Class of 1976
(Notes posted in the order they were received, with the newest posts on top.)
Mary Jo Middlebrooks has recently been elected a Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation, an association of 663 attorneys across the state. Invitations to membership, which is a position of honor, were extended to 34 attorneys this year by the Board of Trustees. The introduction of new Fellows took place at the annual Fellows Dinner in Nashville.
Margaret M. (“Marnie”) Huff received a President’s Award at the Nashville Bar Association annual meeting in December 2007 for her leadership as Chair of a Special Task Force resulting in formation of a permanent committee focused on suicide prevention. In 2008 she will chair the new NBA Committee on Attorney Health & Wellness. Committee projects include collaboration with the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP), sponsoring free one hour suicide prevention triage training called QPR" (Question/Persuade/Refer). QPR training is for lawyers and law firm staff who may come in contact with clients, colleagues, family or friends who may be at risk of suicide. Marnie is owner of the dispute resolution firm Margaret Huff Mediation in Nashville, Tenn.
Craig V. Gabbert, Jr., a shareholder at Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner in Nashville, Tenn., has completed his training and is now listed as a Rule 31 General Civil Mediator with the Tennessee Supreme Court. Craig completed 40 hours of Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission approved mediation training in addition to meeting the requirements set forth by the Tennessee Supreme Court. While Craig has extensive experience conducting private mediations related to business conflicts, the Rule 31 listing allows him to mediate matters pending before courts of record, including disputes ordered to mediation by an order of reference granted on the motion of one of more parties or on the motion of the court.
Craig has over 30 years of experience counseling clients regarding commercial litigation, commercial bankruptcy and reorganization matters. He has earned a reputation as a preeminent litigator in Nashville and around the country. Craig’s record of successfully representing corporate entities in bankruptcies, reorganizations and complex litigation matters has earned him the respect of his peers and clients. Craig has also served as the director and president of the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, a barrister at the Harry Phillips Inn of Court, director of the Nashville Bar Association and a fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation.
Patricia Thompson, a shareholder in the Miami office of Carlton Fields, has received a Key Partners Award in the Legal and Accounting Professions from Citibank and the South Florida Business Journal. At the Second Annual Key Partners Awards ceremony, Thompson was presented with the first place award for labor and employment law. Over 300 nominations for accountants and attorneys from Dade, Broward, and West Palm Beach counties were submitted in various categories for legal and accounting practice.
Thompson concentrates her practice in the areas of construction, employment, and commercial litigation. chair of the Fidelity and Surety Law Committee of the ABA’s Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section and past chair of the Construction Litigation Committee of the Litigation Section of the ABA.
Mary Jo Middlebrooks of Jackson, Tenn. was recently one of five Tennesseans recognized by The Legal Services Corporation at its Nashville meeting of the national Board of Directors. The main source of funding for civil legal aid, LSC gives grants to independent, local programs -- in 2007, 138 programs with more than 900 offices nationwide. The award was for extraordinary commitment to providing equal access to justice through Private Attorney Involvement with West Tennessee Legal Services, Inc.
Steve Xanthopoulos, Executive Director of West Tennessee Legal Services introduced Middlebrooks, citing her years of service to WTLS first as one of the incorporators of the program, then through her work on the Board of Directors for thirty years, as well as service to clients on the panel for Private Attorney Involvement.
In addition to her work with West Tennessee Legal Services, Middlebrooks is Second Vice-President of Jackson Business & Professional Women, charter member and Treasurer of the Anne Harris Schneider Chapter of the Lawyers’ Association for Women, charter member of the Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women, and past President of the Jackson-Madison County Bar Association and Wes-Tenn Young Lawyers’ Association. She was a Law Clerk for Judge Lloyd Tatum with the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals prior to opening her law firm in Jackson in 1978, now known as Middlebrooks & Gray. She is a certified Federal Mediator for the Western District of Tennessee, and concentrates her practice in family law.
Susan Emery McGannon has been appointed to a six-year term on the Tennessee Judicial Evaluation Commission. The commission, which is composed for four judges, four attorneys and four lay persons, is responsible for evaluating all state appellate judges (Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals) and recommending a "yes" or "no" retention vote on each one to the public. Susan expressed her appreciate to the Tennessee Bar Association for making her one of its three nominees, and to Tennessee Speaker Jimmy Naifeh (D-Covington) for his appointment. "The commission has a vital role in maintaining the excellence of our state judiciary," Susan said. "This is an honor and a responsibility I take very seriously."
Linda A. Friedman has been named one of the Top Birmingham Women of 2007 by the Birmingham Business Journal. Linda is a partner in the Birmingham office of Bradley Arant Rose & White.
Matt Sweeney was named Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz's Nashville Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. Sweeney was recognized for his pro bono service on a death penalty case. Sweeney, together with partners, devoted hundreds of hours of work to investigating and analyzing the case, related cases and surrounding circumstances in support of a petition for post conviction relief. If the Firm's team is successful in its representation, their client will be entitled to a new trial and/or a new sentencing hearing.
A shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson, Sweeney is a trial lawyer and dispute resolution neutral. He has broad litigation experience with a concentration in business related matters, including franchising, federal and state securities, and fiduciary duty cases. Sweeney is a former Circuit Court Judge in Nashville and was Presiding Judge of the district's Trial Courts.
J. Randolph (Randy) Smith, a Nashville entertainment attorney, has been elected to the board of directors for CBA, the Colorado Springs-based trade association for the Christian Retail Channel. CBA serves the interests and meets the needs of 2,055 member Christian retail stores including independents, regional and national chains, church-owned stores, franchises, and marketing groups. These stores provide Bibles, Christian books, curriculum, apparel, music, videos, gifts, greeting cards, children's resources, and other materials. CBA and their member stores also work with 570 associate member book publishers, record companies, gift companies and other product suppliers. Randy was elected to fill the at-large position on the twelve-member CBA board of directors, the remainder of which is made up of retail and product supplier representatives. Randy has been an integral part of the Christian products industry for 30 years as an entertainment attorney whose practice focuses on entertainment, intellectual property rights, and the arts. “Christian products are at the center of what I do as an attorney, and the CBA is what I think of as the center of that universe,” said Randy.
William C. Kennedy is Vice President a Senior Counsel, for AMERIGROUP Corporation in Virginia Beach, VA.
Richardson R. Lynn is dean at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. He had previously served as dean for six years and taught at Pepperdine University School of Law since 1980. Located in Atlanta's Mid-town area, John Marshall Law School recently focuses on a mission of training lawyers for underserved communities.
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.
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