Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP has added 11 new attorneys to the following practices:

Real estate

J. Bryan Echols, partner, represents commercial and residential real estate developers in complex annexation, zoning and other land use matters. Echols earned his J.D. in 1981 from Vanderbilt University Law School. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and served in the Air Force for 22 years as an Air Force Judge Advocate. Prior to joining Waller, Echols was a member in the Nashville offices of Dickinson Wright PLLC and Stites & Harbison PLLC.

A.J. Reed, counsel, helps real estate developers, owners and operators of commercial properties and real estate lenders to get deals closed. He earned his J.D. in 2006 from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and received a B.S. in 2003 in accounting from Union University.

Nick Mann, associate, assists clients with leasing transactions, the acquisition of real property, title and survey matters, and the negotiation and drafting of a wide variety of commercial real estate documents. He earned his J.D. in 2012 from the University of Dayton School of Law and received a B.S. in 2009 in public affairs from Indiana University-Bloomington.

M. Andrew Cornwell, associate, works with a wide range of clients with the real estate components of transactional matters. He earned his J.D. in 2013 from Emory University School of Law and received B.A. and B.S. degrees in earth and ocean science and economics in 2010 from Duke University.

Finance and restructuring

Robert J. Welhoelter, counsel, represents companies faced with insolvency and the prospect of bankruptcy – as well as lenders and guarantors involved with insolvent businesses. He earned his J.D. in 2002 from Vanderbilt University Law School and received a B.A. in 1999 in mathematics from Yale University. Welhoelter practiced as an associate at Waller from 2005 to 2009 and maintained a solo practice from 2009 through 2014 before rejoining the firm.

Tyler N. Layne, associate, assists commercial finance firms in negotiating and structuring credit facilities with mid-market companies in healthcare and other industries. He earned his J.D. in 2012 from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in 2009 in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining Waller, Layne was an associate in the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

Labor and employment

Brittany R. Stancombe, associate, represents health care employers, manufacturers, transportation companies, and financial institutions in all aspects of federal and state court litigation involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful discharge. She earned her J.D. in 2012 from Samford University Cumberland School of Law and a B.A. in 2009 in history from Samford University.

Health care compliance and operations

Brandy Schnautz Mann, counsel, represents health care providers in administrative actions brought by governmental agencies and licensing boards and in matters related to Medicare and Medicaid coverage and reimbursement. She earned her J.D. in 2006 from The University of Texas School of Law and a B.A. in 1998 in history and archaeology from The University of Texas at Austin. Before joining Waller, Mann was an associate with Jackson Walker, LLP and Vinson & Elkins, LLP in Austin, Texas.

Blake Lauren Walsh, associate, focuses her legal practice on health care regulatory compliance and operations. She earned her J.D. in 2014 from the University of Maryland School of Law and a B.A. in 2009 in history of science and medicine from Yale University.

Daniel C. Patten, associate, assists clients with change of ownership filings and other regulatory aspects of healthcare mergers and acquisitions. He earned his J.D. in 2014 from Belmont University College of Law and a B.A. in 2009 in anthropology from Wake Forest University.

Litigation and dispute resolution

Taylor J. Askew, associate, assists in disputes involving trade secrets and other intellectual property assets. He earned his J.D. in 2014 from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a B.S. in 2010 in political science from Tennessee Technological University.

Walker, Tipps attorneys migrate to Butler Snow

Hunger

Butler Snow has further expanded its Nashville office with 13 attorneys from Walker, Tipps & Malone PLC joining the firm’s commercial litigation practice.

The move also adds three attorneys to Butler Snow’s presence in the American College of Trial Lawyers. The ACTL is the premiere professional organization of trial lawyers in the United States and Canada, with membership extended by invitation to those recognized as the best trial lawyers in the country. ACTL Fellows joining the firm are:

Frank W. Hunger, who served as a United States Department of Justice assistant attorney general and led the Civil Division. Hunger was actively involved in civil trial practice for 27 years before serving in the Department of Justice. He has served as both local and regional counsel for numerous Fortune 500 companies.

Malone

Walker

Gayle I. Malone, Jr., who has been engaged in the practice of civil trial law since 1973. Malone has represented plaintiffs and defendants in business, personal injury and wrongful death, construction, insurance, and healthcare litigation.

Robert J. Walker, who has more than 40 years of experience in prosecuting and defending litigation involving many different industries. For the past 25 years, he has focused primarily on commercial litigation involving securities and corporate governance lawsuits, shareholder and hostile takeover suits, anti-trust, consumer protection, and business fraud.

