Felker

Samuel L. Felker of Baker Donelson has been elected chair of the Metropolitan Board of Health.

A shareholder in the firm’s Nashville office, Felker is a member of Baker Donelson’s Product Liability and Mass Tort Group and a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. He has served in leadership positions in the Nashville and American Bar Associations, and he is a member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel.

Felker has served on the Metropolitan Board of Health for the past six years.

The role of the Metropolitan Board of Health is to oversee the Metro Health Department and administer and control public health for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.

Former DA Johnson joins Belmont faculty

Johnson

Torry Johnson, who is retiring after 27 years as Nashville’s district attorney general, is joining Belmont University’s College of Law as a visiting professor in January 2015.

After graduating from Vanderbilt Law School in 1974, Johnson spent one year as a law clerk to a federal appeals court judge before joining the staff of the District Attorney’s office. He rose through various office assignments, eventually heading up the Special Prosecution Unit that targeted career criminals. After working there for several years, he went into private practice. He later returned to the District Attorney’s office as an assistant DA and team leader, before assuming the position he currently holds.

LMT announces 2014-15 officers, board of directors

Varallo

Deborah Varallo, president of Varallo Public Relations, has been elected to chair the Leadership Middle Tennessee board of directors. She is the fourth person to chair this regional leadership institute, which encompasses a 10-county area in Middle Tennessee.

Executive board members are:

Paul Stumb (Wilson County), chair-elect, dean of the School of Business, Cumberland University

Valerie Hunter-Kelly (Montgomery County), secretary, Keller Williams Realty

Gina Scott (Sumner County), treasurer, Pinnacle Financial Partners.

Seab Tuck (Williamson County), Tuck Hinton Architects, is the past chair. Jack B. Turner (Montgomery County) is chair emeritus.

Ex-Officio board members are David Urban (Rutherford County), dean of Jennings A. Jones College of Business, MTSU, and Ralph Schulz (Davidson County), president/CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Additional board members and committee chairs are: Bill Sites (Montgomery County), alumni, Ward Potts Jewelers; Kadi Jones (Maury County), communications, Cassidy Turley; Floyd Shechter (Davidson County), development, SmartSpace, Inc.; Brenda Payne (Sumner County), governance, Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce; Paul C. Ney (Davidson County), program, Waddey & Patterson; Gina Scott (Sumner County), finance, Pinnacle Financial Partners; Jeff Jowdy (Williamson County), personnel, Lighthouse Counsel; Jill Ayers (Montgomery County), selection, Batson, Nolan, Pearson, Miller & Joiner.

Leadership Middle Tennessee is a regional leadership program founded to engage community and business leaders in the 10-county region of Middle Tennessee. Participating counties are Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson Counties.

Nashville lawyers rank among nation’s best

Attorneys from a number of Nashville firms have been included in The Best Lawyers in America 2015.

They include, with category of recognition:

Frost Brown Todd

Van P. East III, corporate; Kelly L. Frey, Lawyer of the Year (Information Technology Law), corporate, information technology, technology Law; William C. Gullett, corporate; Bobby Guy, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization, corporate, litigation-bankruptcy; Joseph Allen Kelly, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization; litigation-labor and employment; Thomas H. Lee, government relations; Robert J. Mendes, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, litigation-bankruptcy; Mekesha H. Montgomery, employment law-management; Robert V. Sartin, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization, litigation-bankruptcy; Robin Bicket White, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization, litigation-bankruptcy

