TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 24, 2026

Former Tennessee state legislator and retired lawyer Bill Bruce died recently at the age of 90. A native of Virginia, Bruce moved to Memphis in the 1960s to practice law. He later was elected to the state House of Representatives and then the state Senate. Bruce retired from the legislature in in the early 1970s and moved his law practice to Nashville. He joined Stokes & Bartholomew and launched the firm’s government relations practice. He supported the merger with Adams & Reese in 2005, and facilitated discussions with Armstrong Allen, which led to an expansion to Memphis in 2006. Burce retired from active practice not long thereafter and moved to the Georgia coast. Arrangements are pending for a memorial service in the coming weeks. Read more from Adams & Reese.