t feel right. A bit chilled. Normally, I would chalk it up to fatigue and stress, but the news (and my mom) were talking about COVID-19.
After my plane landed on March 10, I called my mother as I drove home. She was worried because I had been traveling, and in areas already in the news as virus hotspots. I assured her I was fine, and no one was acting afraid or worried in those cities. “If you feel ill at all, you must go to the doctor and get tested,” the retired nurse said. My response? “Maybe.”
When I got home late on the night of the March 11, I took my temperature and it was 100.5. I told my mom, of course, and my husband. I made a few calls to coworkers, ate dinner, and went to bed.
The next day, I called the Vanderbilt walk-in clinic near me, but they asked that I call Vanderbilt’s COVID-19 hotline for screening. The hotline nurse returned my call within an hour and encouraged me to make an appointment with the walk-in clinic that day to be tested. The test itself took less than a minute, but the clinic was overwhelmed with people wanting to be tested, other ill people, and regular preventive medicine appointments. Despite that, every staff member was kind, professional, and using PPE.
On March 13, I didn’t feel too bad as I worked from home. Busy preparing for trial, I took a break for exercise. Exercise always makes me feel better sooner. I ran five and a half miles— my normal—but I was struggling. The run felt harder than usual, but I was still recovering from an ankle injury. I did not attribute the difficulty exercising to COVID-19 until I saw more media reports.
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Everyone wants their test results back quickly, no matter what the test. A medical test for a novel Coronavirus? You really want the results. Sunday morning the phone rang and I was told, “You are positive.” My husband was upstairs and not able to hear the conversation, but he knew I was on the phone for a while so the results could not be good. It only takes a couple of seconds to say, “Negative, have a good day.”
My husband moved to another bedroom, I read about the virus, and we talked at length about how our firm would respond to my diagnosis. Of course, the office would be deep cleaned and workat-home protocols which were already being tested would be implemented. I personally communicated with everyone I had been in significant contact with the day I began to feel ill, and some before that date. After much consideration about my personal privacy—and waffling by me— my husband and I decided that everyone in the law firm should know it was me who had tested positive. Knowledge is power. The outpouring of support was amazing and humbling. Bradley is a wonderful family.
Because I was still in the throes of trial preparation, I also told the opposing lawyer (a longtime friend) of my test results. Trial preparation continued and the calls from the Department of Health began and continued for a week. Since my fever was short lived and my other symptoms resolved quickly, I was released from quarantine well before my husband was released. Fortunately, he did not get the virus, nor did anyone in my family. None of my coworkers with whom I was in contact with tested positive for the virus.
While quarantined, the various COVID-19 orders from the courts began to be issued. Trials were delayed through the end of March, but my trial was in April. To get an extension, Judge Crenshaw’s order said you need to file a motion with enough information to allow him to make an informed decision. Was I going to have to file a motion stating I was COVID-19 positive for all the world to read? The names of lawyers in oth
er cities who were testing positive were making the national legal press—I did not want that. Fortunately, a call with the assigned district judge resulted in a continuance without a discussion of my health. However, as of today—and despite being recovered and healthy—I am banned from the courthouses absent approval of a judge. I hope that will have changed by the time you read this. When I was “recovered” but realized this situation would not be better in just a few weeks, I started thinking about ways to help. I went grocery shopping for the elderly—all while maintaining CDC guidelines—and learned about the need for convalescent plasma. I signed up and donated. I never dreamed I would be the first COVID-19 donor at the Nashville Red Cross. The desire to promote the donation and the media coverage caught me by surprise. I hope my plasma and platelets helped others who are ill.
While at first I was hesitant for everyone to know I had tested positive; however, I am now doing my best to embrace it and help ease some of the fears the media and politicians exploit. Just knowing someone who has had the virus and recovered has helped many people I have talked with. Again, we all know knowledge is power. Stay safe and I wish for everyone with COVID-19 a quick and full recovery. This too shall pass. n
LELA HOLLABAUGH is Managing Partner at Bradley’s Nashville office. She is a past president of the NBA and currently serves as the 2020 Annual Campaign Chair for the Legal Aid Society of Middle TN and the Cumberlands. Her practice is complex civil litigation for large corporations with a focus on pharmaceutical, eminent domain, and asbestos litigation.
