William “Jay” J. Harbison II, Erik C. Lybeck and Mozianio “Trey” S. Reliford III have been elected partners at Neal & Harwell, PLC.

Harbison joined the firm in 2015, and his practice focuses on business and civil litigation. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Before joining Neal & Harwell, Harbison served as a law clerk for the Hon. Gilbert S. Merritt, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Harbison was recently selected to the Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum 2022 Class.

Lybeck joined the firm in 2016 and has a practice focused on complex litigation, including business torts, eminent domain, governmental liability, entertainment litigation and white-collar criminal cases.

Lybeck graduated Order of the Coif from Vanderbilt Law School, where he served as managing editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and was a member of Neal & Harwell’s summer associate program.

Reliford has been with Neal & Harwell since 2019. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, entertainment law, white-collar and regulatory defense, securities litigation and crisis management.

He earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2015. Before joining Neal & Harwell, Reliford was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York and served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

GSRM Law’s McFarland promoted to member

Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PLLC attorney M. Thomas McFarland has been elected to member level in the firm.

McFarland is a member of the firm’s Litigation section. His practice involves commercial litigation in the areas of business torts, breach of contract claims and real estate. He represents employers in employment disputes and litigation. He also counsels developer, landowner and municipal clients in matters involving land use and zoning regulations.

He previously clerked for the Hon. Thomas W. Brothers, Davidson County 6th Circuit Court. McFarland is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University Law School, where he served as a managing editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. He also is a graduate of the University of Tennessee.

Bass, Berry & Sims adds 2 in Nashville

Bass, Berry & Sims has added Laura J. Cohen as a senior corporate attorney in its Corporate & Securities Practice and Katherine M. Todd as counsel in its Intellectual Property & Technology Practice.

Cohen brings 14 years of experience representing corporate clients and focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, business transactions and finance.

Cohen earned an LL.M. in taxation from the University of Miami School of Law, a law degree from the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center and an undergraduate degree from the University of Florida.

Todd’s previous experience includes working in-house and at law firms to counsel clients in all aspects of intellectual property, with a heavy concentration on trademark matters.

She previously worked as in-house trademark counsel for a well-known entertainment company and as an intellectual property associate at a large New York City law firm.

Todd is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University Law School and the University of Tennessee.

NCVC names Schult chief marketing officer

A new chief marketing officer with experience in the hospitality industries in Myrtle Beach and St. Petersburg/Clearwater has joined the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. Additionally, four others in senior positions have been promoted as part of a restructuring of the NCVC’s senior leadership team.

Scott Schult, who has more than 20 years directing marketing at other convention and visitor organizations, has been hired for the role of CMO. Schult spent 12 years as executive vice president of marketing for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and nine years with the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Deana Ivey, who previously held the title of chief marketing officer and executive vice president, was elevated to the role of president in an announcement earlier this week.

Other promotions at the NCVC include:

• Andrea Arnold elevated from senior vice president, public affairs to chief public affairs officer

• Adrienne Siemers elevated from senior vice president, sales to chief sales officer

• Marie Sueing elevated from senior vice president, diversity & inclusion, to chief diversity officer

• Heather Middleton elevated from vice president, public relations to senior vice president, marketing

Realtracs adds VP for business development

Realtracs has named William Long its first vice president of business development.

Long will be responsible for leading Realtracs’ expansion into new markets across the state and eventually beyond.

Realtracs currently has more than 18,000 users in more than 1,700 offices across Middle Tennessee and parts of Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama.

Previously, Long spent six years in Dallas in business development roles for Title Partners and Chicago Title. Before that, he held roles in programming, marketing and communications with Challenge Aspen in Colorado.

He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Brentwood Academy.

DeAngelis Diamond hires Nashville division manager

Kris Duran has accepted the role of Nashville’s division manager for DeAngelis Diamond. Duran will be transitioning into her new role during the next few months while she completes her current role as executive project manager at Berry Farm Town Center Apartments.

Duran brings 20-plus years of construction leadership experience into her new role. In that time, she has led teams in completing $700 million-plus in construction projects throughout Middle Tennessee. Her background includes experience in multifamily, health care, commercial and educational projects exceeding contract values of $250 million.

Duran will be responsible for implementing DD’s strategic growth vision in Tennessee and the surrounding region.

Argent Financial Group names development manager

Argent Financial Group, an independent fiduciary wealth management firm, has appointed Tasha Digre as professional development manager. Digre will be responsible for improving and guiding employee development, productivity and training initiatives for all Argent Financial Group subsidiaries.

Digre began her career with Argent in 2018 as an assistant trust officer. Before that, she was a trust assistant with Regions Private Wealth Management in Nashville. She also served as a relationship manager with Bank of America in Portland, Maine.

Digre earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership and bachelor’s degree in management and leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville.

Kiser + Vogrin Design names newest partner

Kiser + Vogrin Design, a full-service landscape architecture design firm, has named Katie Rudowsky as the firm’s newest partner.

Rudowsky joined the firm in 2014 upon graduation from Penn State University with a degree in landscape architecture and has been instrumental in the design of many high-profile mixed-use projects throughout Middle Tennessee including McEwen Northside, Berry Farms Town Center, Capitol View and Franklin City Hall.

She also manages the firm’s senior independent housing portfolio at a national level.

Lenker joins MBPR as senior adviser

McNeely Brockman Public Relations, a Nashville-based communications firm, has announced the addition of Lydia Lenker as senior adviser.

Lenker became familiar to Nashville viewers during her years at NewsChannel 5, where she served as political reporter and weekend anchor. She then moved on to Tennessee’s State Capitol, serving as Gov. Phil Bredesen’s press secretary for his two terms in office.

At Lipscomb University, she served as manager of the Nelson & Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership and director of events and community engagement for the College of Leadership & Public Service.

In her recent consulting work, Lenker engaged with local nonprofits and an online media start-up. Lenker also sits on the board of advisers for the Lipscomb University’s School of Communication.