From the President

MIKE ABELOW, Publisher WILLIAM T. RAMSEY, Editor-in-Chief CAROLINE SAPP, Managing Editor LAUREN POOLE, Managing Editor ADRIENNE BENNETT CLUFF, Layout/Design/ Production

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

RAMONA DESALVO TIM ISHII KELLY FREY SUMMER MELTON ROB MARTIN BART PICKETT KATLIN RYAN KRISTIN THOMAS JONATHAN WARDLE

NASHVILLE BAR JOURNAL (ISSN1548-7113) (USPS 021-962) is published bi-monthly by the Nashville Bar Association, 150 4th Ave N, Ste 1350, Nashville, TN 37219. Periodicals Postage Paid at Nashville TN.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Nashville Bar Journal, 150 4th Ave N, Ste 1350, Nashville, TN 37219-2419.

No part of this publication may be reprinted without written permission of the Nashville Bar Journal Editorial Committee. All articles, letters, and editorials contained in this publication represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Nashville Bar Association. For more information, visit NashvilleBar.org/NashvilleBarJournal.

The Nashville Bar Journal welcomes discourse. You may submit counterpoint editorials to Adrienne.BennettCluff@ nashvillebar.org to be considered by the editorial committee for publication in a future print or online content.

NASHVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION 150 4th Ave N, Ste 1350 Nashville, TN 37219 615-242-9272 | NashvilleBar.org

The Nashville Bar Association, established in 1831, is a professional organization serving the legal community of Nashville, Tennessee. Our mission is to improve the practice of law through education, service, and fellowship. The NBA—with 2,500+ members—is the largest metropolitan bar association in Tennessee.

FROM THE PRESIDENT 2022: A Pivotal Year | Martesha Johnson

When I joined the NBA Board of Directors, I didn’t imagine that I would eventually serve as the President of this prestigious organization. I was appreciative of the opportunity to use my voice to help shape the vision and leadership of the bar, but as a public defender–which we all know is a very specialized practice area–I didn’t believe I would be able to connect to the larger body. When the opportunity presented itself, however, I knew that my experiences with the Nashville Bar Association had been critical to my professional growth and that my service as President could create a pathway for other lawyers/future lawyers like me to have a seat at the table. During my time with the NBA, I’ve learned so much about myself and found that the diversity of my practice and my experiences are necessary to the leadership of this organization and the practice of law.

We stand on the horizon of a new day for the Nashville Bar Association. Successful entrepreneur and business advisor, Eric Ries, said “A pivot is a change in strategy without a change in vision.” 2020 and 2021 have taught us how to be resilient, required us to be flexible, and reminded us just how important community is to the practice of law. What we started off assuming was a temporary, unprecedented challenge, quickly became our new normal. We now know that our bar association, and quite frankly, our personal lives will never be the same. 2022 provides us an opportunity to PIVOT and I am honored to serve as President during this critical time. Equipped with the lessons we’ve learned; our moment is now. Our vision for improving the practice of law hasn’t changed. Our dedication to our core values–education, service and fellowship–have been ever present during the past couple of years. Now it is time for the Nashville Bar Association to re-affirm our commitment to our members and reimagine what our service delivery model looks like.

I am committed to supporting Monica and the leadership of NBA as we dually focus on becoming: • intentional and strategic in our focus to bridge the membership gaps in our organization to attract members from underrepresented practice areas, and • creative and innovative in our approach to support our member needs during and post-pandemic.

Additionally, I am reminded of our Board’s participation in the American Bar Association’s 21 day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge and the discussions we had in the weekly lessons. One of those discussions was about a 2018 study that found Black women continue to be the least represented group among all attorneys, representing just an astonishing 1.73% overall. I am personally passionate about making sure we are intentional in our commitment of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession, that the leadership of this organization reflects this commitment, and that we are continually investing in creating a pipeline of more lawyers of color in Nashville.

I am humbled and grateful for this opportunity. Cheers to 2022! n