LEGISLATIVE COLUMN Capitol Notes | Peggy Sue, the Beagle Hound
Love me. Love my dog.
Hard Pivot for the 2020 Session
The 111th General Assembly made a hard pivot on Monday, March 16. They deferred all their regularly scheduled business, put the required package of appropriation bills on their calendars, passed them in four days, and recessed until June 1. Now that COVID-19 is here to stay, the leadership of each house is pondering how to conduct a legislative session. Legislation tends to be a high contact sport. Handshakes, hugs, huddles, and a host of other close conversations make it all work. While one may still wink or nod, social distancing does not lend well to a quiet chat. To mask or not to mask becomes an important question. Most dogs believe our humans should mask up. This is particularly true for one who may be infected and contagious, but still showing no symptoms, and that could be anyone with two legs.
The work now turns towards some retooling for the state’s 2019-20 and 2020-21 budgets. With the reporting of March revenues, the 2019-20 budget looks to have a $500 million hole to fill. For such problems, rainy day funds were made. The 2020-21 budget will be harder to patch. Uncertainty always barks in harmony with economic forecasting, but this year’s uncertainty factor is off the puppy farm. With the state revenue’s twin pillars of sales and business taxes both largely supported by consumption, a one-month forecast is now long term. We do know that tourism is crucial for the state’s budget, and those numbers are going to be pretty skinny until a vaccine is available to help folks get comfortable with travelling again. Adjournment is expected by mid-June.
August Election(s)
August 6 has two elections. The first is the general election for some state and local offices. Davidson County candidates and the positions sought are: Pat Moskal for Chancery Court, Part 1; Jennifer Smith, Criminal Court, Division 4; Erica Gilmore, Trustee; and Vivian Wilhoite, Assessor of Property. Each won her March primary election and has no formal opposition in the August election.
The second election is the primary election for state and federal elected offices. For the state primary election, the entire Davidson County legislative delegation is seeking reelection. Three state house members face token primary opposition: Mike Stewart in District 52, Vince Dixie in District 54, and Darren Jernigan in District 60. In State Senate District 20, two Democrats are vying for the opportunity to face two-term incumbent Steve Dickerson in November: Kimi Abernathy and Heidi Campbell.
At the federal level, 15-term incumbent 5th District Congressman Jim Cooper has two opponents in the August primary. They are relatively political unknowns—Keeda Haynes and Joshua Rawlings. Three-term incumbent Senator Lamar Alexander has decided to retire and not seek reelection in 2020. Both parties have several candidates seeking their nomination in the August primary. The leading contenders are Bill Hagerty and Manny Sethi for the Republicans and James Mackler for the Democrats.
Voting
The General Assembly governs the voting process in Tennessee. While some states have decided to permit any voter to vote by mail in the 2020 election cycle, Tennessee has not. Tennessee has absentee voting by mail and early voting in addition to election day voting. Absentee voting requires a reason such as illness or being outside of the county for the early voting period and election day. Election officials have stated that fear of contracting the virus is not a valid legal reason to vote absentee by mail. Anyone over age 60, however, may vote absentee. The period to request an absentee ballot began on May 8 and runs through July 30—the sooner the better.
Checklist for June & July
1. The deadline to register to vote for the August 6 election is July 7. Register electronically or update your registration at GoVoteTN.com. 2. The early voting period for the August 6 election runs from July 7 to August 1. 3. Thank the folks you see working in your grocery store for their good work in stocking the shelves and checking out your purchases, especially the dog treats.
Calendar Notes
State and NBA staffers will be off on Friday, July 3 for the Independence Day holiday. n
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150 Years of Amendment 15: The Continual Struggle for African American Voting
It is oddly fitting that in this uniquely tumultuous election year the US commemorates the 15th anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment to its Constitution. The decade before 1870 saw Civil War, the “emancipation” of enslaved African Americans, and the early phases of a volatile and doomed Reconstruction.
African Americans were fully invested in every aspect of struggle. Approximately 180,000 African Americans served and fought for the Union during the War, which constituted about 20% of the Union Army. In the years following Emancipation and Reconstruction, newly freed African Americans moved swiftly to build businesses, schools, churches, and newspapers. However, their allies and adversaries alike realized that full enfranchisement of American citizenship was impossible without a right to vote.
