Here is additional information on speakers who will be taking part in programming during the 2022 TBA Annual Convention.

Bench Bar Program

Panel 1: Judges as Leaders

Justice Jeffrey Bivins
Took office as a member of the Tennessee Supreme Court on July 16, 2014. He was appointed to this position by Governor Bill Haslam. He was elected to the remainder of the full term in August 2016. Effective September 1, 2016, his colleagues elected him to the position of Chief Justice. He served as Chief Justice from 2016 to 2021.  Justice Bivins served on the Board of Directors of the Chief Justices Conference from 2019 to 2021.  He served as the chairman of the CCJ Government Affairs Committee in 2020 and 2021.  In 2020, Justice Bivins received the Tennessee Bar Association Justice Frank F. Drowota III Judicial Service Award.  Prior to his appointment to the Tennessee Supreme Court, Justice Bivins was a judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals from August 2011 until July 2014. Previously, Justice Bivins also served as a Circuit Court Judge for the 21st Judicial District of Tennessee, covering Williamson, Hickman, Lewis, and Perry Counties. He was appointed to the trial court position in March 2005. Justice Bivins was elected to a full eight-year term in 2006. He also previously served in a circuit judge position from July 1999 through August 2000. He is a 1986 graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. He received a B.A. Degree, magna cum laude, in 1982 from East Tennessee State University, with a major in political science and a minor in criminal justice. Justice Bivins is a past President of the Tennessee Judicial Conference. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Bivins served on the Board of Judicial Conduct and its predecessor, the Court of the Judiciary. Justice Bivins also previously served on the Tennessee Judicial Evaluation Commission. He is a member of the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. He also is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Tennessee Bar Foundation, and the Nashville Bar Foundation. He is a former member of the Williamson County Commission. Prior to his appointment to the trial bench, Justice Bivins practiced law with the firm of Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry PLC in Nashville, Tennessee. He also served as Assistant Commissioner and General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Personnel.

Chancellor Jerri Bryant
Is the Chancellor for Tennessee’s Tenth Judicial District.  She was first elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2006, 2014 and is running unopposed in 2022.  Chancellor Bryant graduated from Tennessee Wesleyan College Summa Cum Laude in 1984 and the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1987.  She began her legal career at the firm of Claiborne, Davis, Buuck & Hurley.  During that time, she was involved with the Tennessee Young Lawyers Conference (now TYLD) and the Barristers of the Knoxville Bar Association.  She returned to her hometown Athens in 1991 to practice with the firm of Carter, Harrod & Cunningham, where she had a general practice.  Chancellor Bryant has also been an adjunct professor teaching business law at Tennessee Wesleyan College (now Tennessee Wesleyan University) and coached the mock trial team at McMinn County High School.  

She was chosen by Governor Bill Haslam to serve on the Steering Committee for the Tennessee H2O – Tennessee’s Water Plan project.  

She has also been active in the judiciary at the statewide level, becoming the second female President of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and serving on the Tennessee Bar Association’s task force to rewrite the Code of Judicial Conduct.  She currently serves as the Chair of the Wellness Committee, which seeks to promote physical and mental well-being among judges, and Co-Chair of the Judicial Academy and the Retirement and Compensation Committees.  She has also given numerous CLE presentations to judges and attorneys alike on judicial ethics and civil court practice.  She is a member of the Hamilton-Burnett Inns of Court and the Brock-Cooper Inns of Court and was a delegate to the Southern Leadership Conference.

She was an organizer for the Tennessee Supreme Court SCALES Project when it came to Athens, Tennessee in 2012.  She is currently a member of Class VIII of Leadership TN.

Chancellor Bryant is also active in her community, having served on numerous boards and counsels, including The Boys & Girls Club, United Way and the Athens Kiwanis Club, where she was elected President in 2001.  She also currently maintains an active membership in the Tennessee Bar Association and sits on the Tennessee Wesleyan University Board of Trustees.  Chancellor Bryant was a member of the founding Board of Directors of the H.O.P.E. Center, a domestic violence shelter in McMinn County.  She is also heavily involved in her church, Keith Memorial United Methodist Church.  

Chancellor Bryant resides in Athens and is married to Carter Runyan, COO and partner of the accounting firm WarrenJackson, PLLC.  She has two sons: Duncan and Adam.

Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton
In 2017, Angelita Blackshear Dalton was appointed by Governor Bill Haslam as presiding judge of Division II of the Davidson County Criminal Court. Judge Dalton was elected to retain the seat in 2018.  Before coming to the Criminal Court bench, she served from 2006 – 2014 as a Davidson County General Sessions judge.  She was the first African-American woman elected to a judgeship in Davidson County.

Prior to assuming the bench, Dalton served in various positions with the Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office from 1997 through 2005, including a specialized assignment on the domestic violence prosecution team.