Other lawyers joining Butler Snow’s Nashville office also include: Jason W. Callen, Beau C. Creson, John C. Hayworth, M. Ryder Lee, Charles I. Malone, Lauren Patten, Erin Palmer Polly, D. Gil Schuette, J. Mark Tipps, and Joseph F. Welborn III.

The firm’s first Nashville expansion came in 2012 when 37 attorneys joined the firm. Butler Snow’s Nashville office now includes 62 attorneys, and is located downtown in the Pinnacle at Symphony Place.

Patent attorney joins Patterson law firm

Registered patent attorney Jerry Turner Sewell has joined Patterson Intellectual Property Law, P.C.

Sewell

Sewell, who has more than 30 years of experience in intellectual property law, focuses on preparation and prosecution of patent applications, with a particular emphasis on electrical, electronic, software, internet, and data processing.

He was a partner for more than 20 years at California-based Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, one of America’s largest intellectual property firms. Most recently, he has been in solo practice in Franklin and in Newport Beach, California.

Sewell earned his J.D. at the University of Minnesota and an M.S. in electrical engineering in 1980. He is a 1971 graduate of the University of Missouri, Rolla, with a B.S. in electrical engineering.

Lifepoint Hospitals appoint four vice presidents

Winn

LifePoint Hospitals has appointed four new vice presidents, Kathy Winn (marketing services), Sharon Marti (integration and transition services), Dana Begley (post-acute services) and Cathy Florek (supply chain and clinical services).

Winn will work with LifePoint’s hospitals to define marketing and business development strategies that support growth, enhance service line development for the company’s hospitals and physician practices, and facilitate the sharing of best practices system-wide. She has nearly 20 years of marketing experience, most recently as director of marketing for HCA/Parkridge Health System in Chattanooga.

Marti

Begley

Florek

Marti brings more than 30 years of experience in hospital operations and clinical care to her position. In this role, she will support the integration of new facilities into the LifePoint system. Previously, she served as vice president of operations for Diabetes Care Group in Nashville.

Begley will collaborate with company and hospital leadership to enhance hospital transitions of care and develop an integrated model across the care continuum. She will oversee post-acute services for LifePoint hospitals including home health, hospice, skilled nursing, behavioral health and inpatient/outpatient rehabilitation to support service delivery, service line growth and achievement of clinical and operational goals. She has more than 25 years of experience in outpatient services, business development, and hospital operations leadership.

Florek will lead all facets of supply chain management for LifePoint, including procurement, inventory management, purchased services, contracting, value analysis, equipment planning, logistics, enterprise resource planning systems, clinical services, medical devices, and operations consultation and support. Previously, she was senior director, contracting and value analysis, transitioning local vendor agreements to regional and national contracts to create cost efficiencies and consistency across the LifePoint system.

Compass Auctions hires marketing director

Steele

Scott Steele has joined Compass Auctions & Real Estate as marketing director.

Steele has experience in marketing, advertising and design, having spent the last 15 years working with national retailers, real estate and construction companies, local and national marketing agencies, and regional charities.

Cheekwood welcomes 14 new board members

The Board of Trustees of Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art has recently announced the addition of 14 new board members and released rosters for two newly-formed advisory councils.

They are: Grace Haiwon Awh, Lee Blank, John Bryan, Chris Cardwell, Lee Carter, Barbara “Babs” Tinsley Freeman, Gary L. Hawkins, Eric Helman, Jim Hunt, Sandra Lipman, Joelle Phillips, J.R. Roper, Dudley White and Maureen Wylie.

Cheekwood also formed a new Alumni Council composed of past board members, and a new Business Council featuring a dedicated group of community business leaders.

The Alumni Council includes Milbrey Andrews, Amy Atkinson, Stephen Blackmon, Clay Bright, Elizabeth Courtney, Ann G. Coleman, Ron Corbin, Peggy Craig, Jana Davis, Josephine D. Doubleday, Jeffrey B. Eskind, Joel C. Gordon, Julie Gordon, Kate R. W. Grayken, William F. Hagerty, Lydia Howarth, Gordon Inman, William P. Johnston, Mary Evelyn Jones, Peggy Kinnard, Heloise Kuhn, Bob Lowe, Jennie McCabe, David Obolensky, Hal Pennington, Deby and Keith Pitts, Gus Puryear, Anne Shepherd, Anne Russell, Joanne R. Slaughter, Beverly and Jimmy Small, Julie Stadler, Howard L. Stringer, Judy and Steve Turner, Julie Walker, Patricia L. Weigel and Carol Yochem.

Cheekwood’s Business Council includes Richard M. Bracken, James H. ‘Jim’ Cheek III, Robert J. ‘Bob’ Dennis, Marty, G. Dickens, Colin V. Reed, Michael Shmerling and Donald B. Taylor.