Even in the Party of Lincoln, Republicans were divided on the question of full voting rights for African Americans. 1 Tennessee moved quickly on the issue. In response to organized demonstrations at the Capitol, the State of Tennessee granted full enfranchisement to African American men in 1867. Fueled by African American turnout at the polls, numerous African
American Tennesseans were elected to office. Other states across the South saw similar exercises of political strength by the newly enfranchised African American vote. In the years following passage of the 15th Amendment, black political activism was met by violent, oppressive reactionary resistance in numerous states, ranging from enactment of poll taxes to lynching and mass murders of black leaders. The muddled response of all three branches of the federal government to these crises paved the way for a century of Jim Crow laws.
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 with an eye towards codifying the citizenship and equal protection rights of the Reconstruction Amendments. The Enforcement Act of 1870 (also known as the First Ku Klux Klan Act) empowered the executive branch to enforce the 15th Amendment. The Civil Rights Act was upheld in a decision within the 6th Circuit, United States v. Rhodes, authored by Justice Noah Swayne, which rejected a “states’ rights” challenge to the Act. 2
In 1873, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a railroad company’s “separate but equal” argument that segregated railcars did not violate a District of Columbia ordinance
(continued on page 22)
prohibiting “exclusion” of black riders in Railroad Company v. Brown, 3 and in the Slaughter-House Cases, the Court (in an ambivalent decision) affirmed the 14th and 15th Amendments made every black person “a voter in every state of the Union.” 4 These rulings were seen as a significant victory for African American citizens as just a year earlier, in Blyew v. Rhodes, the High Court struck down capital convictions for two defendants prosecuted under the Civil Rights Act, concluding that the federal government lacked a jurisdictional basis for the prosecution. 5
However, in 1876, the US Supreme Court dealt a significant blow to progress of African American rights in its decision in United States v. Cruikshank. 6 The Court ruled threw out convictions of three defendants under the Enforcement Act of 1870 for their roles in the 1873 Colfax Massacre. The Colfax Massacre occurred on Easter Sunday, April 13, 1873, in Colfax, Louisiana where an estimated 153 black men were murdered by white southerners who had formed a militia in the wake of Louisiana’s hotly contested gubernatorial election. The Cruikshank Court held the federal government lacked jurisdiction to prosecute the crimes and that the power belonged to the States. The late Judge Leon Higginbotham, Chief Judge of the Third Circuit, discussed the Cruikshank holding in his book, Shades of Freedom, stating SCOTUS “effectively disabled the federal government’s ability to prosecute those who could or would not be effectively prosecuted in state courts.” 8
The following year saw the Hayes-Tilden Compromise of 1877, which sealed the election of Rutherford B. Hayes and brought the withdrawal of remaining Union troops from former Confederate states. These legal and political events led to a rollback of voting rights enforcement in Congress by the end of the decade, leaving Southern states nearly free rein to enact “black codes” and usher in an era of segregation eventually legitimized by Plessy v. Ferguson.
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Vanguards of the Civil Rights Movement would continue to voice that voting rights and civil rights were inextricably intertwined. Throughout the South, “Freedom Riders” and other activists moved to register voters and appeal for vigorous enforcement of voting rights. The storied Selma to Montgomery March of 1965 remains the most famous voting rights initiative of the era, and saw President Lyndon B. Johnson sign the Voting Rights Act the same year. With subsequent amendments in 1970 and 1975, the Voting Rights Act enabled the federal government to provide a remedy for African Americans and minorities who were otherwise deprived of their right to the ballot.
The Supreme Court’s 2013 holding in Shelby County v. Holder brought an abrupt end to decades of vigorous voting rights enforcement. Holder struck down key enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act including “Preclearance” provisions for states with histories of race-based voter suppression. Writing for the Holder Court, Chief Justice Roberts reasoned that those provisions were justified by racial disparities in voter turnout that no longer exist. Dissenting Justice Ginsburg retorted that reasoning was like “throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”
Following the Holder decision, a flood of voter ID laws and other measures criticized for their impact on minority voters followed. Post Holder indicators suggest that minority voter suppression may be on the rise. With a general election coming up in November 2020, new voting rights litigation is an inevitability.