Since assuming the bench, Judge Dalton has worked, both inside the courtroom and in the community, to ensure efficiency in the courts. In 2010 and 2017, she was elected to serve as Presiding Judge of the Davidson County General Sessions Court. In that role, she was responsible for the administrative operations of the court. She co-chaired the Court Operations Committee of the Nashville Domestic Violence Safety Assessment.  Judge Dalton is also an adjunct instructor at the Nashville School of Law where she teaches the General Sessions Court Practicum.

Judge Dalton holds memberships in the Napier-Looby, Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations, the Lawyers’ Association for Women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and the Links, Incorporated. Through the Links, Incorporated, she organized and facilitated Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness and Bullying Prevention seminars for high school and college students. 

Judge Dalton has served on the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct and the Tennessee Committee on the Judiciary Leadership. She served on the steering committee and was a charter member of the Belmont University College of Law American Inn of Court. Judge Dalton was selected among lawyers across Tennessee to the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law Class of 2007.  In addition, Judge Dalton served on the Board of Trustees of Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church where she actively participates in the Room in the Inn and Meals on Wheels ministries. 

A native of Nashville, Judge Dalton received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Lane College.  Her Juris Doctor Degree is from the University of Toledo College of Law. Judge Dalton and her husband, Derrick Dalton, are the parents of one son.

Judge Gina Higgins
Was born in Memphis, Tennessee, earned her BA in Criminal Justice from the University of Memphis, earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1984, worked at the Law School as a Minority Recruiter until she reported for active duty with the United States Navy in 1985.  Her tenure with the Navy was as an Assistant Judge Advocate General (JAG), trying Courts Martial in Tennessee, Texas and Mississippi, detailed as Claims Officer, Trial Officer, Defense Counsel, Legal Assistance Officer and Legal Officer for the Commanding Officer in Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada.  

Her legal career included a period of time with Legal Services in Memphis and Arkansas, prior to and during law school; a Clerkship and Associate position with the Law Offices of Herman E. Morris and the Law Offices of Charles Carpenter. She was a founding member of the Law Offices of STOTTS HIGGINS JOHNSON, which served as a general law practice with emphasis on Family Law, Probate, Consumer, Criminal Law, Personal Injury and Consumer Law. In addition, in 2003, she was appointed to serve as an Assistant Shelby County Divorce referee, to proctor and preside over hearings on temporary child support and alimony matters.

Judge Higgins served as President of the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association is 2006 and as a former Board Member; served as a Program Chair for the Leo Bearman American Inns of Court; a Board Member of the American Bar Association; member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, former Board Member of Memphis Bar Association; Board Member of Memphis Bar Foundation; member of Association of Women Attorneys and the Association of Minority Women Attorneys; Board Member of Southwest Community College Paralegal Studies and Shelby County Public Records Commission; Board Member of Salvation Army Advisory Board and Tennessee Judicial Conference; and former Board Member and Judicial Reception Chair of University of Memphis School of Law Alumni Board.  Additionally, for several years, she has co-chaired the Memphis Bar Association’s Summer Students Law Intern Program (SLIP) which recruits and places High School Students in law firms to enhance and develop the interests and careers of future lawyers.
Judge Higgins is the recipient of many awards for her service to the community.  She was recognized by Tri-State Defender as a Woman of Excellence, by Memphis Inter-Denominational Fellowship as one of 12 Most Outstanding Women in the Judiciary and by the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association as the 2018 Charles A. Rond Award Recipient for Judge of the Year.

In August 2010, Judge Higgins was elected Judge of Circuit Court Division 4 for the Thirtieth Judicial District at Memphis. She was re-elected in 2014. On a personal note, Judge Higgins is a long-time member of Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ, founded by the late Bishop G.E. Patterson and pastored by Bishop Milton Hawkins. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Phi Lambda Omega Chapter.  Judge Higgins has a son, Jeremy, a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, and a daughter, Morgan, a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta and Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, KS.

Panel 2: Lawyers as Civic Leaders

Marcy Eason
Concentrates her practice on civil litigation with an emphasis on commercial litigation, lender liability, products liability. She has been involved in complex litigation since 1985, including failed banks and class actions. She has prosecuted civil director and officer liability claims, malpractice claims and insurance claims involving banks and financial institutions. Ms. Eason provides general risk management advice and product liability counsel for a pharmaceuticals company in the U.S. and Canada, including supervision of local counsel work, direction of litigation, and participates as appropriate for trial. Ms. Eason has an AV rating in Martindale-Hubbell.

