Jackson lawyer Jay Ernest DeGroot died May 18. He was 60. Originally from Illinois, he graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology-Kent College of Law in 1986. He first went to work as an assistant to regional counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation/Urban Mass Transportation Administration. In 1987 he joined the law firm of Lawrence W. Leck & Associates in Chicago. In 1992, he relocated to Tennessee and joined the Law Offices of Jeffery A. Garrety, where he handled workers’ compensation and personal injury cases. The family celebrated his life at services yesterday at Lambuth Memorial United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer's Association.

Paul Revere Leitner, a lawyer in the Chattanooga office of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan for more than 60 years, died Saturday. A graduate of the McKenzie College of Law in Chattanooga in 1954, Leitner first joined the firm while a law student. Following graduation, he became an associate and was named a partner in 1957. Leitner was active in the local and statewide legal community, serving as president of the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association, a member of the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education, and state chair of the Defense Research Institute. He was a fellow of the Chattanooga Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Foundation and American College of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, International Association of Defense Counsel, Trial Attorneys of America, American Board of Trial Advocates and U.S. 6th Circuit Judicial Conference. Services will be held Wednesday at noon EDT at First-Centenary United Methodist Church. Memorial donations may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Rep. Mike Carter, a retired judge and Republican lawmaker from Ooltewah, died Saturday after battling pancreatic cancer, the Tennessean reports. He was 67. Carter, who received his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law, worked as an attorney and businessman, as an assistant county attorney representing the sheriff's office, and as a Hamilton County general sessions judge from 1997 to 2005 before being elected to the state House in 2012. His current term was set to end in November 2022. He was serving as chair of the Civil Justice Committee at the time of his death. In 2019, his actions helped contribute to the downfall of then-House Speaker Rep. Glen Casada. Carter said he believed the former speaker was willing to rig a House Ethics Committee proceeding and called for Casada's resignation. Carter later ran to replace Casada, a contest ultimately won by current Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville. Carter received the cancer diagnosis last year at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after contracting the coronavirus. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. EDT on Friday at Ooltewah Baptist Church, 5514 Main St., Ooltewah 37363. Visitation is scheduled from noon until 2 p.m. at the church, Chattanoogan.com reports. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Knoxville lawyer Melinda Leigh Doss died May 3. A 1990 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Doss started practicing law at Pitts & Lake, an intellectual property firm, and stayed with the firm for the duration of her career. She became an expert in trademark law and often consulted with other attorneys about complex issues and trademark litigation over 30 years of service. A graveside service was held last week at Lake Hill Memorial Gardens in Bethel Springs. Memorial donations may be made to the Selmer First Baptist Church Building Fund.

Clarksville lawyer and former TBA President F. Evans Harvill died Monday at 95. A graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, Harvill first practiced law at a Clarksville firm that would later became Daniel, Harvill, Batson & Nolan and then Batson Nolan PLC. Another TBA president, Dan Nolan, still practices at the firm. Harvill served as TBA president from 1979-1980. He also spent decades promoting Austin Peay State University as one of its most trusted ambassadors and advisors, the Leaf Chronicle reports. He helped launch the Mabry Concert Hall project, raised more than $500,000 for fine arts, and established several endowed scholarships in the arts. His connection to the school began when his father joined the faculty to teach history. He later went on to serve as president of the school. Visitation will be held Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. and Monday from noon to 1 p.m. at Madison Street United Methodist Church of Clarksville. A Celebration of Life Service will follow visitation on Monday at the church. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.

Longtime Memphis lawyer Arnold M. Weiss died April 30. He was 86. Weiss earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1958 and first practiced general and criminal defense law. He eventually found his calling in the field of bankruptcies and foreclosures. Weiss and his wife lived an exciting life. As a ballroom dancer, Joan met many celebrities, which led to the couple joining the world-famous Friars Club in New York City. They also were longtime members of the Mar-a-Lago Club and owned homes in Palm Beach and New York in addition to Memphis. Weiss was a patron of the local arts and an ardent supporter of St. Jude, often hosting fundraisers for the children’s hospital. His law office, on the National Historic Register, was scouted as a possible location for NBC-TV's "Bluff City Law" show. And although another location was selected, furnishing and furniture from his office were used in the show. A private service will be held at Temple Israel. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude or to the rabbi's discretionary fund at Temple Israel.

Funeral services were held today for Memphis lawyer Arnold Edwin Perl who died Tuesday at 81. Perl earned his law degree from the University of Illinois. He worked at the Memphis law firm Glankler Brown, practicing in labor and management relations, and served as general counsel for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry and as secretary and general counsel for the Memphis Chamber of Commerce. Perl played a pivotal role in the completion of what is now known as the FedEx Forum in Memphis, fulfilling his promise that the arena would be completed “on time and on budget.” In addition to serving on the New Memphis Arena Public Building Authority, Perl spent about 30 years as a member of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, including 16 years as chair. The family requests that memorials be made to Temple Israel, 1376 E Massey Rd., Memphis, TN 38120; Memphis Jewish Federation, 6560 Poplar Ave., Germantown, TN 38138; or MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. The Daily Memphian has more on Perl’s career and civic work.

Carthage attorney Jacky O. Bellar died April 12 at 83. Bellar earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1962. His first job was assistant district attorney general for the Fifth Judicial Circuit. He later served as Carthage City judge and attorney for Smith County government for more than 50 years. He was senior partner in the Bellar & Winkler Law Firm working as legal counsel for several area lending institutions at the time of his death. He also served as legal counsel for the Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (UCEM), Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. and Cincinnati Insurance Co. The family has requested memorials be given to UCEM Cares, 907 N. Main St., Carthage, TN 37030.

Brentwood lawyer Richard A. “Rick” Buerger, 73, died March 28. A graduate of Vanderbilt University Law, Buerger first joined with James Peterson to open a law office. He later was named a partner in the firm of Buerger, Moseley & Carson and stayed with the firm until he retired in 2002. Buerger also served as the attorney for Williamson County for 24 years, chair of the Williamson County Ethics Committee, president of the Williamson County Bar Association, and adjunct professor of health care management at Belmont University. He practiced in almost every area of the law from criminal to family law and from general business to health care law. Memorial donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project or Tennessee Wildlife Federation, 300 Orlando Ave., Nashville, TN 37209.

Longtime Tennessee state senator Thelma Harper will lie in state from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT Wednesday at the state capitol, becoming the first African American woman to receive that honor. Harper, the first African American woman elected to the state Senate and longest serving female senator in state history, died April 22 at the age of 80. A four-day celebration is being planned next week at locations around Nashville that were important in her life: a community viewing at Schrader Lane Church of Christ on Monday, viewing at the Historic Metropolitan Courthouse on Tuesday, and a celebration of life, internment and barbecue in her honor on Thursday. WKRN has the schedule.