As we celebrate the 150th year of (continued on page 24)
DIVERSITY SUMMIT REVIEW Do Something | P. Danielle Nellis
#DIVERSITY2020
Setting the Vision of Diversity within the Legal Profession March 6-7, 2020
Linda Murnane, Col., USAF Ret., issued an imperative to attendees of Diversity Summit 2020: Do Something. The summit, a collaborative effort of various partners, took place March 6-7 and boasted over 100 registrants. Three days prior, an EF-3 tornado ripped through Nashville and the Middle Tennessee area. A week later and the summit would have been postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19. In the midst of it all, attendees gathered—greeting with elbow bumps and waves—on the beautiful campus of host sponsor, Belmont University. Attendees left the summit encouraged and equipped to tackle an issue which has plagued our profession for years—diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Through the support of sponsors, registrants availed themselves of 2 keynote speakers, 3 plenary sessions, and 11 breakout sessions. Ron Harris of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, a platinum sponsor and keynote speaker at the dinner, shared his journey and reminded us of the work that has been done and the work we must yet do.
Janice Brown, the opening plenary speaker, brought to the forefront the need for lawyers to overcome our statistical lack of resilience and aversion to risk as we tackle the culture shift neces
sary to be more equitable and inclusive.
Sherri Neal of HCA started our second day off with a poignant and personal reminder that it takes more than just those who support the idea of diversity to move the needle—it requires leaders imbued with the power to make real change at the top to shift the entire culture.
The unique breakout sessions offered participants the opportunity to not only hear from a variety of speakers in multiple formats but also to interact with each other, discussing a wide range of topics including generational communication and bias, diversity as a business initiative, upper management taking the lead to address and implement equity and inclusion strategies, and what it looks like when inclusion strategies work. To conclude, Brad Palmertree of the Center for Nonprofit Management helped attendees understand strategic plans and planning.
The feedback was glowing. Attendees described the content as rich, engaging, timely, and necessary. A consistent chorus emerged from participants who declared that we, as a legal community, must be intentional and focused as we Do Something to shift the culture. There is no time more necessary than right now for all of us to be intentional and focused as we do something to disrupt the unfortunate and long-held title of “least diverse profession.”
We are facing many unknowns due to COVID-19. The global pandemic has impacted businesses far and wide. Each day, news articles are published discussing cuts in big law, public entities in crisis, and staggering unemployment throughout the country. The climate is eerily reminiscent of the Recession of 2008 and 2009, when our legal community faced unprecedented economic challenges. Though the cause is different, the Diversity Summit reminded us that if diversity, equity, and inclusion are a true value, we must be acutely aware of how this COVID-19 crisis will impact more than our bottom line. We are adopting a new way of doing business, and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts must be a leading thought, not a loss, as we move forward.
Equitable and inclusive workplaces foster diversity. Diversity is necessary for your business, firm, or organization to grow. In fact, if you need a concrete statistic, businesses that are diverse are 35% more likely to outperform their peers, among several other measurable benefits. Additionally, external factors—your clients—require it. Internal forces, however, should drive your equity and inclusion initiatives. Diverse workforces bring diverse ideas to the table. In unprecedented times such as these, an echo chamber will not provide the insight or produce the strategy necessary to navigate unchartered waters.
Based on the rich, engaging conversation of the summit, here are some questions, tips or tools which may help your organization:
Evaluate Your Values – “Diversity” is one of the big words to signal a responsive, client focused, or progressive organization. Heaven forbid a legal business does not have some comment about diversity on their website. But so often the language is there and the website looks good, but in practice diversity is tokenism and the culture of the workplace is one in which the input and existence of diverse people—those who bring a degree of difference to the norm (continued on page 26)
the 15th Amendment, the right to the ballot has been hard won by Americans of color. History, however, teaches us to be vigilant as it can only be sustained through exercising the right to vote and supporting legal and civic mobilization to protect it. n
Endnotes
1 Eric Fon r, Reconst uction: Ame ic ’s Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877 (1988) (History Book Club ed. 2005).
2 27 F. Cas. 785 (C.C.D. Ky. 1866).