Sherie Edwards
Sherie L. Edwards, Vice President of Corporate and Legal for State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company (SVMIC) in Brentwood, Tennessee, joined the company in November of 1998 as a Claims Attorney. In addition to serving as corporate counsel, Ms. Edwards also has responsibility for the areas of regulatory and corporate compliance, government relations, and corporate/facility services. Prior to joining SVMIC, Ms. Edwards was the Director of Risk Management for Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin, Tennessee (1993-98).Her volunteer activities include: Past District 5 Governor and Membership Chair of the TBA Board of Governors (2017-2019); Past Treasurer of the TBA (2012-2017); member of the Access to Justice (2014-present) and Attorney Wellness (2013-present) committees; member of the 2010 TBALL class; Nashville Bar Association delegate to ABA House of Delegates (2018-2019); Past Chair of the Nashville Bar Sister Cities committee and a mentor for the Nashville Bar Foundation's Leadership Forum; Vice Chair of the ABA TIPS Medicine and Law Committee; Immediate Past Chair of the Small Law Department committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel; past Board member for Sister Cities Nashville (2016-2020); and past Board of Directors of United Way of Williamson County (2012-2018). Ms. Edwards has had several articles published on attorney health and wellness, including "Secure Your Mask First, Then Help Others", published in the Association of Corporate Counsel journal The Docket in November of 2014, and has presented at several CLE programs on attorney wellness and medical-legal issues.Ms. Edwards received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Human Relations from Trevecca Nazarene University in 1991, her J.D. from the Nashville School of Law in 1996, and her M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University in August of 2012. She is a Fellow of the Nashville, Tennessee, and American Bar Foundations and of the TBA YLD. Ms. Edwards is a recipient of Nashville Business Journal's Best of the Bar in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019, the Association of Corporate Counsel's prestigious Jonathan Silber Network Member of the Year (2018), and was an Athena Award nominee in 2014. She is a member of the Harry Phillips Inn of Court.

Ed Lanquist
Focuses his practice on patent and trademark litigation, intellectual property counseling, and trademark prosecution. In addition to litigating more than one hundred and fifty cases, Mr. Lanquist has filed over one thousand trademark registration applications, over 150 patent applications, and performed in excess of 2,300 trademark clearance searches. He has litigated and performed appellate work in cases involving patent infringement, trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, right of publicity, copyright infringement, design patent infringement, and trade secret misappropriation cases. Mr. Lanquist counsels clients on the economic benefits and implications of intellectual property protection and litigation. Ed received his J.D., with Honors, University of Tennessee, 1988 and his B.S., Civil Engineering, with Honors, University of Tennessee, 1985.

Ed is a Past President of the Nashville Bar Association. He is the General Counsel for the Tennessee Bar Association for one more day when tomorrow he becomes the Vice President of the Tennessee Bar Association. He is a former Chairman of the American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, Patent, Copyright and Trademark Committee. Ed serves on the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Bar Association, Intellectual Property Committee. He is a past President, Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association, a past Treasurer, Nashville Bar Association, a past Chair, Nashville Bar, Intellectual Property Committee, a past Chair, Nashville Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education Committee, a past Chair, Nashville Bar Association, ad hoc committee for online continuing legal education.

Ed is the current Chair of Hands on Nashville and serves on the Boards of the Women’s Political Collaborative and the contemporary dance troop New Dialect. He is the past Chair of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, the Mid South Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Belcourt Theatre - Nashville's art house theatre, and has served on more than fifty non-profit boards.

Joycelyn Stevenson
A native of Macon, GA, Joycelyn graduated from Howard University and received her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School. Joycelyn is the Executive Director of the Tennessee Bar Association (“TBA”) and the Tennessee Legal Community Foundation (“TLCF”) where she manages operations, public policy and supports the board of governors and over 12,000 members across the state as well as the educational programs and building needs of the association.  Prior to her arrival at the TBA, Joycelyn was a shareholder at Littler, where she practiced labor and employment law for four years.  Prior to her work at Littler, she served as a partner at Bradley where she worked for 12 years as a commercial and employment law litigator. 
 
Joycelyn currently serves as vice president of the National Association of Bar Executives, where she will become president in 2023.  She also serves as a Commissioner and Secretary of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. She is a 2022 recipient of Nashville Business Journal’s Women of Influence Award. Joycelyn is a past president of the Nashville Bar Association, the Lawyers’ Association for Women ‐ Marion Griffin Chapter and the Council on Aging of Middle Tennessee.  She is the 2017 recipient of the Napier Looby Bar Association’s J.C. Napier Trailblazer Award. Joycelyn was also selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Litigation – Labor and Employment. She is a recipient of the Nashville Chamber’s Nashville Emerging Leader Award in the legal services category. She is also a Nashville Business Journal Best of the Bar honoree, having previously been included in its Top Forty under 40 listing. In 2012, Joycelyn served as an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School where she taught employment discrimination law.

