Each year the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor these award recipients at the 2026 Public Service Breakfast set for June 11 as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. One of the awards, the CASA Volunteer of the Year Award, will be presented to Tracy Farmer who has worked with Williamson County CASA for the past 14 years. The award is given each year by the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD). This year, it will be presented by TBA YLD Middle Tennessee Governor Alix Rogers, who is the assistant dean for career and professional development at Belmont University College of Law. Read more about Farmer in TBA's press release.

Each year the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor these award recipients at the 2026 Public Service Breakfast set for June 11 as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. The Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year Award will be presented to Jennifer Egelston, an attorney in the Knoxville office of Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET). Egelston was selected for her work on several complicated family law cases and for using her experience handling cases involving Abrial’s Law to educate other attorneys on utilizing the protections it offers to parents and children. The Law Student Volunteer Award recognizes the efforts of a student enrolled at or recently graduated from a Tennessee law school who provided dedicated and outstanding pro bono service while working with an organization primarily engaged in providing legal representation to indigent clients. This year, TBA is honoring Sierra Sidoti, a student at the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law. Since the summer of 2024, Sidoti has served as a pro bono law clerk in the Knoxville office of LAET. Read more about both of these award winners in the TBA's press release. Learn more about the awards and see past recipients on the TBA website.

Each year the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor these award recipients at the 2026 Public Service Breakfast set for June 11 as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. One of those awards, the Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award, will be presented to Nashville lawyer Garrah Carter-Mason with Bass, Berry & Sims PLC. Carter-Mason will be recognized for her work on behalf of Darrell Davis, who was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder in April 2022 and sentenced to life without parole. Read more in TBA's press release.

Tyler Whetstone, an investigative reporter with the Knoxville News Sentinel, will receive the TBA’s 2026 Fourth Estate Award for his reporting bringing greater transparency to Knoxville’s judicial system. Knox News Executive Editor Joel Christopher nominated Whetstone, saying his reporting exposed “how extremist and racist speech by a Knox County prosecutor raised constitutional questions about public employees and free speech, and forced scrutiny of the criminal justice system’s safeguards.” Christopher also explains that the reporting went beyond breaking news to explain how a district attorney’s office oversees those entrusted with enforcing the law.

In announcing the award, TBA President Heidi Barcus said, “Reporting by Tyler Whetstone helped bring to light the district attorney’s decision to fire the lawyer as she balanced the constitutional issues of free speech and the fair administration of justice. The Tennessee Bar Association is pleased to recognize Whetstone for his work educating the public about this case and promoting improvements in our system of justice.” The award will be presented at the annual Lawyers Luncheon, set for June 12 as part of the association’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. Read more about Whetstone’s work.

Unam Peter Oh, an assistant federal public defender in Memphis, will be honored with the Tennessee Bar Association’s (TBA) Claudia Jack Award. The award, which will be presented at the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville, is named for the late Claudia Jack, a long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged and a public defender in Maury County. Oh joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Memphis in 2014 after a career in private practice focused on corporate liability insurance. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Oh began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and then in the Public Defender’s Office in Northern Virginia.

Colleagues who nominated Oh noted his commitment to providing every client, regardless of their means, a sophisticated and tireless defense and said his work is characterized by a “boots-on-the-ground dedication” that far exceeds the traditional expectations of any counsel. “He frequently goes above and beyond by meeting his clients’ families in informal settings, most recently at a local Burger King, on his own time to provide updates, comfort, and ensure they feel heard.” Nominators also highlighted Oh’s impact on the profession as a mentor, investing hundreds of hours in the next generation of Tennessee’s legal community. In announcing Oh’s selection, TBA President and Knoxville lawyer Heidi Barcus said, “The TBA is honored to recognize the selfless service of Assistant Federal Public Defender Peter Oh. From his commitment to vigorously defend his clients, to his care for the families of those facing the justice system, to the mentoring of the next generation of lawyers, Peter embodies the values TBA seeks to promote through the Claudia Jack Award. We all are grateful for his example.” Read more in this press release from the TBA.