3 18 US (17 Wall.) 45 (1873).
4 83 US (16 Wall) 36, 70-71 (1873).
5 80 US (13 Wall) 581 (1872).
6 92 US 492 (1876).
7 L on A. Higginbot m, R ce nd the Ame II — S h des of F eedom (1996).
ic n Leg l P ocess: Vol.
WILLIAM J. (PAZ)
HAYNES III is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. He received his bachelor’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University, and received his JD from Vanderbilt University School of Law. Paz has practiced with Bone McAllester Norton since 2002, and concentrates his practice in business law. He has experience in labor and employment law, administrative law, healthcare law, and commercial and civil litigation. Paz is a member of the Board of Directors for the Nashville Bar Association and the Napier-Looby Bar Foundation. He has served on the boards of directors for Father Ryan High School, the Belcourt Theatre, Tennessee Justice for our Neighbors, and Christ The King School.
barBITES by Tim T. Ishii, Timothy T. Ishii, Attorney
Heirloom Recipe for Teriyaki Chicken
Yield 10 to 12 Servings
Ingredients
Chicken, Kikkoman Japanese soy sauce, Karo or any brand of light corn syrup
Directions
1. Obtain as much chicken as you want to prepare. Choose individual pieces, not a whole fryer. Place the chicken pieces skin side down in a casserole dish(es) preferably without them touching. 2. Mix equal amounts of Kikkoman Japanese soy sauce and Karo or any brand of light corn syrup. Choose a Japanese soy sauce because other nationalities add various spices to their soy sauces which will change the recipe. Mix or blend the soy sauce and corn syrup together until thoroughly combined. Try not to have the mixture froth. 3. Pour the soy sauce/corn syrup marinade over the chicken until the pieces are almost covered. 4. Tightly cover the casserole dishes with plastic cling wrap and refrigerate overnight. If the marinade is not airtight the chicken can become rubbery. 5. In the morning, rotate the chicken in each casserole dish – giving each side equal time to marinade. 6. To cook the teriyaki, replace the cling wrap with aluminum foil. Cook the teriyaki with the skin side down, if possible. Bake in a 350° oven for approximately 90 minutes in the lower part of your oven. 7. At 90 minutes, uncover the chicken and rotate so that the skin side is now out of the marinade on top. Bake for another 30 minutes or until the chicken is browned and glazed properly. 8. Serve over a bed of Japanese steamed rice. Enjoy!
Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch Swearing-In Ceremony, December 1, 1978
Chancellor Carol McCoy with George Paine) NBA Annual Banquet, 1977
Sara Sedgwick with Don Jones NBA Annual Banquet, 1977
Rose Cantrell with Magistrate Judge Ben Cantrell & Lionel Barrett NBA Annual Picnic, Late 1970s
Perry Hapell, Jane Buffaloe, John Buffaloe & Marietta Shipley NBA Annual Picnic, Late 1970s
Barbara Moss, Jean Nelson, Muriel Robinson & Billy Jean Tune NBA Annual Picnic, 1978 & 1980
via race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, etc.—is devalued, attacked, or excluded. So, the question is does your organization practice valuing, uplifting, including, and engaging the voices of diverse people? Then evaluate whether your diversity ideas have manifested in the metrics – leadership promotions and placements, salary, and retention.
Lead from the Top – Shifting the culture of an organization, be it towards a more equitable and inclusive environment or otherwise, starts at the top. If you have formed a committee, is it filled with just diverse people or people with the power to make real change? Are diverse people bearing the burden of shifting the entire culture or is it the C-suite?
Fund the Change – Put your money and other resources where your values are. It takes money to change the culture. It takes money to recruit. It takes money to retain. It takes time—and time is our most valuable resource.
Fund your equity and inclusion efforts and do not let them fall by the wayside during the COVID-19 crisis. You will not only suffer in the short term by losing a plethora of perspectives, but you will suffer in the long term (remember that statistic about diverse businesses and profit margins).
Who Bears the Cost? – This is not a completely separate thought from “fund the change,” but as you are shifting the culture within your organization, ask yourself who bears the cost? Often, diverse people bear the burden of implementing initiatives. In doing so they make themselves vulnerable to backlash and even dismissal from their positions. People do not like change; therefore, those pushing and promoting change are subject to conscious and unconscious pushback from the command chain and colleagues.
