Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has been named the 2018 Southeast Firm of the Year by Benchmark Litigation.

This is the first year for the regional firm of the year awards, which recognize firms with a strong litigating presence in multiple states in their respective regions.

“This is a great honor for Bradley to be recognized by Benchmark Litigation as the nation’s top law firm in the southeast for 2018,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Beau Grenier. “We commend our accomplished attorneys and support staff for all of their hard work and the many litigation and business successes they have helped achieve for our clients.”

Benchmark Litigation is a leading guide to America’s top litigation firms and attorneys and is the only publication that focuses exclusively on U.S. litigation.

Benchmark Litigation determines rankings through peer reviews and case examinations. Benchmark also produces guides covering the litigation and disputes markets in Canada and Mexico.

VUMC, U. of Mississippi announce affiliation pact

The University of Mississippi Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have announced a strategic affiliation agreement between the two institutions.

The agreement provides the ability to form new clinical programs and services to be shared by the two institutions. It also creates a pathway for UMMC and VUMC to formally collaborate on a broad range of health and wellness initiatives, clinical services and to jointly collaborate on programs in medical innovation and on clinical research opportunities. The agreement also positions both organizations to explore opportunities for collaboration in medical education and training.

Both organizations will contribute substantial strengths to the relationship, officials say. For example, UMMC is nationally recognized for its advanced telemedicine capabilities and for its tertiary clinical services that benefit the citizens of Mississippi, while VUMC is similarly recognized for its research, training programs and advanced capabilities in clinical care.

Each institution remains independent and free to pursue individual initiatives. This strategic affiliation agreement provides a framework for both institutions to collaborate in select areas.

Nextep expands to Nashville

Nextep, a certified professional employer organization, is expanding to Nashville.

The company provides comprehensive employee benefits, human resources consulting, payroll, and risk and compliance solutions for businesses.

“Expanding our business to Tennessee was an easy decision,” says Brian Fayak, Nextep’s CEO and president.

“When we saw the diverse industries, affordable cost of living, and excellent workforce candidates, we knew we wanted a true partnership with Nashville; one in which we create career opportunities for its citizens and partner with small and medium-sized businesses to help them be more successful.”

Nextep’s professional HR services help owners and employees, allowing them to focus on growing their business. All services are delivered on an industry-leading, easy-to-use technology platform that brings everything together under one simple login.

Reliant Bank honored by American Banker

Reliant Bank has been named one of the Best Banks to Work For in 2017 by American Banker Magazine.

This fifth annual list identifies, recognizes, and honors the top 75 banks across the country for employee satisfaction.

Reliant, based in Brentwood, is a subsidiary of Reliant Bancorp, Inc.

“We are honored to be named one of the Best Banks to Work For. This recognition reflects our organization’s commitment to the well-being of our employees,” says Kim York, EVP, chief strategy officer.

“We believe employee satisfaction directly affects customer satisfaction. Creating and maintaining a rewarding work environment and a family-like atmosphere is a priority for us as we continue to grow and expand services across our markets.”

The Best Banks to Work For program was established in 2013 to honor financial institutions that are committed to investing in employees’ job satisfaction, career development, and personal growth.

Survey results discussed family atmosphere, community involvement, encouragement to have fun in the workplace, and employee feelings of being valued and appreciated.

Trinisys announces partnership with PRC

Brentwood-based Trinisys, Inc. is partnering with Professional Recovery Consultants, Inc.

Trinisys is a leading provider of enterprise data migration, integration and web application solutions for the healthcare industry,

PRC is a premier provider of fast, efficient debt recovery and accounts receivable services.

With the partnership between Trinisys and PRC, healthcare organizations that typically have to seek out a variety of solution providers in order to, not only find a cost-effective way to access and manage historical patient records, but also to determine the best solution for legacy accounts receivable management, can now rely on the joint expertise brought by Trinisys and PRC’s new offering.

“Time and again, we find ourselves being asked for legacy accounts receivables solutions as part of data management conversations. PRC is the right partner,” says Antoine Agassi, CEO and president of Trinisys.

