NASHVILLE, June 1, 2026 — Each year the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor these award recipients at the 2026 Public Service Breakfast set for June 11 as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville.

One of those awards, the Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award, will be presented to Nashville lawyer Garrah Carter-Mason with Bass, Berry & Sims PLC. Carter-Mason will be recognized for her work on behalf of Darrell Davis, who was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder in April 2022 and sentenced to life without parole. Over three years, Carter-Mason worked more than a thousand pro bono hours on the case, leading Davis’s defense team. When the state would not pay for expert witnesses and other trial services, Carter-Mason advocated for the firm to cover those costs. Her efforts led to Davis getting a new trial in February 2025. In March 2026, a jury found him not guilty on all charges, leading to his release from prison.

According to Nashville lawyer Dawn Deaner, who submitted the successful nomination for the award, Carter-Mason worked nights and weekends on the case and took two weeks off of work to be in the courtroom. Deaner also noted that since Carter-Mason’s career had focused on business matters, this case required her to learn rules of procedure and substantive criminal defense practices. Deaner summed up the nomination saying, “It is extremely rare for a person to win a motion for new trial. Garrah's willingness to help Darrell from the beginning and her steadfast commitment to him was extraordinary. It is not an understatement to say she got his life back for him.”

Carter-Mason is an associate in the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group where she represents clients in complex business litigation and health care-related investigations. She also has a particular focus advising entities that handle controlled substances and companies that produce skin substitutes and advanced wound care products. She was a member of the Nashville Bar Foundation’s leadership class in 2025 and serves on the leadership program’s steering committee. She earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2019.

The Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award is presented in recognition of attorneys in private or corporate practice who have contributed significant amounts of pro bono work, either in terms of numbers of cases handled or significance of the work, as well as a demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of legal services to indigent clients. In 1995, the award was named for Harris A. Gilbert, a Nashville attorney and past president of the Tennessee Bar Association, who was dedicated to the development and delivery of legal services throughout his career. Gilbert died in February 2023. Learn more about the award and see past recipients.
 

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) is the largest professional association in Tennessee with nearly 14,000 members. Founded in 1881, the TBA represents the entire spectrum of the legal profession in Tennessee and beyond and is dedicated to enhancing fellowship and professionalism among the members of Tennessee’s legal community.