Baker Donelson

Lauren W. Anderson, corporate, mergers and acquisitions; L. Mabel Arroyo, immigration; Andrea C. Barach, corporate, trademark; Thomas E. Bartrum, health care; Julie Boswell, closely held companies, family businesses, corporate, tax, trusts and estates; Martha L. Boyd, employment-management, litigation-ERISA; W. Davidson Broemel, insurance; Joel R. Buckberg, franchise; Ashby Q. Burks, corporate, health care, mergers and acquisitions; Christopher M. Caputo, construction and litigation-construction; Scott D. Carey, commercial litigation, personal injury litigation-defendants, Transportation; Brigid M. Carpenter, commercial litigation and personal injury litigation-defendants; Jonathan L. Cole, commercial litigation; Richard G. Cowart, health care and mergers and acquisitions; Bruce C. Doeg, corporate, IT, technology, venture capital; Lawrence S. Eastwood, employment-management, litigation-labor and employment; Steven J. Eisen, banking and finance, financial services regulation and mergers & acquisitions; Kenneth P. Ezell, commercial finance, commercial transactions/UCC, land use & zoning, public finance and real estate; Samuel Lanier Felker, commercial litigation, mass tort litigation/class actions-defendants, personal injury litigation-defendants, product liability litigation-defendants; Courtney H. Gilmer, bankruptcy, creditor debtor rights/insolvency, reorganization; Charles K. Grant, employment-management, litigation-labor and employment; Tonya M. Grindon, corporate, mergers and acquisitions and securities/capital markets; John A. Gupton III, commercial finance, land use and zoning, real estate; Matthew T. Harris, litigation-real estate; John S. Hicks, commercial litigation, medical malpractice-defendants, professional malpractice-defendants; Lawrence C. Maxwell, commercial litigation, construction, litigation-construction, litigation-intellectual property; Robert G. McDowell, administrative/regulatory, arbitration, mediation; Philip S. McSween, corporate, health care, mergers and acquisitions; Samuel F. Miller, litigation---intellectual property; Mark L. Miller, banking and finance and financial services regulation; Brett A. Oeser, construction and litigation-construction; Carol Owen, commercial litigation; Clarence Risin, commercial litigation, transportation; J. Allen Roberts, corporate; John F. Rogers Jr., real estate; John H. Rowland, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization, litigation-bankruptcy; John M. Scannapieco (ERISA “Lawyer of the Year”), litigation-ERISA; Gary C. Shockley, bet-the-Company litigation, commercial litigation, criminal defense, white-collar, environmental, litigation-antitrust, litigation-construction, litigation-environmental, mass tort litigation/class actions-defendants; Christopher A. Sloan, copyright, corporate, IT, Trademark; Robert M. Steele, environmental and litigation-environmental; Matthew J. Sweeney III (Nashville franchise “Lawyer of the Year”), administrative/regulatory, arbitration, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, franchise, litigation-securities, mediation; Kenneth A. Weber, employment-management, litigation-ERISA, litigation-labor and employment; William H. West, health care; Steven K. Wood (Nashville litigation - banking and finance “Lawyer of the Year.”), non-profit/charities, tax and trusts, estates; Steve F. Wood Jr., business organizations.

Butler Snow

Lance P. Bridgesmith, mergers and acquisitions; Kathryn Reed Edge (Financial Services “Lawyer of the Year”), financial services regulation; Dan H. Elrod (Administrative/Regulatory “Lawyer of the Year”) , administrative / regulatory, government relations practice, health care, insurance; Robert M. Holland, Jr., economic development, eminent domain and condemnation, real estate; G. Brian Jackson, administrative/regulatory; David L. Johnson, litigation-ERISA, litigation-labor and employment; Jack F. King, Jr., commercial finance, real estate; Julie Watson Lampley, health care; Melvin J. Malone, energy; William R. (Bill) O’Bryan, Jr., bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization, commercial litigation, litigation-bankruptcy; T.Harold Pinkley, litigation-Labor, employment; Kara E.Shea, employment-management, labor-management; Noel F. Stahl, medical malpractice-defendants, personal injury litigation-defendants; Robert L. Trentham, medical malpractice-defendants, personal injury litigation-defendants; William S. Walton, personal injury litigation-defendants; Amanda Haynes Young, government relations practice, insurance.

Truxton Trust hires Dunlavy as senior VP

Dunlavy

Truxton Corporation, a bank holding company and the parent of Truxton Trust Company, has hired Brad Dunlavy as senior vice president and wealth advisor team leader.

Dunlavy comes to Truxton from KraftCPAs and was previously in wealthadvisory and tax capacities at Regions Bank and SunTrust.

Community Foundation selects board, officers

The board of directors of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, a charitable organization that connects generosity with need throughout Middle Tennessee, announced the appointment of six new members to the board of directors as well as three new officers.

New board members are Ben G. Freeland, Jose D. Gonzalez, Mark R. Gwyn, Robert S. Lipman, Joelle J. Phillips and Kevin J. Wheeler. Newly appointed board officers are Jerry B. Williams, chairman; Kerry Graham, vice chairman; and Leilani S. Boulware, secretary. Charles W. Cook, Jr. continues as treasurer.

McCuller joins LBMC as senior manager

McCuller

Brian McCuller has joined the State and Local Tax Services team of Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC in its Brentwood office.

McCuller is an attorney and a CPA with over 20 years of experience in the state and local tax field. Prior to joining LBMC, Brian was a managing director in the CBIZ national tax office for three years. He began his career in 1993, and held positions with Arthur Andersen, LLP, and Ernst & Young, LLP in Atlanta and Memphis.

He earned his law degree at the University of Mississippi and a degree in accounting from the University of Texas.

MP&F welcomes new associates

Kelly

MP&F Public Relations has hired Evan Galin and Brooke Kelly as the firm’s newest staff associates.

Galin

Galin, a Nashville native, graduated from the University of Florida in May 2014 with a degree in public relations. Galin’s public relations experience includes internships with Southwest Airlines and Nissan.

Scholl

Kelly, a Jackson, Mississippi native, graduated from Jackson State University in 2012 with a degree in mass communications. She had previously interned with MP&F.

Attorney Sholl joins Legal Aid Society

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest non-profit law firm, has announced the hiring of Emma Sholl as an attorney in its Clarksville office.

Sholl previously worked as a legal extern at the Southern Poverty Law Center in New Orleans. Prior to her work there, she held legal internships and fellowships with several non-profit organizations, including Children at Risk in Houston, Texas; Southeast Lousisana Legal Services in New Orleans and The Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York in Utica, New York.