Baker Donelson has announced the addition of five new associates to its Nashville office: Austin L. Fleishour, TaCara D. Harris, Henry E. Hildebrand, Michaela D. Poizner and Taylor K. Wirth.

Fleishour, a member of the firm’s real estate and finance group, is a 2013 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he served as a student editor of the Tennessee Law Review and was a co-founder and member of the Tennessee College of Law Sports and Entertainment Law Society. During law school, he worked as a compliance assistant to the NCAA Compliance Office at the University of Tennessee Athletics Department.

Harris is a member of Baker Donelson’s advocacy department. She is a 2013 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School and worked as law clerk at the Office of the General Counsel of Vanderbilt University.

Hildebrand, also a member of the firm’s advocacy department, is a 2013 magna cum laude graduate of The University of Tennessee College of Law.

Poizner is a member of Baker Donelson’s health law group and a 2013 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, where she served as the senior articles editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.

Wirth, a member of the firm’s securities and corporate governance group, is a member of the Order of the Coif and is a 2013 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the Tennessee Law Review and as a member of Transactions: Tennessee Journal of Business Law.

Vanderbilt’s Ess chosen to lead Pediatric Neurology

Kevin C. Ess, M.D., Ph.D., has been named chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurology within the Department of Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Ess, who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2006, is also an assistant professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Biological Sciences and also serves as program director of the Child Neurology Residency Program.

Ess’ NIH-funded research is focused on deciphering the molecular mechanisms required for normal brain development and how disruptions of these processes lead to malformations of the cerebral cortex.

His clinical activities focus on managing intractable epilepsy in children, and he has a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of the genetic disorder Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

Ess earned his M.D. and Ph.D. – as well as a B.M. in music performance – from the University of Cincinnati/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation.

After an internship in Pediatrics at Denver Children’s Hospital, he completed a Child Neurology residency and a Neurophysiology fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis/St. Louis Children’s Hospital. He served as instructor of Neurology and Pediatrics there before coming to Vanderbilt in 2006.

20|20 founder/CEO honored by publication

Jim Bryson, CEO and founder of 20|20 Research, a global research technology and service firm based in Green Hills, has been named Market Research Executive of the Year by Research Business Report.

Written for professionals in the marketing research industry, Chicago-based Research Business Report focuses on the technological, methodological, economic and business changes in the research industry.

The Executive of the Year award, launched in 1994, is the industry’s oldest and was established to recognize industry leaders who broke the most new ground in marketing research technology, methodology and economics.

The innovation cited in the award was 20|20’s recently launched Virtual Intercepts™ tool, an instant, interactive platform that helps researchers quickly gain deeper insights behind a respondent’s statement in an online quantitative survey.

20|20 Research has clients and projects in more than 65 countries.

Memorial Foundation elects new leadership

The Memorial Foundation has elected Frank Grace Jr., a longstanding board member, as vice chairman of its board of directors and community volunteer Varina Buntin as its secretary.

Grace has served on the board of the foundation since 2008, and Buntin was a founding board member, joining when the foundation was established in 1994.

The transition to Grace follows the loss of The Memorial Foundation’s previous vice chairman, James A. Rainey, who died earlier this year after having served as vice chairman of the board since the foundation was established in 1994.

Grace, a health care attorney, is retired from Waller, where he practiced in the areas of health care, administrative law and general commercial litigation. He also is a former president of the Nashville Bar Association and a former member of the Nashville Bar Association Board of Directors.

Rainey’s service and leadership with The Memorial Foundation spanned over fifty years, beginning in 1959 when he raised money for Nashville Memorial Hospital and later served on the hospital’s board of directors. When sold in 1994, the assets of Nashville Memorial Hospital established an endowment that became The Memorial Foundation.

Bass, Berry & Sims has 18 new associates

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC is welcoming 18 new associates to the firm: 15 in Nashville, 2 in Memphis and 1 in Knoxville. They are:

Angela L. Bergman, who will focus her practice on health care litigation. She earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. in political science and international studies from Northwestern University.

