Group meets in conjunction with 2015 TBA Convention

NASHVILLE, July 2, 2015 — The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division named new officers and recognized award winners during the TBA’s Annual Convention in Memphis.

Cookeville lawyer Rachel Moses was installed as president of the Young Lawyers Division for the 2015-2016 year. An attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands, she has made pro bono service a priority for her time in office. Moses earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2002.

Rachel Ralston Mancl with the Kingsport law firm of Hunter Smith & Davis took office as president-elect of the group. She will assume the office of president in June 2016. A 2007 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Mancl focuses her practice in the areas of bankruptcy, business, real estate, trust and probate law as well as estate planning and general civil litigation.

Memphis lawyer Ahsaki Baptist, a partner in the law firm of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, was named vice president of the group. She will take office as president in June 2017. Baptist practices primarily in the areas of commercial litigation and commercial real estate. She earned her law degree in 2007 from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Other officers elected are as follows:

• Secretary: Troy Weston, Eldridge & Blakney, Knoxville
• Treasurer: Ashley Holliday, West Tennessee Legal Services, Jackson
• East Tennessee Governor: Ian Hennessey, London & Amburn, Knoxville
• Middle Tennessee Governor: Christian Barker, Barker Nashville, Nashville
• West Tennessee Governor: Nicole Grida, Law Office of Lauren L. Holloway, Memphis

In addition to electing new officers, the YLD honored a number of young lawyers who worked to improve the practice of law in the state and served the public and the bar during the past year.

Nashville lawyer Mary Beth Haltom White received the President’s Award for nine years of service to the TBA YLD as a member of the Executive Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, Membership Committee and CLE Committee, and service as the ABA YLD District Representative for Tennessee and Kentucky for the past two years. White is an attorney with Lewis Thomason in Nashville.

Kingsport lawyer Rachel Ralson Mancl received a special recognition award for exceptional service as vice president, Long Range Planning Committee chair and president-elect during the 2014-2015 bar year. Mancl, an attorney with Hunter Smith & Davis, oversaw the drafting of new bylaws amendments and served for an extra year as one of two YLD representatives to the TBA Board of Governors.

The division’s Public Service Award, which recognizes the best service project organized by a district representative, went to District 12 Representative Ben Conley for a legal clinic he planned in Paris. Conley practices law in Alamo.

Finally, a number of lawyers were named “Stars of the Quarter.” They included:

• Jackson lawyer Josh Dougan for serving two years as chair of the state high school mock trial competition;
• Nashville lawyer Lisa Helton for serving as vice chair of the YLD CLE Committee;
• Mock Trial Long Range Planning Committee Chair and Nashville lawyer Candi Henry for significant contributions to the mock trial competition;
• Wills for Heroes Middle Tennessee Captain Jake Hubbell of Columbia for overseeing six clinics during the year;
• District 14 Representative Chasity Sharp Grice for producing a record-breaking Wills for Heroes clinic in Memphis;
• Memphis lawyer Steven King, who has served the YLD for eight years as Treasurer, West Tennessee Governor, West Tennessee Wills for Heroes Captain and West Tennessee CLE Captain;
• District 9 Representative Cole Rogers for producing an outstanding Wills for Heroes clinic in Nashville;
• Wills for Heroes East Tennessee Captain Brittany Thomas of Chattanooga for overseeing six clinics during the year;
• Wills for Heroes West Tennessee Captain Kortney Simmons of Jackson for overseeing three clinics during the year; and
• Knoxville lawyer Troy Weston for his contributions to the drafting of new bylaws provisions and service as secretary of the YLD Board.

The YLD serves close to 3,000 young lawyers across the state, providing continuing legal education for new lawyers and opportunities for public service, networking and professional development.