Nashville lawyer Seth Ogden was selected as the recipient of the 2023 Larry Dean Wilks Leadership Award. Ogden was chosen by fellow members of the Tennessee Bar Association’s 2023 Leadership Law class and was honored during the group’s graduation ceremonies in Knoxville last week. The award is named for former President Larry D. Wilks and recognizes a TBALL class member with exceptional leadership qualities. “I am humbled to receive this award from my peers,” said Ogden. “Leadership is about empowering others to achieve their goals, and I deeply appreciate this recognition of my commitment to helping others succeed." Ogden is the 11th recipient of the award.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows met for their annual meeting Friday night as part of the TBA's 2023 Annual Convention. The group elected U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Rachel Mancl as president, Jackson lawyer Michelle Greenway Sellers as vice president, Memphis lawyer Mason Wilson as secretary and Chattanooga lawyer David McDowell as treasurer. Outgoing president Rachel Moses of Cookeville also inducted six new fellows: Chattanooga lawyers Blair Bennington Cannon, Matt Brock, Justin Faith, David McDowell and Wade Hinton, and Memphis lawyer Will Perry. Three honorary fellows also were named, including, Knoxville lawyer Heidi Barcus, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne Bauknight of Knoxville and Senior U.S. District Judge Curtis Lynn Collier of Chattanooga. Barcus was recognized for her election as TBA vice president while the judges were recognized for their assistance with the YLD’s Debt Relief Clinics. See photos from the event.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division met last week in Knoxville in conjunction with the TBA's 2023 Annual Convention. On Friday, the group held its Annual Meeting, at which Memphis lawyer Quinton Thompson took office as president. Others taking office were President-elect Sean Aiello of Franklin, Vice President Alex McVeagh of Chattanooga, Secretary Ross Smith of Nashville and Treasurer Darius Walker Jr. of Nashville. The 2023-2024 YLD Board then met on Saturday for committee planning sessions and its first board meeting. On Friday, the group met for its annual board dinner. During the evening, outgoing president Brittany Thomas Faith presented a number of awards. The President’s Award was given to Knoxville lawyer Samantha Ellis for her work developing YLD CLE programs, and Chattanooga lawyer Justin Faith for his assistance during the year. Distinguished service awards were presented to Hamilton County Judge Alex McVeagh and President-elect Quinton Thompson. The Public Service Award was presented to Mock Trial Long Range Planning Committee Chair Kati Goodner and Mock Trial Committee Chair Judge Zack Walden and Vice Chair Ashley Tipton for their work on the 2023 competition. Finally, six were recognized with Star of the Quarter Awards: Billy Leslie, for service as immediate past president; Michael Holmes, for assistance with the mock trial competition; Courtney Smith, for service as co-chair of the Diversity Committee; Lindsay Oakes for service as Publications Committee vice chair; and Charlotte Mattingly and John Murphy for work on the "Welcome to Tennessee Basket.” In addition to YLD activities, the 2023 class of the Diversity Leadership Institute met for programming during the convention and celebrated their graduation at the dinner. The group completed a service project at the Richard Bean Detention Center on Saturday. See photos from these events.

Memphis lawyer Jim Barry was sworn in Friday as the 143rd president of the Tennessee Bar Association. During the luncheon, he outlined his goals for the year. If you missed the livestream of his remarks, the recording is available on the TBA Facebook page.

Memphis lawyer Jim Barry has been sworn into office as the 143rd president of the Tennessee Bar Association. The oath of office was administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins during the TBA’s Annual Lawyers Lunch. Barry, who is retired from International Paper, highlighted his plans for the coming bar year, including a new housing subcommittee of the Access to Justice Committee to focus on evictions and affordable housing, an effort to expand the pool of attorneys in the state willing to do pro bono work, a new initiative to provide safe options for pets of domestic violence victims and an effort to keep lawyers engaged with the bar as they transition to retirement. He also pledged to continue several initiatives started by predecessors, including the Women in the Profession Committee, the Court Square CLE series, legislative advocacy to increase pay for indigent representation and eliminate the professional privilege tax, and the TBA book club, with the first book to be Beale Street Dynasty by Preston Lauterbach. Finally, Barry announced that the TBA would be traveling to Ireland in May 2024. Those interested in learning more about the trip can sign up here for updates. See photos from the event.

At today’s Lawyers Luncheon, outgoing TBA President Tasha Blakney presented a number of awards. Chattanooga lawyer Russell Fowler received the Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing for two voting-related articles in the March/April 2022 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. Rutherford County attorney Mary Bonita Tucker received the Fourth Annual Claudia Jack Award for her work as a court-appointed private practitioner for involuntary commitment proceedings. Blakney presented her President’s Award to Knoxville lawyer and former TBA President Jason Long, who chaired the search committee responsible for hiring TBA’s new executive director Sheree Wright. In addition, Nashville lawyer and TBA Communications Section member Jay Harbison presented the Fourth Estate Award to Elk Valley Times general manager and editor Lora Scripps and reporter Wanda Southerland for their reporting on Jack Daniels' exemptions from regulations while locals complained about a “whiskey fungus” created by unregulated barrel houses. Finally, former TBA President Buck Lewis presented Knoxville attorney and University of Tennessee College of Law Dean and Professor Emeritus Douglas A. Blaze with the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows. See photos from today's event.

The annual 2023 TBA Convention in Knoxville kicked off Wednesday evening at the Downtown Marriott. If you’ve already registered for the convention, you may pick your badge in the lower level/pre-function area. Walk-up registrations are welcome. See our full schedule for convention events and CLE programming. See photos from our first day. 

Seventeen sponsors have signed up to help underwrite the costs of this year's TBA Annual Convention. Thank you to diamond presenting sponsor Fastcase; platinum sponsor TriStar Court Reporting; gold sponsor Attorneys Insurance Mutual of the South; silver sponsor TBA Member Insurance Solutions; bronze sponsors Clio and The Bar Plan; and YLD sponsors Lexitas and SoFi. Exhibitors include Conservatorship Association of Tennessee, HealthCare Appraisers, JAMS, PageOne, ProbateCash, Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program and Tradeline LLC. Non-exhibiting sponsors include SoFi and Time Miner. Check out our sponsor page for more information and make sure to visit exhibit booths during the Convention. If you're at convention, please visit all exhibitors and enter our Exhibitor Passport drawing for great prizes!

The TBA’s 2023 Convention gets underway Wednesday with a meeting of the TBA House of Delegates, training for new section chairs and a welcome reception for all attendees. Pre-registration for the event is now closed but those still interested in attending may register on site at the Marriott Knoxville Downtown Hotel, 525 Henley St., Knoxville 37902 beginning at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday. Those unable to attend this year’s convention in person are invited to join us for a livestream of the annual Lawyers Luncheon at noon EDT Friday on TBA’s Facebook page. Watch as President Tasha Blakney closes out her year of leadership, Tennessee lawyers are recognized for their contributions to the profession and TBA President-elect Jim Barry is sworn into office. Questions about this year’s event? Email convention@tnbar.org.

Pre-Registration for next weeks's TBA Convention in Knoxville will close on Monday at 8 a.m. CDT. In-person registration will be accepted at the convention. Visit the TBA Convention site for more information.