Panel 3: Lawyers in Government

Kyonzte Hughes-Toombs
Is a “Double Dore” having completed her undergraduate studies in 2001 at Vanderbilt University as well as graduating from Vanderbilt’s law school in 2004. Kyonzte also holds an MBA from Emory University and a Tax LLM from the University of Alabama. Kyonzte is also in her first term as the Councilwoman for District 2 on Nashville’s Metro Council. Since her election in September 2019, Kyonzte has held multiple leadership positions. She has served as the Vice Chair and Chair of the Council’s Budget and Finance Committee. Last year, while serving as Budget Chair, her substitute budget passed the Council unanimously becoming the city’s budget for Fiscal Year 2022. Kyonzte has also spearheaded millions of dollars in much needed investment in her district.Kyonzte has spent the majority of her career in public service with nearly 14 years of experience working as an attorney for the State of Tennessee. Kyonzte has spent 12 of those years with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) serving in the Office of General Counsel as Associate General Counsel, Senior Associate General Counsel, and Deputy General Counsel over the Facilities and Entities Team. Kyonzte was recently promoted to Deputy Director of TDH’s Division of Health Licensure and Regulation.Kyonzte is actively been involved in the community. Selected by her peers as one of the 2021 Best of the Bar and by the Nashville Business Journal for its 2021 Women of Excellence Award in the Trailblazer category, Kyonzte served on the board of the Lawyers Association for Women – Marion Griffin Chapter for several years. She is also a past president of the Napier-Looby Bar Association, past secretary of the Nashville Bar Association, and past board member of the Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women. She also served on the PTA board of her kids’ school for 4 years, two of which she served as president.Kyonzte lives with her husband, DeAngelo, of over 11 years, and has four children.

Ed Lanquist
Focuses his practice on patent and trademark litigation, intellectual property counseling, and trademark prosecution. In addition to litigating more than one hundred and fifty cases, Mr. Lanquist has filed over one thousand trademark registration applications, over 150 patent applications, and performed in excess of 2,300 trademark clearance searches. He has litigated and performed appellate work in cases involving patent infringement, trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, right of publicity, copyright infringement, design patent infringement, and trade secret misappropriation cases. Mr. Lanquist counsels clients on the economic benefits and implications of intellectual property protection and litigation. Ed received his J.D., with Honors, University of Tennessee, 1988 and his B.S., Civil Engineering, with Honors, University of Tennessee, 1985.

Ed is a Past President of the Nashville Bar Association. He is the General Counsel for the Tennessee Bar Association for one more day when tomorrow he becomes the Vice President of the Tennessee Bar Association. He is a former Chairman of the American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, Patent, Copyright and Trademark Committee. Ed serves on the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Bar Association, Intellectual Property Committee. He is a past President, Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association, a past Treasurer, Nashville Bar Association, a past Chair, Nashville Bar, Intellectual Property Committee, a past Chair, Nashville Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education Committee, a past Chair, Nashville Bar Association, ad hoc committee for online continuing legal education.

Ed is the current Chair of Hands on Nashville and serves on the Boards of the Women’s Political Collaborative and the contemporary dance troop New Dialect. He is the past Chair of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, the Mid South Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Belcourt Theatre - Nashville's art house theatre, and has served on more than fifty non-profit boards.

Bill Purcell
A strategic advisor to public and private clients, Bill Purcell has spent more than 40 years in law, public service, and higher education. Having represented clients in all of the trial courts of Nashville as well as the federal and state appellate courts, he has been focused on advising clients with administrative and policy concerns at the local level across Tennessee. During his eight-year tenure as Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee (1999-2007), the city saw unprecedented economic expansion, an increase in Metro school funding of more than 50 percent, and the development and preservation of more than 26,000 affordable housing units. He was elected to his second term as mayor by a record-setting 84.8 percent of the vote. During his term, Nashville was ranked as the number one city for corporate headquarters and twice ranked as the hottest city in America for expansion and relocation of business. Bill was elected to five terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1986-96), serving as Majority Leader (1990-96). During his decade in the General Assembly he sponsored and passed legislation undertaking major reforms in Tennessee’s schools, courtrooms, industrial plants and boardrooms, criminal and juvenile justice, hospitals, and voting booths. During his service Tennessee was twice ranked the best managed state in America. An active participant in the work of the profession, Bill has been honored by the Nashville Bar Association with the John C. Tune award for outstanding contributions to his community and faithful service to the bar.

Charles Swanson
Is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law and has been licensed to practice law in Tennessee since 1979.  Following two years in the City Law Department, Swanson was in private practice for over 27 years, during the last 26 years of which he served as Special Counsel to the Knoxville City Council.  He has served as the City Law Director for almost 10 years.  During his career Swanson has been elected to serve as President of the Knoxville Barristers, the Knoxville Bar Association, the Hamilton Burnett American Inn of Court and the Tennessee Bar Association. Swanson was married to the late Judge Pamela Reeves, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and they have two adult children, both of whom are licensed attorneys.

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Legislative Update

Rep. Bill Beck, D-Nashville
Represents the 51st district in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Rep. Beck Garrett attended Belmont University, where he obtained a B.S. degree in Business Administration. He earned his J.D. from the Nashville School of Law. Rep. Beck serves as the Democratic Caucus Floor Leader.

Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville
Represents the 45th district in the Tennessee House of Representatives and is a 7th generation Goodlettsvillian who has lived in Sumner County for over 35 years.  Rep. Garrett attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville where he received a B.S. degree in General Business and earned his J.D. from the Nashville School of Law. Rep. Garrett, a Republican, serves as the House Majority Whip.

Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin
Represents the 23rd district in the Tennessee Senate, which includes Williamson County.  He attended Texas State University, where he obtained a B.S. in Education.  Leader Johnson, a Republican, has served as Senate Majority Leader since 2018 and has served as a Senator since 2007.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland
Represents the 44th District in the Tennessee House of Representatives, which encompasses a portion of Sumner County, including the communities of Hendersonville, Gallatin, Portland, Westmoreland, and New Deal.  He received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and earned his Juris Doctor from the College of William and Mary. Leader  Lamberth, a Republican, has served as the House majority leader since 2018.

Brad Lampley
Serves as legislative counsel to the Tennessee Bar Association and represents TBA before the Tennessee General Assembly and Tennessee state government. He has particular experience advising clients in the energy, environmental, health care, insurance, legal services, public utilities and transportation industries, and he brings years of experience as a corporate litigator to the advice he provides to government relations clients. Lampley also has extensive experience advising national and multinational companies on economic development matters, negotiating state and local incentive packages for companies that wish to relocate their businesses to Tennessee. Lampley was appointed by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to serve on the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees, which is the governing body of the University of Tennessee and its five campuses across the state. He has also served on the board of directors of the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl for over 15 years, during which time the bowl has grown dramatically.

Berkley Schwarz
Is the Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs for the Tennessee Bar Association. Prior to joining TBA, Schwarz worked as an attorney for the Tennessee Secretary of State. She began her legal career as a litigator in Jackson, Mississippi, then made her way to Washington, D.C., where she worked for several congressmen, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, and later at the U.S. Department of Justice as attorney advisor in the Office of Legislative Affairs. She holds degrees from Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she was Assistant Notes and Comments Editor for the Mississippi Law Journal.

Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon
Is a Tennessee Senator in the 24th District. Senator Stevens was elected to the State Senate in 2012 and represents Obion, Weakley, Henry, Gibson, Carroll and Benton Counties in Northwest Tennessee. Sen. Stevens is the first Republican to ever represent Obion and Weakley counties in the State Senate. Sen. Stevens lives in Huntingdon, Tennessee.

Tennessee Senate Minority Leader, Jeff Yarboro, D-Davidson
Represents the 21st district in the Tennessee Senate, which includes part of Davidson County.  He received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, and he earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Leader Yarbro, a Democrat, has served as Senate Minority Leader since 2019.
 

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Better Right Now

Keynote

Oscar Carr
Holds a Master of Counseling degree and Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis. He works with individuals, couples and families with a focus on trauma, substance abuse, depression, stress management, sexual and relationship issues, men's issues and religious and spiritual issues. He also works with licensed professionals in high stress jobs with a risk of burnout including physicians, lawyers, pilots, clergy and business owners. Previously, he was an attorney at a large Memphis law firm where he helped find solutions for complicated business and personal legal problems. Carr’s professional affiliations include the American Counseling Association and the West Tennessee Counseling Association. In 2015, he was a co-presenter at the 4th Annual West Tennessee Counseling Summer Conference on the treatment of pornography and sexual issues in individuals and couples. He is a Certified Sex Addiction Candidate through the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP), and a Nationally Certified Counselor.

Law Firm Culture Panel

Kimberly Cannon
Is the Chief Operations Officer for Bass, Berry & Sims and has served as the firm’s Executive Director since January 2016. She is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s financial transactions, planning and reporting and firm-wide diversity as well as providing leadership for other administrative functions including talent management for staff, training, benefits, information technology, facilities, and general administrative services of the firm. Prior to joining the firm, she worked for Gaylord Entertainment Company (now Ryman Hospitality Properties) for more than 20 years in a variety of corporate leadership positions, including positions in finance, information technology and human resources. Cannon also spent two years at American Standard Companies where she assisted in establishing an HR Shared Services Center in Nashville. Cannon is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, the Association of Legal Administrators and the National Association of Female Executives.

Lisa Cole
Is president and managing shareholder of Lewis Thomason and the managing partner of the firm’s Nashville office. As president of the firm, Cole serves as the firm’s General Counsel and risk manager handling all ethical and professional responsibility matters for the firm. She is a Supreme Court Rule 31 Mediator and practices in the areas of employment law, professional liability, workers’ compensation, and general casualty defense litigation. Cole’s practice for over 25 years has concentrated in the area of complex civil trial litigation in state and federal courts. Cole was appointed by ABA President Robert Grey to serve a three-year term on the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service; is a Member of the Board of Women’s Fund; and has chaired various aspects of fundraisers and volunteered for the Sexual Assault Center, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, the Nashville Symphony, Belle Meade Plantation, the Ensworth School, the Harpeth Hall School, Montgomery Bell Academy, the American Heart Association, and the Nashville Public Library.

Cathy Speers Johnson 
Is a partner at Thompson Burton PLLC. For more than 25 years, Johnson has represented clients across Middle Tennessee in matters of family law. She is a person of integrity, well-respected among her peers, and a proven advocate for her clients. Her exemplary approach to the practice of law makes her stand out in her field as one of the Best Lawyers in America(R) in the area of family law year after year since 2011, and she has earned a Martindale-Hubble (R) AV Preeminent rating. She  is also a divorce mediator and is certified in collaborative law.