Don’t Give Up – Vast swaths of the population were once prohibited from practicing law. Once permitted, it took
years to gain any significant number of practitioners from those groups. Even now, there are systemic barriers, though not written into law, that prevent many diverse people from practice or promotion. Nonetheless, looking at the options like leading from the top, funding the change, and not giving up.
Participants suggested several unique next steps to set the vision and shift the culture in the coming years. It would be a great oversight to omit the observation and statement of attendees that most summit attendees identified as diverse. Several seasoned attendees wondered why the issues faced were so similar to those in decades past. At the next Diversity Summit, attendees hope and expect to see firm and organization leaders who do not traditionally identify as diverse in attendance and engaged. I n the coming months and years we, as a community, will wrestle with restructuring how, when, and where we practice law, how new lawyers are qualified and admitted to practice, and so many other new opportunities to rethink the practice in the face of the global pandemic. Now is the time for all members of the legal community to Do Something about the long-standing issue of an exclusive norm, and shift to a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive existence. We can Do Something, and it starts with you! n
P. DANIELLE NELLIS is a graduate of Spelman College and Boston University School of Law. Her legal career focuses on criminal law and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Nashville native is happily married to Eric Insignares and they have one brilliant, inquisitive son. For more information visit pdanielle.com.
Summer Melton is thinking about reporting her new office-mate, Baron, to HR. All he does is sleep. Doesn’t wear pants. No regard for personal space.
Jessica Cunningham Lim and Jae Lim Loved having time to take ALL the walks and building quarantine sheet forts!
Jackie Dixon has this guy safely guarding Quarantina’s empty nest.
Lauren Poole’s pup, Charlie, living his best socially distanced Easter picnic in between kite-flying with his mom.
Cameron Gearlds’ assistant, Benny, waking up from a nap on the notes when he was supposed to be helping his mom moderate and record CLEs.
Charles Krivcher’s temporary worker, Posh, took naps and purred a good deal of the time, however, she was a valued member of the team.
Hearsay | Honors & Awards, On the Move, Firm News
HONORS & AWARDS
The Mid-South Commercial Law Institute recently elected Stites & Harbison attorney Erika Barnes as a director of its 25 member Board of Directors. Barnes is a member of the firm in the Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy and Business Litigation Service Groups based in Nashville.
Charles W. “Chuck”
Cagle, shareholder and chair of the Education Law and Government Relations Practice Group at Lewis Thomason, has been appointed as Tennessee representative and counsel to the Council of Administrators in Special Education (CASE). Cagle will assist CASE, a group representing special education directors nationwide, in its meetings with the US Senate committees concerning federal regulations and use of funds for the 2019-2021 school years.
Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands is pleased to announce that Lela M. Hollabaugh, the managing partner of Bradley’s Nashville office and general counsel to the NBA, will chair its 2020 Campaign for Equal Justice.
Randy Kinnard of Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge was awarded the 2020 American Bar Association Pursuit of Justice Award for demonstrating outstanding merit and excelling in ensuring access to justice. Kinnard is a seasoned personal injury and medical malpractice attorney.
Patterson Intellectual Property Law is pleased to announce that shareholder Ed Lanquist has been ranked as a Band 1 attorney in Intellectual Property Law for the state of Tennessee by Chambers and Partners USA 2020. Lanquist focuses his practice on patent, trademark, and copyright litigation, trademark prosecution, intellectual property counseling, and technology law.
The Honorable Aleta A. Trauger, US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, has been selected to receive the 2020 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award in the Sixth Circuit. The American Inns of Court Professionalism Awards are awarded each year, in participating federal circuits, to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.
ON THE MOVE
Tune, Entrekin & White is pleased to announce the recent addition of Samuel J. Blanton as an associate attorney. Prior to joining the firm, Blanton completed clerkships with Judge Glen A. Huff of the Virginia Court of Appeals and Judge W. Neal McBrayer of the Tennessee Court of Appeals. He will concentrate his practice on property, contracts, trademarks, copyrights, and civil litigation.
