Members of the Tennessee legal community met for the second day of the TBA Annual Convention in Memphis today. The morning began with a Public Service Awards Breakfast featuring the presentation of the Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year to Memphis-based Assistant Federal Public Defender Tyrone Paylor, the Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award to Memphis attorney John Golwen, and the Law Student Volunteer of the Year Award to University of Tennessee College of Law student Kim Riddett. Lawyers then heard from two panels exploring the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the practice of law.

At the annual Bench Bar Luncheon, J. Daniel Breen, a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, received the Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award, while Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby received the Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award. Kirby was recognized for her efforts spearheading an increase in the hourly rate of reimbursement for appointed cases, which the state legislature approved this spring. In her acceptance remarks, Kirby thanked the many judges and lawyers who contacted leaders about these “shockingly low rates,” and pledged to continue working on this “righteous cause” in the future. Following the awards, Memphis lawyer Charles Newman gave the keynote address in which he recounted his experience representing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, and thanked his law firm Burch Porter & Johnson for allowing him to work on cases throughout his career that did not add to the bottom line. He challenged those in the room not to allow the pressure of making the practice of law more profitable to squeeze out important values.

From left: Tyrone Paylor, Kim Riddett, John Golwen

From left: Linda Warren Seely, Paylor, Riddett, Golwen, Ann Pruitt, TBA President Jim Barry

A.J Bahou speaks at a panel discussion on AI’s Impact on the Practice of Law in Tennessee

From left: Brian Faughnan, Hon. Sarah Campbell, Kim Looney, Sheree Wright on a panel about Ethical Considerations of AI

UT Law Dean Lonnie Brown (left) and President-elect Ed Lanquist

TBA President Jim Barry (left) presents Hon. J. Daniel Breen (center) with the Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award

TBA President Jim Barry presents Chief Justice Holly Kirby with the Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award

Click here to see photos from Day 1