Jonathan Skeeters
Is Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner of Bradley Arrant Boult Cummings’ Nashville office where he represents clients in business transactions. His primary focus is on advising publicly traded and privately held companies in the healthcare industry in mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, securities and corporate finance matters, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and syndications. Skeeter's experience includes work with hospital systems, ambulatory surgery centers, diagnostic imaging centers, cancer centers, urgent care centers and home health and hospice agencies. He works with clients to implement their growth and development strategies by structuring, negotiating and closing complex business transactions. With his transaction experience, he frequently advises companies and executive teams through difficult decisions, including sale and financing transactions with strategic acquirors, venture capital investors and private equity firms.

Millennial Lawyers Panel

Bradley Bald
Is a licensed attorney at The Row Title & Escrow, LLC where he counsels clients in various commercial and residential transactions, including purchases and sales, refinances and construction loans. Prior to joining The Row, Bald worked for an Entertainment and Business Law firm where he helped artists, songwriters and business professionals navigate complex legal issues. He has worked for a real estate firm and title company, as well as a Fortune 500 Company in its Commercial Services division. Bald graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law with honors. He also played Division I Basketball for the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and the University of Vermont before graduating from the University of Delaware with a degree in Psychology.

Michael Holder
Is an associate at Lewis Thomason in the firm’s Nashville office. His practice concentrates primarily on personal injury, insurance and casualty defense, and transportation law. He regularly litigates in both state and federal courts and successfully defends transportation companies across the state of Tennessee. During law school, Holder interned at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office for Davidson County. He also served as President of Belmont’s Board of Advocates, as well as Notes Editor for the Belmont Law Review.

C.R. Lloyd
Is a recent graduate from Belmont Law School. During their 2L year at Belmont, C.R. began hormone therapy allowing them to begin medically transitioning into their truest self. This experience helped them understand the anxiety and stress related to situations where your personal and work life are forced to overlap.
 
Lloyd is passionate about advocating for healthy work-life boundaries, including in academic settings. They have strived to open the door for hard, but necessary conversations during their time at Belmont and have continued to do so in their work environment.
 
Lloyd is currently clerking at McCracken Kuhn PLLC, a Nashville law firm that focuses on family law, while studying for the Tennessee Bar exam.

Demi Marks
Is an associate attorney at McCracken Kuhn PLLC. She works in close conjunction with all the firm’s clients, specializing in divorce, pre- and post-marital agreements, entertainment law, estate planning, and child custody. Marks is passionate about the collaborative divorce process and mediation and believes in using both to help families redefine their relationships in a respectful and harmonious manner. Prior to moving to Nashville, she worked at a boutique family law office in Beverly Hills, California handling a variety of complex litigation cases involving high net worth individuals, from post-judgment enforcements of qualified domestic orders to child and animal custody cases. Marks also has an entertainment law background, having worked at Amazon, NBCUniversal, and Sony in various capacities during her time in Los Angeles.

Kortney Simmons
Is a partner at Casey, Simmons and Bryant, PLLC where she provides juvenile law, family law, and criminal defense services to clients across Tennessee. From 2012-2014, she acted as a guest lecturer for the Black Executive's Exchange Program hosted at Lane College. She has also served as a Special Judge on the Jackson City Court and completed work with the Jackson Service League and West Tennessee Legal Services Board of Directors. She currently acts as President and has acted as a board member of the TBA Young Lawyers Division, and as a TBA District 13 Representative. She is also a member of the Federal Bar for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Simmons received her J.D. with a Certificate in Criminal Law from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2011. Simmons also received a B.S. in International Relations from Middle Tennessee State University upon graduating cum laude in 2007.

The Importance of Sleep

Dr. Beth Malow
Is Professor of Neurology and holds the Burry Chair in Cognitive Childhood Development at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She earned her medical degree from Northwestern University and trained in neurology at Harvard, and then pursued training and research in sleep medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. She moved from the University of Michigan to Tennessee in 2003 to become Director of the Vanderbilt Sleep Division. Malow recently testified to a US Congressional Committee on the benefits of eliminating daylight saving time and adopting permanent standard time.

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The Power of Diverse Experiences
in The Pursuit of Professional Success

Presented by the TBA Young Lawyers Division

Mary Beard
Is Senior HR Counsel for HCA, where she advises the Chief Human Resources Officer and his executive team on legal matters, including but not limited to, labor and employment, contracts, and healthcare. A graduate of Vanderbilt School of Law, Beard has served her profession as a former president of the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association, former chair of the Tennessee Judicial Nominating Committee, former co-chair of the Tennessee Bar Associations’ Labor and Employment Executive Council and the Racial and Ethnic Diversity Committee. She is a Fellow of the Memphis Bar Association and Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Jobs for Tennessee Graduates and as Treasurer of the Napier-Looby Bar Association.

