Services will be held tomorrow for Nashville lawyer Ed Reynolds Davies, who died Nov. 22 at 90. A third-generation lawyer, Davies served in Korea for the U.S. Marines before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt in 1958. His legal career was spent as a trial lawyer, first at Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis and later Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry. He opened his own firm in 1973 — what would later be known as Davies, Humphreys & Reese — where he practiced with two of his sons until his retirement in 2019. In 1974 he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Chancellor Frank F. Drowota in Part II of Davidson County Chancery Court. A celebration of Davies’ life will be held tomorrow at West End United Methodist Church in Nashville. Visitation will be held from 2 until 3 p.m. CST, followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m. CST. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Webb School or to the West End UMC.

Shelby County attorney Charles Robert Perkins died in Nashville on Dec. 4. He was 85. Perkins worked as an attorney and government official for more than 60 years in Memphis and Shelby County. Graduating in 1967, he was a member of the first and charter law school class from Memphis State. He was admitted to practice before the Tennessee Supreme Court, U.S. District Court and U.S. Supreme Court. His clients included major corporate businesses, a major bank, the City of Memphis, Town of Arlington and Memphis Light, Gas and Water. Visitation will be Dec. 16 at 12:30 p.m. CST with the funeral following at 2 p.m., all at Forest Hill Baptist Church, 3645 Forest Hill Irene Rd., Germantown 38138. Burial will be at West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Union University, Attn: Advancement Office, 1050 Union University Dr., Jackson, TN 38305.

Kingsport attorney D. Bruce Shine died on Dec. 6. He was 83. A nationally recognized labor and employment law attorney, Shine earned his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School, a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and in 1984 was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) from Tusculum College. In 1969 he started his own firm, Ferguson & Shine, in Kingsport with Shelburne Ferguson Jr. At the time of his retirement in January 2020, Shine was a partner in the law firm of Shine & Rowlett with Bart Rowlett. The Times News details the many political, educational and community positions Shine held, including an appointment to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission from 1996 until 2015, which included a two-year term as chair. The family will receive friends at Hamlett Dobson Funeral Home on Dec. 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. CST. In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorial gifts be made to Girls Inc., P.O. Box 981, Kingsport, TN 37662.

Gerald Leighton Ewell Sr. of Manchester died Dec. 1. He was 92. Ewell, a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, served in the U.S. Navy and was an assistant district attorney for 15 years. He was elected to the Coffee County Circuit Court in 1972, a position he held for 26 years, sometimes serving on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Ewell was a member of many civic organizations, served on various municipal boards and commissions. He will receive services with military honors on Dec.11 at 2 p.m. CST at Manchester Cemetery with graveside service to immediately follow.

Shelbyville lawyer James “Jim” Cannon Burns Jr. died Dec. 1 at the age of 100. Originally from McKenzie, Burns attended Vanderbilt University and served in World War II for three and a half years before earning a law degree in 1948 from Vanderbilt University Law School. He opened his first law practice in Shelbyville and served that community until being recalled to active duty during the Korean War as an electronics engineer. Following the war, Burns practiced law in Memphis for three years but returned to Shelbyville in 1955 and practiced law there until moving to Florida in 1998. He died at the Penney Retirement Community outside of Jacksonville, Florida. A celebration of life service was held today in Florida. Memorial donations may be made to Penney Retirement Community, 3495 Hoffman St., Green Cove Springs, FL 32043.

Chancellor George R. Ellis died today, just one day after his 73rd birthday, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. Ellis served the 28th Judicial District, which includes Crockett, Gibson and Haywood counties, since 1993. During his tenure, he chaired the Tennessee Judicial Conference Security Committee. Prior to joining the court, Ellis served as a judge on the Gibson County General Sessions Court and Dyer County Municipal Court, worked as an attorney for Harrell & Harrell, and was campaign coordinator for the late U.S. Rep. Ed Jones. Ellis earned his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law. He later served on the law school alumni association’s board of governors.

Services will be held this Friday and Saturday for Memphis lawyer and Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commissioner Sean Hunt, who died last week at the age of 56. Visitation will take place on Friday from 5-7 p.m. at Serenity Funeral Home, 1638 Sycamore View Rd., Memphis 38134 and on Saturday from 10-11 a.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 5296 Park Ave., Memphis 38119. The funeral will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. at the church. All times central. Read more about Hunt's career.

Retired Judge Donn Alan Southern died Thursday. He was 87. A native of Knoxville, Southern moved to Memphis after graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1957. He was in private practice until 1989 when he was appointed to the Shelby County Probate Court. Southern served on the court for more than 17 years, including two terms as presiding judge. He was also active in the Memphis Bar Association, serving two terms on the board of directors and as president in 1982, and was part of a group that began offering legal services to those in need. That effort later resulted in formation of Memphis Area Legal Services. A celebration of life service and reception will be held Nov. 17 at 11 a.m. CST at Idlewild Presbyterian Church, 1750 Union Ave., Memphis 38104. Burial will be private. Memorial donations may be made to the church; The Trezevant Foundation, 177 N. Highland St., Memphis, TN 38111; or the W.H.H. Southern Scholarship Foundation at the University of Tennessee, 1502 Cumberland Ave., Knoxville, TN 37922.

Memphis lawyer and Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commissioner Sean Hunt died Monday at the age of 56, Serenity Funeral Home reports. Hunt, who was chair of the TBA's Dispute Resolution Section, also served on the Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) board and as chair for two stints. He received the WJ Michael Cody Pro Bono Award from MALS in 2007. In 2009, he founded Hunt Law, serving Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia, after working as a partner with Spicer, Flynn & Rudstrom and Leitner, Williams, Dooley, Carpenter & Napolitan in Chattanooga and Nashville. Hunt earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1988. He was also a frequent CLE speaker for the TBA. Read more about his career.

Retired Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Alan E. Glenn died unexpectedly last week at the age of 79, the Administrative Office of the Courts recently announced. Glenn served on the Court of Criminal Appeals for more than 22 years, taking the bench in 1999 and serving until his retirement on July 1, 2021. Prior to joining the court, Glenn served as an assistant district attorney general in Shelby County from 1971 to 1982. He was in private practice in Memphis from 1982 to 1999 and taught trial advocacy at Harvard Law School from 1986 to 1999. Colleagues on the court say Glenn was known as a prolific, engaging and meticulous writer, often jumping at the chance to author the toughest cases. During his time on the court, Glenn wrote more opinions than any other judge. Glenn also served as chair of the Judicial Ethics Committee from 2005 to 2019, drafting over a dozen ethics opinions on issues posed by judges across the state.