Collins

Adams and Reese has hired entertainment and transactions attorney Meredith Edwards Collins as an associate. Collins was formerly with Bass Berry & Sims and has been practicing law in Nashville for six years in entertainment, health care, and business transactions.

Collins also is a former recording artist for Universal Music Group/Mercury Records, where she released one album and had two singles on the Billboard country singles charts. She also opened on consecutive tours for N’Sync.

As a transactions attorney, Collins has served as counsel for both buyers and sellers on more than 100 transactions to date ranging in size from $2 million to $2.35 billion. She has represented clients in the entertainment and health care services space, with a major focus in specialty pharmacy, life sciences and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related issues.

Collins earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from University of Mississippi in 2009 and her B.S., magna cum laude, from Belmont University, in 2006.

Jakes admitted to College of Trial Lawyers

Jakes

William B. Jakes, III, a partner in the Nashville firm of Howell & Fisher, PLLC, has become a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Founded in 1950, the College is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of 15 years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship.

Jakes is an alumnus of the University of Memphis School of Law.

Patterson Intellectual Property welcomes Ford to Firm

Ford

Attorney Grant Michael Ford has joined Patterson Intellectual Property Law as an associate. His practice will focus on the protection of inventions relating to electronic and computer technologies.

Ford was previously an associate at Sughrue Mion, PLLC, in Washington, D.C., where he prosecuted U.S. patent applications in technology areas that included computer systems, networking, software, and display devices. He served as a patent specialist at KORUS Patent, LLC in Lisle, IL, where he was responsible for drafting, editing and prosecuting U.S. patent applications. He spent five years in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner focused on computer networking arts.

Ford is a 2013 graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology – Chicago-Kent College of Law. He holds a degree in computer engineering from the University of Tennessee.

Pinnacle adds 4 to small business team

Akin

Martin Akin and Alan Scarboro have joined Pinnacle Financial Partners as senior vice presidents and financial advisors for small business banking, along with financial advisor assistants Sondra Hale and Terri McClure.

Scarboro

Akin spent 18-years at First Tennessee Bank, where he was most recently a senior vice president and business banking division manager. He is based out of Pinnacle’s 100 Oaks office. He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Tennessee and has series 6 and 63 licenses.

Scarboro brings 29 years of experience and comes from First Tennessee Bank, where he served as vice president for business banking. Previously he held similar roles at National City Bank in Bowling Green, Ky. and Mercantile Bank in Winter Park, Florida. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of South Florida in Tampa and a master’s from Rollins College in Winter Park.

Hale has 16 years of experience at First Tennessee, where she served most recently as a business banking client specialist.

McClure was a small business client specialist with First Tennessee for the past 11 of her 24 years in financial services.

Skanska promotes Wix to diversity, inclusion manager

Wix

Skanska USA has promoted Alisha Wix to diversity and inclusion manager for its Midwest region. She was previously a marketing manager and is based in Nashville.

In her new role, Wix will be responsible for developing, implementing and promoting diversity and inclusion strategies for Skanska’s Midwest Region, which includes Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. She will collaborate with small, woman-owned and minority-owned businesses, and serve as a liaison between clients and on-site construction teams on disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) participation goals.

Wix, a Cross Plains native, has been with Skanska for eight years and serves on Skanska’s Nashville Leadership Team and the steering committee for the Midwest chapter of the Skanska Women’s Network.