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Background Check
BACKGROUND CHECK Cyrus Booker |
Bart Pickett
Born in Franklin, Tennessee, Cyrus Booker grew up with 11 brothers and sisters, a stay-at-home mother, and a father who ran a gas station. Following graduation from Franklin High School in 1974, Booker attended Harvard where he played varsity basketball and majored in Government.
Growing up in the Civil Rights era and watching lawyers portrayed on television, Booker had always wanted to be where he could affect change through social justice. He chose to go to Georgetown for law school due to his affinity for the DC area. After law school, he worked at a firm doing regulatory and anti-trust work, but he soon realized that most of the practice in DC was administrative and not his image of a courtroom lawyer.
Needing to get out of DC and into litigation, Booker headed to St. Croix in the Caribbean where he practiced as a territorial prosecutor for a couple of years in the criminal and family divisions.
Over the holidays in 1983, Booker moved back to Nashville and started at Dearborn & Ewing, the third largest firm in Nashville. With that move, Booker became the first black lawyer at a large Nashville law firm. His practice consisted mostly of litigation, but
he also dabbled in many other areas. He recalls partners pulling him into all kinds of cases including real estate, banking, and probate, among others. That diverse experience has continued to serve Booker throughout his practice. Booker excelled at the firm and became a partner.
In 1992, Booker decided he wanted to challenge himself and strike out on his own. His experience had been that if you can generate business in a big firm, you can do it by yourself and make a lot more money. At the time, Nashville lacked any minority-owned firms doing corporate work, so he saw a need that he could fill. Booker continued his own firm for about 10 years.
Booker tried big firm life once more in 2002, working at Baker Donelson for about 5 years. While there, he focused on insurance defense, corporate representation and formation, real estate, probate, and general litigation defense. But he ultimately decided he preferred being out on his own, so he worked with another lawyer for a little while and is now again a solo practitioner at Booker Legal Group.
Booker’s current practice still consists primarily of litigation. His goal for the future is to focus on providing services to smaller businesses, particularly minority-owned businesses. He plans to look at innovative ways to provide that representation, including flat fees and retainer services. He sees his firm expanding to five to eight attorneys.
When asked about the biggest change he has seen in the legal profession during his tenure, Booker points to technology. When he first started practicing, “out of office” meant it; there was no reaching you by email or cell phone. But he considers himself “client-focused,” so he likes the constant accessibility that technology brings and he finds that technology has made the practice easier.
Since he last worked in big law, Booker says he has not seen opportunities for African Americans in the legal community progress much. He finds this disappointing.
Booker rejects the term “systemic racism” and prefers to use the phrase “systemic racial bias” as a more productive, encompassing concept. Firms need to look at their initial hiring criteria and re-examine what qualities are truly needed to succeed at a firm beyond the superficial criteria that often limit the pool of minority candidates. He also wants to see firms invest in minorities once they do join the firm, including mentoring programs. He adds that if a mentoring program works for African Americans, it will work for all attorneys.
Booker and his wife, Lillian, live in South Nashville and just celebrated their eighth anniversary. She works with him as the office manager. Booker’s son, Omari (40), is a highly respected, local artist. Booker has one grandson (16) who he enjoys playing basketball with. In his free time, Booker can be found helping coach Fisk University’s basketball team, among other community activities. n
BART PICKETT is an attorney at the Law Offices of Julie Bhattacharya Peak where he represents Liberty Mutual Group, Inc.’s insureds and customers of its affiliated groups in litigation throughout Middle Tennessee. Prior to practicing, Pickett worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Judge Thomas W. Brothers of the Sixth Circuit Court of Davidson County and the Honorable Joseph P. Binkley, Jr. of the Fifth Circuit Court of Davidson County.
to the Future, a collaboration between the Nashville Bar Association and the Lawyers’ Association for Women, is a very special event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Explore Nashville’s critical role in the suffrage movement and the impact on other voter rights movements that have followed.
Michael G. Abelow Gail Vaughn Ashworth Jill Bartee Ayers Laura B. Baker Kathryn E. Barnett Brandon E. Bass Margaret L. Behm Hon. Cheryl A. Blackburn Christen C. Blackburn Hon. Melissa Kurtz Blackburn Janice Bossing Mary Barrett Brewer Cynthia C. Chappell William T. Cheek, III Justice Cornelia A. Clark Kimberly Faye Clark Hon. Frank G. Clement, Jr. Crystal R. Cole Jonathan Cole Lisa Ramsay Cole Brooke McLeod Coplon Nancy Krider Corley Matthew R. Hinson Hon. Patsy Cottrell Hon. Lynda F. Jones Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey Mary F. Kampa O’Mara John A. Day Suzanne Gregory Keith Joy Day Judith Lojek Jacqueline B. Dixon Kim Harvey Looney Brenda Measells Dowdle Hon. Ellen Hobbs Lyle Jennifer M. Eberle Monica Walls Mackie Sherie Lea Edwards Michele Marsicano Hon. Ana L. Escobar Hon. Anne C. Martin Anne Frazier Hon. Amanda McClendon Mary Taylor Gallagher Hon. Carol L. McCoy Paula D. Godsey Marlene Eskind Moses Wendy H. Goggin Hon. Patricia Head Moskal Melanie Gober Grand Barbara J. Moss Hon. Marian F. Harrison Karen Scott Neal William J. Haynes, III Hon. Alistair Elizabeth Newbern Candi Renee Henry Courtney Orr Emily Ann Herbert Brant Phillips, Jr. Salvador M. Hernandez Sara Anne T. Quinn Reggie Hill Candice L. Reed *As of July 22, 2020
Helen Sfikas Rogers Christopher C. Sabis Stacey Linn Schlitz Heather Scott Hon. Marietta M. Shipley Elizabeth Sitgreaves Eric W. Smith Laura Smith Mary Dohner Smith Elizabeth Ryder Sykes Overton Thompson, III Hon. Aleta Arthur Trauger Malaka Watson Vivian Wilhoite Hon. Bill Young Jane Young Mandy Haynes Young Stephen J. Zralek
