Eads attorney Charlotte Knight Griffin took office as vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) last week during the group’s Annual Convention in Memphis. She will advance to the presidency in June 2026. Knight Griffin began her career in private practice in Memphis after earning her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. She joined Memphis Light, Gas and Water as a staff attorney in 1978 and retired in April 2023 after 45 years of service. Knight Griffin has been active in the TBA for many years, most recently serving as speaker of the House of Delegates and a member of the Board of Governors. She is a past chair of the Local Government Practice and Litigation sections, a charter fellow of the Young Lawyers Division (YLD), a past executive officer of the YLD and president of the TBA YLD Fellows. Read more about her career in this press release.

Knoxville attorney Heidi Barcus took office as president-elect of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) during the group’s Annual Convention in Memphis last week. Barcus will advance to the presidency in June 2025. Barcus has been active in the TBA and other legal and community organizations for many years, serving most recently as TBA vice president, Second District representative on the TBA Board of Governors and as a member of the TBA’s Law Office Technology & Management Section and its Tort and Insurance Practice Section. She handles health care, litigation, product liability and professional liability matters as a shareholder with Lewis Thomason. Read more about her career in this press release.

Nashville attorney Edward D. Lanquist Jr. took office as president of the TBA last week during the group’s Annual Convention in Memphis. Lanquist has been active in the TBA and other legal and community organizations for many years. For the TBA, he most recently served as president-elect, after being elected vice president in 2022. He also served as general counsel for the association from 2016-2022. He is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC. Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Lanquist co-founded a full-service intellectual property and technology law firm where he practiced for 30 years. Read more about his career in this press release.

Memphis lawyer Miles Mason will receive the TBA’s prestigious Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing on June 14 during the group's Annual Convention in Memphis. The award, which will be presented at the Lawyers Luncheon, was established more than 40 years ago and is given each year to the lawyer who writes the most outstanding article published in the Tennessee Bar Journal for the preceding year. Mason will be recognized for his article “You Are the Father!: Untangling Custody Rights in Tennessee Between Unmarried Parents,” which appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of the Journal. Mason is the founder of Miles Mason Law Group PLC and a certified public accountant. He is a nationally recognized speaker who presents continuing education seminars across the country. His father-in-law, the late Judge Joe B. Jones, was the first recipient of the Joe Henry Award in 1981. Read the TBA's press release for more information.

University of Tennessee College of Law (UT Law) student Kim Riddett has been named the TBA’s 2024 Law Student Volunteer of the Year. The award recognizes a Tennessee law student who provides outstanding volunteer services while working with an organization that provides legal representation to the indigent. “Kim is a committed public interest law student who cares tremendously about helping those in need,” UT Law’s Director of Clinical Programs Joy Radice says. “She is a leader who is deeply committed to helping others and fighting injustice.” The award will be presented during a Public Service Breakfast June 13 in Memphis as part of the TBA Annual Convention. Read more about Riddett's service in the TBA’s press release.

Memphis attorney John Golwen has been named the 2024 Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year by the TBA for his work in combating generational poverty in Memphis and helping youth succeed. A Memphis native and litigation partner at Bass Berry & Sims, Golwen brought legal expertise together with his experience from volunteering with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Memphis to help support the PURE Academy in Memphis. That organization, founded by former gang member Melvin Cole, is focused on training young boys to excel in academics and athletics, while exposing them to many opportunities that will prepare them to become productive men. The award will be presented during a Public Service Breakfast June 13 in Memphis as part of the TBA Annual Convention. Read more about Golwen’s work in the TBA’s press release.

Memphis-based Assistant Federal Public Defender Tyrone Paylor has been named the Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year for 2024. The award recognizes an attorney who has provided dedicated and outstanding representation to an indigent client in either a civil or criminal case. Paylor works in the Western District of Tennessee’s Memphis office and over the past 15 years has earned a reputation as a strong advocate for his clients and also a mentor to younger attorneys. “Tyrone’s insights have helped many attorneys in their approach to client recidivism, rehabilitation and pursuing justice,” former Federal Public Defender Brian Mounce says of Paylor. The Wiltshire award will be presented during a Public Service Breakfast June 13 in Memphis as part of the TBA Annual Convention. Read more about Paylor in the TBA’s press release.

Cookeville attorney Laura Dykes will be honored next month with the Tennessee Bar Association’s Fifth Annual Claudia Jack Award. Named for the late Claudia Jack, a long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged and a public defender in Maury County, the award is presented to an outstanding public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who serves the legal community and clients in an exemplary fashion. Dykes has served as an assistant public defender for the past 35 years, working first in the Metro Davidson County office, then joining the 13th Judicial Office in Cookeville after her retirement in Nashville. In both of those positions, Dykes has been recognized for ethically and zealously defending clients. The award will be presented at the TBA Annual Convention in Memphis on June 14 during the Lawyers’ Luncheon. Read more in the TBA’s press release.

J. Daniel Breen, a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and a former Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) president, will be honored in June with the Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award. The award, given jointly by the TBA and the Tennessee American Inns of Court, will be presented at the TBA Annual Convention’s Bench Bar Luncheon June 13 in Memphis. In a letter nominating Breen for the award, Jackson lawyer Sarah Barnett wrote of his "legal professionalism and outstanding character" and his work co-founding the Howell Edmunds-Jackson American Inns of Court Chapter. Others highlighted his mentorship of younger lawyers and new judges, his support for colleagues rising to leadership roles and his work promoting mediation as an alternative to trial. TBA President Jim Barry praised Breen's selection. “Judge Breen exemplifies the ideals of the Tennessee Professionalism Award. His service to the judiciary and the legal profession reflects the highest standards of the rule of law and the legal profession in Tennessee.” Read more in the TBA's press release.

Retired Memphis lawyer and former Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) President William H. “Bill” Haltom Jr. will be honored in June with the prestigious William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award. Named for former Attorney General William M. Leech and presented by the Fellows of the TBA Young Lawyers Division, the award is given to a Tennessee lawyer who has been of outstanding service to the profession, the legal system and their community. In selecting Haltom for the award, Fellows President Rachel Mancl said, “Bill Haltom exemplifies the values embodied in the Leech Award. His contributions to the Tennessee Bar Association, as well as to the state and Memphis legal communities, demonstrate his lifelong commitment to improving the legal profession and serving the public. The Fellows are proud to award him the 2024 William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award.” The award will be presented at the TBA’s Annual Convention in Memphis on June 14 during the Lawyers’ Luncheon. Read the TBA's full press release on the news.