Nashville lawyer Robert Jay “Bob” Warner Jr. died July 29 at his family’s summer home in North Carolina. He was 89. Warner attended the University of the South and earned his law degree in 1951 from Yale University Law School. After serving as a special agent in the Army’s Counter-Intelligence Corps, he returned to Nashville to work on Estes Kefauver’s U.S. Senate campaign. Warner worked as an assistant district attorney in Davidson County and formed several law firms, including Dearborn, Berry & Warner, which later merged with Bailey, Ewing, Dale & Conner to form Dearborn & Ewing. In 1992, most of that firm merged into Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry. During the Nashville sit-ins, Warner served on the mayor’s ad hoc Human Relations Committee, which was instrumental in desegregating the city's lunch counters. A memorial service will be held tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. at All Saints Chapel in Linville, North Carolina. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Canon Memorial Hospital in Linville or Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville. The Tennessean has more on his life.

TBA senior counselor Livie Frank Mullinax Jr. died July 2 at the age of 98. Originally from Watertown, Mullinax enlisted in the Air Force and flew fighter aircraft to England and North Africa during World War II. In 1942, he was shot down and captured, spending nine months in prison camps before escaping. After the war, he returned to Tennessee and earned a law degree from Cumberland University. Mullinax took a job as an insurance adjuster with The Tennessee Company and opened a new office for them in Chattanooga. He opened his own adjusting company in Cleveland, where he worked until he retired. Mullinax was a strong supporter of the 49th Fighter Squadron Association. Memorial donations may be sent to the group c/o Ron Morrissette, 2601 Ivanridge Ln., Garland, TX 75044. Funeral services were held July 7. The Commercial Appeal has more on his life.

Lawyer, civic leader and former Lookout Mountain mayor Phil B. Whitaker died Saturday (July 30) at the age of 83. A lifelong resident of Chattanooga, Whitaker graduated from the University of the South and entered the Air Force. He earned a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1961 and practiced for more than 40 years with the firm of Witt, Gaither & Whitaker, focusing on labor law, tax and estate planning. A memorial service will be held at The Church of the Good Shepherd, 211 Franklin Rd., Lookout Mountain, on Friday at 3 p.m. The family will receive friends at the church beginning at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Baylor School or charity of choice. Chattanoogan.com has more on his life.

Billy Bruce Guthrie, 87, died this past Saturday (July 30). Guthrie, a graduate of Cumberland School of Law, began his practice in Chattanooga and later was joined by his late son Bruce Henderson Guthrie, the late Paul Sorrick and Gary Disheroon in his law office. He also served for many years as an assistant district attorney. Visitation will be held Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 S. Moore Rd., East Ridge 37412. A funeral service will follow at 1 p.m. Chattanoogan.com has more on Guthrie’s life.

Retired Tazewell lawyer and TBA senior counselor James D. Estep Jr. died Monday (July 25) at the age of 91. Estep, a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, was born in Cumberland Gap and served as its mayor in 1954. He also served as Claiborne County judge from 1956 to 1966. He later founded Estep & Estep Attorneys-At-Law in Tazewell and practiced law there for 64 years. Visitation will be Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Claiborne-Overholt Funeral Home in New Tazewell. Funeral services will follow. Burial will be Friday at 11 a.m. at the Harrogate (Meador) Cemetery in Harrogate. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the New Tazewell United Methodist Church. Knoxnews has more on his life.

Former Nashville lawyer and Faulkner law professor John Garman died yesterday (July 24). Prior to joining the Faulkner Law faculty in the fall of 2000, Garman practiced law in Nashville and served as an adjunct faculty member at Lipscomb University. He earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School. While at Faulkner, he served as faculty advisor to the Black Law Students Association and helped establish the Fred Gray Civil Rights Symposium. Visitation will be Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Oakes and Nichols Funeral Home, 320 W. Seventh St. in Columbia. Funeral services will take place at the funeral home Wednesday at noon, with burial to follow at Polk Memorial Gardens.

Rosalind “Rose” Ross Akin, 91, died Tuesday (July 19), the Daily Times reports. A native of Smyrna and a long-time resident of Rutherford County, Akin earned her law degree from the Nashville School of Law and maintained a law office on the square in Murfreesboro for many years. She was living in Hendersonville at the time of her death. Visitation will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Woodfin Chapel in Smyrna. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. Burial will be in Mapleview Cemetery.

Knoxville lawyer Frank Barnett died Friday (July 15) at the age 82. A 1959 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Barnett began his career as a special agent for the FBI. He later joined East Tennessee Natural Gas as in-house counsel and was a founding partner of the Baker, Worthington, Barnett & Crossley law firm. Barnett left the firm to serve as executive assistant to Gov. Winfield Dunn. In 2010, he joined the U.S. Agency for International Development and worked in Afghanistan on infrastructure development and creation of a new law school. Recently, he completed a term on the Tennessee Board of Regents. Visitation will take place Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel. Burial will be a private family ceremony. Knoxnews has more on his life.

Knoxville lawyer Karlis “K. Karl” Spalvins died last Thursday (July 14) at the age of 74. Born in Latvia, Spalvins served in the U.S. Air Force, earned a master’s degree in geology and a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Following graduation, he built a family law practice that served the Knoxville community for nearly 40 years. A celebration of life will be held at the family home tomorrow at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, c/o Fort Sanders Foundation, 280 Fort Sanders West Blvd., Suite 202, Knoxville, TN 37922. Knoxnews has more on his life.