Amy Willoughby Bryant
A consummate professional, attorney Amy Willoughby Bryant has a heart for public service and leadership. Amy’s work has been a reflection of her professionalism and passion during her many years of legal practice. Amy is excited to serve Metro Davidson County and Nashville’s community of individuals with a disability as the Office of Conservatorship Management Director. She views this as a tremendous opportunity to combine her professional expertise with her passion for protecting Nashville’s vulnerable adults.Prior to this position, Amy served as Senior Attorney for the Division of TennCare, as a second level manager and she was responsible for creating training materials, giving presentations and helping to develop a resource bank for the administrative appeals unit. Prior to working for the state, Amy worked in private practice on a variety of legal matters, including family law, real estate and contracted matters.Amy demonstrates her passion for her community through her service as a leader, instructor and volunteer. Amy serves as an adjunct professor at Belmont University College of Law in Elder Law. She has served as a member or leader for numerous organizations including: Past President of Napier Looby Bar Association, Nashville Bar Foundation Trustee and Fellow, Nashville Business Journal 40 Under 40, Conservatorship Association of Tennessee Board, National Guardianship Association Board, Nashville Children’s Theatre Board, 4:13 Strong Board Trustee, Bike Fun Board, Global Education Center Board, L’Evate 2022 Class, Nashville Chamber of Commerce Leadership Public Education 20220Class; Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law, Nashville Emerging Leaders, Young Leaders Council, Lawyer’s Association for Women, Tennessee Bar Association Public Education Committee Chair and Board of Governors, Tennessee Bar Foundation Grant Funding Committee Member, National Bar Association Regional Secretary, Napier Looby Bar Foundation Board, W.O. Smith School of Music volunteer instructor, Latin Dance Instructor for Metro Parks, Walk Bike Nashville volunteer, Napier Looby Bar Association, serving as Historian and Secretary, the National Association for Women Judges Conference Committee Member, and advisor for TSU Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity.This Memphis native is a Tennessee State University alum with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Economics and Finance. Amy continued her education by obtaining her Juris Doctorate from Saint Louis University School of Law.Amy is married to Julian Bryant and mother of four. She lives by the motto that everything in life happens for a reason, embraces life as it comes, and meets every day with optimism!

James Cobb
Was born in West Tennessee to an immigrant mother from Honduras and a hard-working father from Tennessee. He was raised in Fairview, Tennessee.

James went to Austin Peay State University and received a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. After an 8 year mortgage banking career involving commercial/residential lending, and also annuity wholesaling, he decided it was time for a change.

James went back to school to pursue a law degree at the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. There he was able to serve in many capacities including providing over 350 student pro bono hours helping the indigent community in Memphis access justice. He was able to clerk for a Shelby County Circuit Court Judge and for Judge David S. Kennedy, Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee. His broad experiences were capped off with an opportunity to work with the U.S. Attorneys office and he was one of the first students in the nation to make an appearance in federal court under a new appearance rule.

He is an active member in the American, Tennessee, and Sumner County Bar Associations. He is the current vice-chair of the Madison - Rivergate Area Chamber of Commerce.

James is the father of four amazing children, three daughters and one son, and husband to a beautiful wife. He enjoys spending time with his family and cheering for his beloved Memphis Tigers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Chicago Cubs.

Casey Duhart
Is the Chief Labor & Employment Counsel for Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.  She provides legal advice and counsel regarding allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful discharge claims brought under federal and state employment laws and regulations. Ms. Duhart earned her JD, cum laude, from the University of Tennessee College of Law where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Tennessee Law Review.  She is the Vice Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Council.

Wade Hinton
Is an attorney, entrepreneur, and nationally-regarded expert on improving diversity and inclusion outcomes in the workplace. Wade’s two decades of experience in the private and public sectors include service as the inaugural Vice-President of Inclusion and Diversity for the Unum Group, City Attorney for the City of Chattanooga, and Deputy General Counsel for Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations. Wade is the founder of Board Connector and co-founder of Designation One - platforms connecting historically underrepresented talent to inclusive nonprofit boards. Recently, Wade founded Hinton & Company, a business services firm with a focus on inclusion, diversity, and equity. Hinton & Company provides fractional Chief Diversity Officer services as well as bespoke leadership offerings to meet organizations where they are on their inclusion journey. Civically, Wade serves as a board member for The Company Lab (CO.Lab) and the Chattanooga State Community College Foundation. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and the Rotary Club of Chattanooga. Previous board service includes Benwood Foundation (Chair), University of Chattanooga Foundation, UTC Chancellor’s Roundtable (Chair), Friends of the Festival, and many more. Wade has been named a 2021 Top 100 Diversity Officer by Diversity First, one of 40 best advocates and business leaders under the age of 40 by both the National Bar Association and the Network Journal, respectively, and a Tennessee Bar Foundation Fellow. He has been awarded the Diversity Community Champion for Justice Award, the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga Whitney M. Young Award, the Chattanooga NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award, and the Tennessee NAACP 45 Under 45 Award and selected for programs such as Presidential Leadership Scholars, Leadership Tennessee, and Leadership Chattanooga. Wade was also a member of Harvard’s inaugural Young American Leaders Program. His interest in foreign policy led him to be selected as a Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund and was one of six Americans named to GMF Future of U.S. German-Relations Task Force. Wade is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a graduate of Emory University, The University of Memphis School of Law, and studied at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. His most important role is being a father. He and his long-time partner Jana have one adorable daughter - Genevieve Silvia Eichel-Hinton. He also loves to travel, read, work out, and play golf when possible.

