Parsons lawyer and TBA House of Delegates member Edwin C. Townsend died Saturday. He was 66. Originally from Jackson, Townsend earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Following graduation, he joined his father’s law practice, where they worked together for more than 20 years. Townsend was active in the Tennessee Bar Association, first serving in the Young Lawyers Division and later in the House of Delegates, where he was the current 24th District Delegate. He also was a charter member of the Young Lawyers Division Fellows and later served as its president. Townsend was also active in the University of Tennessee’s National Alumni Association, serving as its president in 1989-1990. A graveside service will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. CDT at the Parsons Cemetery. A celebration of life will be scheduled when gatherings are possible. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Marching Band Scholarship Fund or the College of Law Scholarship Fund (search for “Law College Scholarship Fund” under fund selection).

Criminal defense attorney Carter H. Schoolfield, 84, died Wednesday at his home on Signal Mountain. A graduate of the Cumberland School of Law at Samford, Schoolfield built his law practice in Chattanooga and came to be known as a fierce trial attorney. He also was an avid outdoorsman and later owned one of area’s premier marine dealerships. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A private celebration of life will be held for family and close friends.

Attorney John Brendan Russell of Brentwood died June 23 at 57. Russell had a successful career in commercial real estate until 2003 when he decided to pursue his lifelong dream of songwriting in Nashville, where he released several CDs, performing as “JR and the Roadkill Choir.” Russell went on to earn his law degree from Nashville School of Law in 2014 and afterward opened Russell Real Estate Law. Donations are being received in John’s honor by the Leiomyosarcoma Support & Direct Research Foundation.

Memphis-area lawyers, judges, law professors and others came together on Monday night to memorialize the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died Friday, the Daily Memphians reports. Memphis lawyer Jessica L. Indingaro organized the event that celebrated Ginsburg’s wit, courage and her dedication to equal treatment of women under the law. Thirtieth Circuit Court Judge Gina C. Higgins, 4th Division, spoke to roughly 100 attendees from the steps of the Judge D’Army Bailey Courthouse. “We do not accept that your death is the death of an era,” she said. “Instead, it is the birth of … those who will make their voices known.” Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Camille R. McMullen, the first African American woman to serve on a state appellate court and Katharine Schaffzin, dean of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law were also among those who spoke. The Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association, the Memphis Bar Association, AAUW-Memphis and the National Council of Negro Women (Memphis Chapter) sponsored the event.

Details on memorial services have been announced for Memphis attorney and Baker Donelson Senior Counsel Leo M. Bearman Jr., who died yesterday afternoon at 85. According to the Daily Memphian, out of safety concerns, funeral services will be held tomorrow at 10 a.m. for immediate family only. Baker Donelson issued a statement on Bearman’s passing today, noting the high regard held for him within the legal community and detailing several high profile cases in his distinguished legal career that spanned more than 50 years. Bearman discusses his career with law partner Jill M. Steinberg in a 2010 interview found on the Tennessee Bar Foundation’s YouTube page.  

Native Memphian and Baker Donelson Senior Counsel Leo M. Bearman Jr. died this afternoon at 85. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1960, Bearman started practicing law with his father, Leo Bearman Sr., in the firm that eventually became Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz. A litigation attorney, Bearman was active in the legal community and was recognized with numerous awards, including the Memphis Bar Association's Lawyer's Lawyer Award and Sam A. Myar Jr. Memorial Award, and the 2020 American Inns of Court Lewis F. Powell Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics. He spoke about his legal career in 2019 with his son David L. Bearman, a shareholder at the firm. A full obituary and details on arrangements are not yet available.

Former longtime Nashville Democratic state Rep. Mary Pruitt, 86, died Saturday after complications from a fall, the Tennessean reports. Pruitt served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1985 to 2012, first becoming a member in a special election on the unexpected death of her husband, the late Rep. Charles Pruitt. A retired educator, she used her position to advocate for quality education for all children in the state. In a statement this morning, Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city had "lost a public leader" and a "respected Nashvillian."

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday evening at 87 after a long fight with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg was appointed to the court by then President Bill Clinton in 1993, becoming the second woman to sit on the high court. She was a fierce fighter against gender discrimination and a leading liberal voice on the bench. The Supreme Court has announced a private ceremony on Wednesday, after which Ginsburg will lie in repose at the top of the court’s front steps. The public is invited to pay respects from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday. On Friday, a formal ceremony for invited guests will be held at the U.S. Capitol, where she will lie in state. She will then be buried next to her husband, lawyer Martin Ginsburg, at Arlington National Cemetery, The Hill reports. The court vacancy, occurring just weeks before the November presidential election, has created a number of questions about the protocol for filling the seat. President Donald Trump said he will announce a female nominee this Friday or Saturday. U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn have confirmed they will support moving forward with a vote on the nominee prior to the election according to the Tennessean.

Donald W. Spurrell, a World War II veteran, University of Alabama football player and patent attorney, died Sept. 9 in Johnson City from complications of COVID-19. He was 92. Spurrell completed a master’s degree in math before earning his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. After graduating, he moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a patent examiner. He later moved to Rochester, New York, to work as a patent attorney with Eastman Kodak. Spurrell returned to Tennessee in 1966 but continued working for Kodak until he retired in 1986. He then continued to work for many years as an independent patent attorney. His son Donald E. Spurrell is also a lawyer in Johnson City. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Grace B. Spurrell Memorial Fund at the Johnson City Public Library or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Retired Judge James “Eddie” Beckner died today at the age of 81, the Citizen Tribune reports. Beckner served as a criminal court judge in the Third Judicial District for 30 years and was in private practice in Morristown prior to taking the bench. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Beckner was first appointed to the court by then Gov. Ray Blanton in 1976. He retired in 2006, but remained active in the judicial community, serving on the Retired Judges Committee and as its liaison to the Tennessee Judicial Conference Executive Committee. He also served on the board of directors of the United Way and of the Morristown Boys and Girls Club for 41 years. Details about services are pending. Remembrances can be posted on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.