Class of 1967
(Notes posted in the order they were received, with the newest posts on top.)
Jim Cheek has been named co-chair of the Coordinating Task Force on Financial Markets and Institutions for the American Bar Association Business Law Section. The newly formed committee will be developing ABA Section policies as they relate to the many national efforts under way in Congress and in various regulatory bodies to reform the U.S. regulatory structure applicable to financial institutions. Jim is a partner in Bass Berry & Sims. He is an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School where he teaches a course in current trends in mergers and acquisitions. He has been a member of the faculty of law at Jesus College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, where he taught a course on Advanced Company Law and Securities Regulation. Cheek has also been chairman of the Nashville Metropolitan Airport Authority Board since 2003. Posted 6-17-09
James Gooch and Jim Cheek of Bass Berry & Sims are among several Vanderbilt Law alumni who have been listed as "Best Lawyers in America" each year for the entire 25 years the listing has been published. Others including Ted Pappas '49, Bill Ozier '69, Jim Neal '57, Aubrey Harwell Jr. '71, Mike Kaplan '71 and R. Grafton Brown '59. Posted 6-17-08
Frank Vandall is a professor of law at Emory University. Frank recently attended conferences at Widener Law School, the University of Richmond Law School and Northwestern Law School, and he also published three articles in 2008: “The Criminalization of Products Liability: An Invitation to Political Abuse, Preemption, And Nonenforcement,” in Catholic University Law Review; “Why We Are Outraged: An Economic Analysis of Internet Gambling,” in the Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business, and “Should Manufacturers and Sellers of Lethal Products Be Subject to Criminal Prosecution?” in Widener Law Journal. Post 1-22-09
Walter Lee Davis, Jr., a Johnson City, Tennessee, estate planning and probate attorney, has again been named a “Trusts and Estates Super Lawyer” for 2008 by Super Lawyers magazine. This is the third consecutive year that attorneys throughout Tennessee have elected Davis a Super Lawyer. Fewer than five percent of lawyers in any specialization area are named Super Lawyers. Walter was also designated in 2008 as one of the 150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee for the fourth consecutive year by Business Tennessee magazine. He was one of only eight trusts and estates lawyers so named in 2008. Walter is certified as an Accredited Estate Planner by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. He is the 2008 president of this association with over 26,000 members drawn from the ranks of attorneys, accountants, trust officers, life underwriters and financial planners. He also holds the Estate Planning Law Specialist designation awarded by the Estate Law Specialist Board, Inc., the only organization authorized by the American Bar Association to certify estate planning lawyers. Walter is one of only twenty-one Tennessee attorneys who have been designated as Estate Planning Specialists by the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. He was the eighth lawyer in the state to earn this certification. Walter is also a CPA and a real estate broker.Posted 12-2-08
James H. Cheek, III, a Bass, Berry & Sims partner, has been named among the 500 leading lawyers in America by Lawdragon, a national online and print legal-services information company. He is one of only three Tennessee attorneys so honored, all of whom are partners at Bass, Berry & Sims. Jim represents a number of public companies as well as investment banking firms in a wide variety of capital raising and merger and acquisition activities. He also acts as counsel for boards of directors and board committees on matters relating to corporate governance and corporate legal compliance. He graduated from Duke University in 1964 and received an LL.M. degree from Harvard University in 1968. He was a member of the editorial board of the Vanderbilt Law Review and was elected a member of the Order of the Coif. The Lawdragon 500 covers a broad spectrum of the legal profession – private attorneys, in-house counsel, law professors, judges, prosecutors, government attorneys, public interest lawyers and Supreme Court Justices, and “features the most talented, respected and influential professionals handling the biggest legal matters of the year.” The list was selected from nearly 10,000 law firm submissions and online votes, as well as research by Lawdragon’s editorial staff. Posted 11-3-08
Charles (Chuck) W. Dixon, died at home in Santa Fe, on September 23, 2008. A resident of Santa Fe since 1999, Chuck is survived by his wife, Mary Eileen. He earned his B.S. as well as his law degree from Vanderbilt. He began a distinguished 30-year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1969. Highlights of his FBI career included trips to Hungary and Russia as the “Cold War” was ending to advise officials of those countries on the proper role of counter-intelligence agencies in democracies. After his retirement from the FBI in 2000, he returned to Washington, D.C., for a short period as a staff member of the commission for the review of FBI Security Programs. Chuck was very active in community affairs both in Alexandria, Virginia, where he resided for more than 25 years, and in Santa Fe. In Alexandria, he was an elder and choir member at Westminster Presbyterian Church and a member of the Alexandria Harmonizers. In Santa Fe, he was a member of the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity for seven years and served as the board’s chairman from 2005 to 2008. A fundraising drive in Chuck’s honor by Habitat for Humanity over the past several months resulted in the groundbreaking on September 13, 2008 of a “House of Hope” in Chuck’s name. Chuck was an avid tennis player who also enjoyed hiking in Santa Fe’s foothills. Posted on web 10-3-08
Saul C. Belz was named a Superlawyer in the 2008 Corporate Counsel Edition. The issue features the top lawyers in the field of Business Litigation who are selected based on peer recognition and professional achievement. Saul Belz is currently practicing in Memphis with Glankler Brown.
Walter Lee Davis, Jr. of Johnson City, Tenn., was elected President of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (“NAEPC”) at its 44th Annual Conference held November 14-16, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The NAEPC is a national organization of approximately 200 affiliated Estate Planning Councils with a membership of approximately 26,000 professional estate planners focused on establishing and monitoring the highest professional and educational standards. Walter is also licensed as a Certified Public Accountant and a Real Estate Broker and is certified as an Estate Planning Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. He was awarded the Accredited Estate Planner designation by NAEPC in 1991. He was named by Business Tennessee magazine as one of the “101 Best Lawyers” in Tennessee in January 2005 and one of the “150 Best” in January 2006 and 2007. He has also been named a Mid-South Super Lawyer in 2006 and 2007.
Retired Col. John R. Brancato passed away on Memorial Day, May 28, 2007. Col. Brancato retired from the U.S. Air Force on March 1, 1998, after 30 years of active duty service as a judge advocate (military lawyer). His final assignment was Staff Judge Advocate at Headquarters, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field, Fla. In that capacity, he was lawyer to America's air commandos and the chief legal counsel of AFSOC. He and his wife Edda retired in Navarre, Florida, where John researched and wrote a wide body of historical and political essays, many of which were published in local print media. He was a member of the Santa Rosa County Republican Executive Committee, and worked behind the scenes on conservative campaigns and issues, especially ones affecting Santa Rosa County. He was a strong believer in the potential of the Navarre area. He is survived by his wife, Edda Brancato, and their two children.
H. Roy Berkenstock wrote an article published in both The Federal Lawyer and The Computer & Internet Lawyer entitled "The Provisional Application for Patent: Its Place in Intellectual Property Protection." He is a member of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs in the Intellectual Property Practice Group, where he concentrates his practice in patents, trademarks, copyrights, and related matters. He has served on the board of directors of the American Corporate Counsel Association and as chairman of its Intellectual Property Committee.
Do you have news you would like to share or just want to let everyone know what you are up to these days? Submit your class note online, e-mail Grace Renshaw or call 615-322-2606.
Please check the "Alumni MIA" list to see if you can help us find any of your "lost" classmates!
