Honor given posthumously to Knoxville lawyer Don Paine at TBA Convention

NASHVILLE, June 23, 2014 – The Tennessee Bar Association presented The Joe Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously to Donald F. Paine at its annual convention in Gatlinburg. Paine is the first recipient of the award, which recognizes the profound contributions he made to the Tennessee Bar Journal and to legal writing in Tennessee.

Paine died last November at the age of 74. His daughter Emily Paine, son-in-law Jim Settlemyer and long-time assistant Karen Roberts were on hand to accept the award on his behalf.

Paine served as president of the TBA from 1986 to 1987. After completing his term as immediate past president, Paine led the effort to create an editorial board to guide publication of the association's monthly journal. He served as a founding member of the board, which first met in 1989. Also that year, Paine began writing his column, "Paine on Procedure," which he continued to do until the week before his death. In addition to authoring 237 columns, Paine also wrote 31 feature articles and 30 book reviews for the Journal – by far the greatest volume of material contributed by a single individual to the magazine.

Paine was recognized for his work several times over the years, receiving the Joe Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing in 1989 and 1997 – making him only one of two authors to receive the award twice.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Paine was of counsel with the firm of Paine, Tarwater and Bickers LLP. He was a founder of the Tennessee Law Institute and a well-known speaker and author. He had a distinguished teaching career at the University of Tennessee College of Law and at Vanderbilt University Law School – receiving outstanding teacher awards at both schools and the Chancellor's Award from the University of Tennessee. Paine was president of the Knoxville Bar Association and its young lawyer group the Barristers. Paine also made pro bono legal assistance an important part of his career. He received the TBA's Pro Bono Award and is the namesake for Legal Aid of East Tennessee's law student pro bono award, the Donald F. Paine Law Student Volunteer of the Year Award. For more about Paine's life visit the firm's website.

The 2014 Tennessee Bar Association Annual Convention was held June 11-14 in conjunction with several other legal organizations, including the Tennessee Judicial Conference and the Tennessee Lawyers' Association for Women (TLAW). This joint meeting allows legal groups in the state to address common issues and concerns and offers opportunities for additional education, long-range planning, and recognition of attorneys who have performed outstanding legal work and community service.