“The PRC partnership allows us to offer a unique solution to help organizations deal with two often overlooked elements of a major implementation – archiving legacy systems and accounts receivable work down. The combined Trinisys-PRC offering solves that by bringing greater depth of experience, expertise and budget relief to implementation projects.”

State, Everbridge partner for communication

The state of Tennessee has selected Everbridge as it critical event management partner for all departments.

The system connects all 47,500 state department employees with critical information related to safety and operations.

Daily communications will deliver regular notifications across multiple contact paths and devices related to severe weather and life safety incidents, staffing and HR announcements, power outages, IT incidents and more.

As part of the partnership, all local and county governments, non-profit hospital and state universities will be able to purchase and deploy Everbridge using the state contract.

Everbridge is already utilized extensively throughout the state, with customers including BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, First Tennessee Bank NA, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the counties of Carter, Knox, Rutherford, Washington and Williamson.

Hashed Health, ODH to collaborate

ODH, Inc., has joined with Nashville’s Hashed Health to develop blockchain and distributed ledger technologies for payers and providers with the goal of improving patient care.

ODH is a health technology company providing data aggregation and analytics solutions. Hashed Health is a healthcare blockchain innovation company.

ODH will spearhead Hashed Health’s Value-Based Care Working Group, a collective effort aimed at accelerating the industry’s transition to value-based care through the adoption of practical blockchain solutions such as improving quality measures via payer and provider collaboration.

Hashed Health’s current partnerships with the Accenture, Altarum Institute, Change Healthcare and others represent many segments of the healthcare market.

Bridgestone offers new winter tire line

Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. has announced the expansion of its premium winter tire line.

The company is releasing the Bridgestone Blizzak LT tire for heavy-duty pickup trucks and SUVs. The new Blizzak LT tire is engineered to provide drivers improved handling and control in the toughest winter weather.

The tire features a new rubber compound that provides extended wear life, giving drivers of light truck vehicles an extra season of winter performance.

The Blizzak LT tire features an all-new tread pattern designed with 30 percent more biting edges for enhanced snow traction and more water evacuation channels to help reduce the risk of hydroplaning.

Madison manufacturer Metal Moulding sold

Patrick Industries, Inc. has announced it has completed the acquisition of the business and certain assets of Madison, Tennessee-based Metal Moulding Corp.

Metal Moulding is a manufacturer of custom metal fabricated products, primarily for the marine market, including hinges, arm rests, brackets, panels and trim, as well as plastic products including boxes, inlay tables, steps, and related components. MMC’s full-year 2017 revenues were approximately $19 million. The total cash consideration paid was approximately $20 million, plus the potential for up to $2 million of additional consideration upon the achievement of certain performance metrics.

Geny Insurance Group honored

Three Tennessee insurance agencies have been named President’s Club honorees by the Accident Fund Insurance Company of America.

President’s Club qualifications for 2017 included written premium exceeding $2 million, a five-year cumulative loss ratio of 50 percent or less and premium retention of 82 percent or higher.

The honorees are Geny Insurance Group of Nashville, Mountain Empire Agency Alliance of Kingsport and the Shafer Insurance Agency, Inc. of Knoxville.

VU scholarship to honor Perry Wallace

Vanderbilt University is honoring Perry Wallace with a new scholarship.

Civil rights trailblazer Wallace became the first African-American varsity basketball player in the Southeastern Conference in 1967, playing for Vandy.

The Perry E. Wallace Jr. Basketball Scholarship provides support for student-athletes at Vanderbilt, rotating recipients between the women’s and men’s varsity basketball teams.

Gail Carr Williams, associate director of Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations at Vanderbilt, and David Williams II, Vanderbilt’s athletics director and vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs, made the inaugural charitable contributions for the scholarship, along with their children, Nicholas, Samantha, David III and Erika.

Wallace died Dec. 1, 2017. Vanderbilt Athletics retired his jersey and number 25 in 2004 and created the Perry Wallace Courage Award in 2014 to celebrate individuals who best reflect his legacy.