George S. Scoville,
III, Davidson Lentz, and Kaitlin White have joined as associates in Lewis Thomason’s Nashville office. Scoville primarily practices in the firm’s product liability group. Lentz and White practice primarily in the transportation practice group.
FIRM NEWS
Bradley is pleased to announce that it has awarded a 2020 Diversity Scholarship to law student Bria Smith from Vanderbilt University Law School. Smith will clerk in the firm’s Nashville Office.
Dickinson Wright has received ISO/ IEC 27701:2019 certification, becoming one of the first law firms in the world to achieve the privacy management certification. The ISO/IEC 27701 standard provides a framework for organizations to safeguard personally identifiable information.
The firm Rogers, Kamm & Shea is now Rogers, Shea & Spano, in recognition of Lawrence Kamm taking Of Counsel status and George Spanos having become a partner last year. n
Mike Mondelli & Nancy Corley NBA Annual Picnic, August 8, 1980
Bob Washko, Marnie Huff, Steve Rush NBA Annual Banquet, December 4, 1980
Billye Sanders, Gordon & Claudia Bonnyman, Ashley Wiltshire NBA Annual Banquet, December 7, 1977
Mariah Wooten & Sylvia Ford Brown NBA Annual Banquet, December 4, 1980
Beverly Brown & Miss Rebecca Thomas NBA Annual Banquet, December 4, 1980
Jane Anne Woods, B. Gail Reese, Julie Jones, Leigh Walton NBA Annual Picnic, August 8, 1980
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Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella
Evans, Jones & Reynolds
Fisher & Phillips
Frazer
Frost Brown Todd
Grissim & Hodges
GSRM Law
Hall Booth Smith
Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc.
Holton & Mayberry
Keller, Turner, Andrews & Ghanem
Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge
Latitude
Law Offices of John Day
LBMC
Leader, Bulso & Nolan
Legal Aid Society
Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan
Lewis Thomason
Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein
Lindsey + Amonette + Nemer
Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard
Matt Hardin Law
McCarter & Beauchamp
Meridian Law
Morgan & Akins
MTR Family Law
Nashville Electric Service
Neal & Harwell
Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough
North, Pursell & Ramos
Ogletree Deakins
Ortale Kelley Law Firm
Parker, Lawrence, Cantrell & Smith
Patterson Intellectual Property Law
Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell
Raybin & Weissman Riggs Davie
Riley, Warnock & Jacobson
Robinson, Reagan & Young
Rogers, Shea & Spanos
Rudy Winstead Turner
Schulman, LeRoy & Bennett
Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton
Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison
Sims|Funk
Smith Cashion & Orr
Smythe Huff & Murphy
Spicer Rudstrom
Stites & Harbison
Sutherland & Belk
Taylor, Pigue, Marchetti & Blair
Venick, Kuhn, Byassee, Austin & Rosen
Warner Music Group
Watkins & McNeilly
Weatherly, McNally & Dixon
White & Reasor
Wiseman Ashworth Law Group
Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs
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TENNESSEE’S BEST JUST GOT BETTER
TAKACS MCGINNIS ELDER CARE LAW WELCOMES CHRIS JOHNSON AS PARTNER
When the long-term illness or disability of an elderly family member threatens to disrupt your clients’ financial, legal, and emotional well-being, you don’t call just anyone. You call the best.
That’s why we’re excited to announce that Attorney Chris Johnson is now a partner in the firm. Chris Johnson came to Takacs McGinnis Elder Care Law, PLLC with 19 years of legal and military experience, plus a stint working as an elder law attorney after leaving the military. Since joining Takacs McGinnis Elder Care Law, PLLC in 2018, Chris Johnson has been providing legal expertise on a wide range of client issues with a focus on estate planning, VA benefits, and Life Care Planning. He is also a VA Accredited attorney.
Point your clients in the right direction with a referral to Takacs McGinnis Elder Care Law, PLLC. For more than 25 years, we have been helping families protect assets, find high-quality care, and navigate the long-term care system.
201 Walton Ferry Road PO Box 364 Hendersonville, TN 37077-0364 Helping you protect what matters most in your life
Life Care Planning Elder Law Estate Planning Care Coordination Medicaid VA Medicare
201 Walton Ferry Road Hendersonville, TN 37075