The 2026 William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award will be presented to Memphis attorney and former TBA President Buck Lewis next month at the TBA’s Annual Convention. The award, given by the Fellows of the TBA Young Lawyers Division, is named for former Attorney General William M. Leech Jr. It is presented each year to a Tennessee lawyer who has been of outstanding service to the profession, the legal system and their community. In announcing the award, Fellows President and Memphis lawyer Mason Wilson said, “Buck Lewis represents the best of the Tennessee legal community. From his bar association service to promoting legal services for those who cannot afford a lawyer, and now his work developing leadership qualities in Tennessee law students, he embodies the ideals of the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award.” Lewis will be presented with the award on June 12 at the Lawyers Luncheon.

Lewis is a shareholder at Baker Donelson and leads the firm’s Appellate Group. He also is the Larry Wilks Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law and co-founder of the newly renamed Pamela Reeves Institute for Professional Leadership. Lewis has focused his career on promoting access to justice initiatives in Tennessee and across the country. He is a past chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and the ABA Pro Bono and Public Service Committee, and was instrumental in launching Tennessee Free Legal Answers and taking the project nationwide through ABA Free Legal Answers. Most recently, Lewis founded and provided initial funding for the Justice Frank F. Drowota Trust to support organizations providing legal services to low-income individuals in the state. He also led fundraising efforts, raising $500,000 in direct donations and $2.5 million in bequests. Read more about his career in this press release from the TBA.

Nashville lawyers Erik Halvorson and J. Hunter Robinson, both with Bradley, will receive the TBA's prestigious Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing on June 12 during the association's Annual Convention in Knoxville. 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. Halvorson and Robinson are being honored for their article One Domino Falls: Tennessee Supreme Court Reshapes Foreclosure Claims, which appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of the Journal.

In announcing the selection of Halvorson and Robinson, TBA President Heidi Barcus. said, “This winning article took a complex ruling from the Tennessee Supreme Court and, in straightforward and concise language, explained the consequences for both mortgage-related and non-mortgage-related litigation in Tennessee. This is the kind of writing the Joe Henry Award was created to recognize.” The award is named for Joseph W. Henry, a former chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, who was known for his forthright and clear writing. Read more in a press release from the TBA.

The TBA Access to Justice Committee is accepting nominations for the 2026 Public Service Awards through tomorrow. The annual awards recognize outstanding commitment to access to justice in three categories: work performed by an attorney employed by an organization primarily involved in providing legal representation to the indigent, pro bono work performed by a private or corporate attorney, and a strong commitment to pro bono service by a Tennessee law student or recent graduate. Awards will be presented during the TBA Annual Convention in June. Submit nominations by April 17 on the TBA website.

The TBA Access to Justice Committee is accepting nominations for the 2026 Public Service Awards through next Friday. The annual awards recognize outstanding commitment to access to justice in three categories: work performed by an attorney employed by an organization primarily involved in providing legal representation to the indigent, pro bono work performed by a private or corporate attorney, and a strong commitment to pro bono service by a Tennessee law student or recent graduate. Awards will be presented during the TBA Annual Convention in June. Submit nominations by April 17 on the TBA website.

The Tennessee Bar Association again this year will honor the work of Tennessee journalists through the Fourth Estate Award, which honors courageous reporting on justice and the law. This year's prize, honoring reporting in 2025, includes a $250 honorarium for the winner. The TBA strongly supports freedom of expression under the First Amendment, as exercised by lawyers on behalf of their clients and by journalists on behalf of the public, and particularly wants to recognize and encourage journalists who promote public understanding of the rule of law and our system of justice through vigorous exercise of their First Amendment rights. The deadline for entry is April 30. Submit a nomination here. Attorneys who have relationships with reporters or observed a particularly compelling piece of journalism in 2025 are encouraged to submit a nomination. Read about past recipients here and read the TBA's full press release.