Kaya Grace Porter
Has been an active and charismatic member of the NBA since admission to law practice, and her service to the organization predates Porter’s Board election. Porter was first appointed to lead the Nashville Bar Association’s Diversity Committee in 2018 and reappointed in 2019 and 2020, each year by a different NBA president. Under Porter’s leadership, the Diversity Committee planned a statewide diversity symposium, revamped the standards by which law firms and organizations are recognized for their diversity and inclusion initiatives, delivered cutting-edge programs on generational diversity, unconscious bias, neurological diversity, and so much more. Porter is particularly passionate about the Diversity Committee’s annual High School Summer Intern Program and mentoring youth of racially underrepresented backgrounds on their journeys through college, law school, and ultimately practicing attorneys.
Porter is the two-time recipient of the Nashville Bar Association’s President Award. She was one of Nashville’s Top 30 under 30 in 2019 and graduated from Nashville Emerging Leaders with the Class of 2020.

Mozianio "Trey" S. Reliford III
Joined Neal & Harwell in 2019 and is an experienced entertainment law, securities litigation, commercial litigation, crisis management, and complex white collar and regulatory defense trial attorney. Trey brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and creativity to his practice, and he has successfully represented a variety of clients from across the globe and here in Music City – from artists, producers, and entertainers to financial advisors, executives, and major companies– all in high-stakes, high-profile matters. Prior to joining Neal & Harwell, Trey was an attorney at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York, where, most notably, he was part of the team that represented a multinational mass media corporation in an internal investigation concerning allegations of misconduct by its then-CEO. Trey is recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2022 for Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, and Entertainment and Sports Law.

Trey earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Journal of International Law, Corporate Relations Director for the Stanford Black Law Students Association, and Membership Chair of Stanford’s Chapter of the American Constitution Society. From 2016–2017, Trey had the honor of serving as a law clerk for Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Trey has a strong commitment to pro bono service and was named a Tennessee Supreme Court Attorney for Justice in 2019 and 2020. He has served or currently serves as pro bono counsel in a variety of cases concerning voting rights, prisoner’s rights disputes, qualified immunity, access to education, immigration/asylum matters, and general criminal justice reform. Trey also volunteers and serves in various leadership roles in numerous civic and professional organizations including Conexio´n Ame´ricas, The 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands, Southern Word, the Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers (“TABL”), the Napier-Looby Bar Association, and the Nashville Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

Princess Rogers
Currently serves as a Lead Appeals Litigation Attorney with the Division of TennCare where she has worked for over six years. 

As a servant leader, she is the President-Elect of the Napier Looby Bar Association, a member of the Napier Looby Foundation Board, Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee for the TBA Young Lawyers Division, Co-Chair of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee for the Lawyers’ Association for Women - Marion Griffin Chapter, serves on a number of committees with the Nashville Bar Association, and is Napier Looby’s Bench Bar Committee Representative.  Rogers is a graduate of the Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum class of 2022. 

She is a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church where she is a Saving Our Daughters mentor. She is also a provisional member for the Junior League of Nashville. 

Rogers is a Memphis native and devoted sports fan. As a graduate of the University of Tennessee, you can easily catch her singing “Rocky Top” during football season. When she is not practicing law, serving, or watching sports, Rogers finds joy in preparing meals as the sole owner and chef for the King’s Palate Catering. She resides in Metro Nashville with her talented husband Calvin Rogers, Jr.

Angela Denise Williams
Currently serves as an attorney for the Assistant Metropolitan Attorney in the Department of Law of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. She has served the Davidson County community for the past eight years. Angela has clerked for the Honorable Judge Richard Dinkins of the Tennessee Court of Appeals for the Middle District of Tennessee, served as a Lead Litigation Attorney for the Division of TennCare’s Appeals Unit, and worked as a civil litigator with Spicer Rudstrom, PLLC.

In addition to zealously advocating for her clients, she has also served as a member or leader of numerous organizations including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; Lawyers’ Association of Women Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as Past-Chair and Practicing Parents Chair; Napier Looby Bar Association Board Member; Napier Looby Bar Foundation Past-President and Past-Vice President; Nashville Bar Association Diversity Committee; and Tennessee Bar Association Diversity Committee Member and Diversity Leadership Institute Coordinator. Angela is also a graduate of the Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum class of 2022.

The Memphis native is an alumna of Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Memphis: Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Angela is married to her husband, Taurean Williams and the couple has two daughters, Tinsley and Teagan Williams.