Samuel J.H. Beutler joins the firm’s corporate and securities practice. He graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School and earned a B.A. in history and political science from Yale University.

Carrie C. Erickson will focus her practice on executive compensation and employee benefits. Prior to joining the firm, Carrie practiced at Sidley Austin, LLP in Chicago. She earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University and earned her B.A. in journalism and mass communications from the University of South Carolina.

Angelica Fortney (Memphis) will focus her practice on executive compensation and employee benefits. She earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee and a B.A. in political science from Vanderbilt University.

Thomas Gossett joins the firm’s commercial and real estate practice. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Jonathan D. Mitchell joins the firm’s corporate and securities practice. Previously, he practiced at Ice Miller LLP in Columbus, Ohio. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University, an MBA from Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business and a B.A. in political science from the University of Dayton.

James Polk Moneyhun, Jr. (Knoxville) will focus on commercial transactions. Prior to joining the firm, He practiced real estate and business law at Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis P.C. in Knoxville. He earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee and a B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Tennessee.

Aaron C. Moody joins the firm’s corporate and securities practice. He earned his J.D. from the University of Kentucky and a B.A. in history from Davidson College.

R. Gregory Parker joins the firm’s Intellectual property and technology practice. Previously, he practiced at White & Case LLP in New York. He earned his law degree from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. in molecular and cellular biology from Vanderbilt University.

William R. Peeples joins the firm’s corporate and securities practice. He graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School and earned an M.Acc. and a B.B.A. in business administration from Belmont University.

Mary Leigh Pirtle will focus her practice on labor and employment law. Prior to joining the firm, Mary Leigh practiced at King & Ballow and was a former assistant attorney general for the state of Tennessee. She earned her law degree and MBA from Stetson University. She earned a B.B.A. in accounting from Middle Tennessee State University.

Amy E. Sanders will focus her practice on operational, regulatory and transactional support for health care clients. She earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University.

Mary Katherine Schweihs joins the firm’s intellectual property and technology practice. She earned her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law and her B.A. in the program of liberal studies from Notre Dame.

John T. Spragens will focus his practice on health care fraud, compliance and government investigations. He earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University and earned a B.A in international studies from Kenyon College. Prior to attending law school, he worked as a reporter for the Nashville Scene and as legislative assistant and communications director for U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper.

Emily J. Whipple joins the firm’s corporate and securities practice. She earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University and a B.S. in business administration and European history from Washington and Lee University.

Robin Wright (Memphis) joins the firm’s corporate and securities practice. She earned her law degree from the University of Arkansas and a B.A. in politics from Washington and Lee University.

Virginia M. Yetter joins the firm’s litigation practice and will focus on complex business litigation. She previously practiced in the Washington, D.C. office of Hunton & Williams LLP. She earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University and earned a B.A. from Vanderbilt University in economics and history.

S. Samuel Young will focus his practice on commercial lending, real estate and general commercial law. Prior to joining the firm, he practiced at Peck, Shaffer & Williams in Cincinnati. He earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University and earned a B.B.A. in human resources and business management from David Lipscomb University.

DSi promotes Burchfield to executive vice president

Electronic discovery company DSi has promoted John Burchfield to executive vice president.

Burchfield joined the firm as vice president of business development in 2011. Since his start, he has successfully identified new market opportunities, expanding DSi’s services to Charlotte, N.C., Austin, Texas, Minneapolis, Minn., Philadelphia, Penn., and Atlanta, Ga.

He has more than 20 years of experience in business development and management. Prior to his position at DSi, he served as general manager of the Middle Tennessee operation for document management company Xerox Metro Center (XMC), where he helped drive revenue growth by 40 percent and improved numerous processes that improved the client experience.

The Bradford Group adds account executive

Nashville-based public relations and marketing firm the Bradford Group has hired Meredith Yates as account executive.

Yates joins the Bradford Group following her tenure as a broadcast journalist with WCYB-TV, a television station based in Bristol, Va.

Yates recently won a Tennessee Associated Press award for her feature reporting. She also interned with FOX17 News in Nashville.