R. Christopher Gilreath and Grayson Wells have joined the Nashville law firm of Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, PLLC.
Gilreath has joined the firm as a member and co-leads SJ&G’s personal injury practice group. He previously served as the managing attorney of the Memphis office of Gilreath & Associates.
Gilreath earned his J.D. in 1997 from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University and is a 1994 graduate of Rhodes College. He is a member of the Memphis Bar Association, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice.
Wells specializes in complex civil litigation, including data breach and privacy class actions in both state and federal courts. Before joining the firm, he served as a litigation associate at the Nashville office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.
He is a graduate of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and earned a master’s degree in cybersecurity risk management from Indiana University. He also holds a degree in computer science from Park University.
Wells is a member of the American Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association and the Nashville Bar Association.
Banking attorney Price joining Wood Stabell
Mary Neil Price, an attorney with more than three decades of expertise, is joining Wood Stabell Law Group.
She brings experience in mergers and acquisitions, banking and financial law, and corporate governance.
Price, a graduate of Tulane University Law School and Newcomb College, has over the years represented the Nashville Symphony, the Nashville Ballet, TPAC, the local chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and Cumberland Heights.
Price is actively involved with the Tennessee Bankers Association and has served on the boards of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Pathway Lending.
Buchalter expands with addition of 10 attorneys
Buchalter continues to add to its roster of attorneys in Nashville with the addition of six for its music, entertainment, real estate and litigation practices.
Shareholders Jay Bowen, Lauren Kilgore, and Lauren Spahn join from Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley and Norton LLP, along with Rebekah Shulman, Jim Zumwalt, Jacob Clabo, Aaron Steinberg and John Baxter. Shareholder Jeffrey Melcher joins from Dickinson Wright and Shareholder Bradley Segal joins from Maynard Nexsen PC.
• Bowen’s experience as a high-stakes litigator ranges from trying federal income tax cases, copyright infringement and intellectual property and business cases to both judges and juries, recovering multimillion dollar verdicts or defense verdicts to appellate litigation, mediations and arbitrations across the U.S.
• Spahn represents the legal and business interests of recording artists, songwriters, publishers, promoters, talent buyers, executives, record labels, technology and digital media companies and other entertainment industry clients. She was also named one of Billboard’s “Top Music Lawyers” for 2024 and is regularly featured in MusicRow Magazine’s “In Charge” in the entertainment business.
• Kilgore has more than a decade of experience as an entertainment attorney in both transactional and dispute resolution and general business litigation matters. She handles a wide variety of transactional entertainment matters on behalf of artists, songwriters, managers, content creators, entertainment companies and corporate entities. She was also named one of Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers for 2024.
• Shulman enforces and defends intellectual property rights on behalf of clients before the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
• Clabo and Baxter specialize in business litigation matters, with a focus in intellectual property, especially in relation to clients within the music industry and entertainment sector.
• Steinberg specializes in transactional intellectual property matters, especially in relation to clients within the entertainment industry and technology sector.
• Zumwalt has practiced law for more than 40 years with a focus on media and entertainment law, including an emphasis on global new media and technology in the entertainment industry. He represents international clients, including award-winning, multi-platinum recording and performing artists, major songwriters and producers, celebrity estates, copyright terminations, authors, screenwriters, film directors and producers, and television production companies.
• Siegal’s practice focuses on acquisition, development, financing and leasing, representing various stakeholders including buyers, sellers, developers, investors, landlords and tenants. He has also specialized in economic incentives, multi-property and portfolio transactions, and ground-up development opportunities.
• Melcher brings his wealth of experience in commercial and business litigation which includes handling contract and business disputes, health care litigation, insurance matters, real estate disputes, transportation cases, labor and employment issues, and more.
Established in 2022, Buchalter’s Nashville office has recently grown to approximately 20 attorneys. The firm, founded 91 years ago in Los Angeles, now has nearly 500 lawyers across 12 offices with 17 practice areas.
Airport Authority names board officers, chair
The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, which owns and operates Nashville International Airport and John C. Tune Airport, has elected Nancy Sullivan as chair and reelected James W. “Jimmy” Granbery as vice chair and Andrew W. Byrd to serve as board secretary.
The seven-member board of commissioners, appointed by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County mayor and confirmed by the Metropolitan Council, governs and sets policies for the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. The board is composed of seven representatives in the fields of engineering, law, industry, commerce and finance with at least two holding a private pilot’s rating or higher qualification.
In addition to the newly elected officers, Robert J. “Bobby” Joslin, Joycelyn A. Stevenson, Esq., and Dr. Glenda Glover serve as commissioners.
Sullivan was appointed to the MNAA Board in 2018 by former Mayor David Briley and reappointed in 2022 by former Mayor John Cooper. She was elected as board chair while concurrently serving as the vice chair of the operations, engineering & strategic planning committee. Sullivan previously served as vice chair and secretary of the board, chair of audit and compliance committee, vice chair of management, audit and compliance committee and vice chair of general aviation, operations, planning and engineering committee.
In her professional role, she co-founded Triad Environmental Consultants, Inc., in 1996, which was acquired by Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. in August 2022. She is principal engineer and operations manager at Montrose.
Sullivan holds engineering degrees from David Lipscomb College (now university) and Vanderbilt University.
Granbery was appointed to the board in 2018 by former Mayor David Briley and reappointed in 2021 by former Mayor John Cooper. He serves as vice chair of the management, audit and compliance committee. Granbery previously served chair and secretary of the board, chair of the finance, diversity and workforce development committee and vice chair of BNA vision committee. He is chair of H.G. Hill Company and chair/CEO of H.G. Hill Realty Company, LLC, both of which have remained family owned and operated in Nashville for six generations.
He holds a degree in business administration from the University of Mississippi.
Byrd was appointed to the board in 2021 by former Mayor John Cooper. He also serves as chair of the finance, diversity & workforce development committee. Byrd is the founder and CEO of TVV Capital, a private equity investment firm.
Byrd holds bachelor’s and Juris Doctor degrees from Vanderbilt University and an L.L.M. in taxation from Georgetown University.
Google Fiber selects chief financial officer
Google Fiber has hired John Abbot as the company’s first chief financial officer. Abbot, who has more than three decades of experience in media, technology, infrastructure, telecom and finance, will oversee GFiber’s finance, strategy and analytics and accounting teams.
He previously served in CFO roles for multiple companies, most recently Dataminr, an AI business. He also held these roles at Datto, as well as at Cumulus Media, Telx Holdings and Insight Communications.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a degree in systems engineering. He also holds a master’s in engineering from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
ESa adds to three teams
Nashville architecture firm, ESa, has added to its staff with four hires.
Andrew Collignon, AIA, JD, joins ESa in the role of senior facility planning specialist. He holds a degree in architecture from University of Kentucky and Juris Doctorate from the Nashville School of Law.
Collignon has extensive experience in the health care field, having worked as a consultant. He also worked for major medical facilities in both the education and private sector.
Shohreh Moshiri is a member of ESa’s architecture team. She earned a degree in architecture from Azad University of Tehran and she previously worked as a designer for firms in Tehran and Nashville.
Harry Dunavant joins ESa as a member of the architecture team. Dunavant earned his degree in architecture from Auburn University and interned with firms located in Memphis and Atlanta.
Jeffrey Holland is a new member of the construction contract administration team. He holds a degree in business management from Western Governor’s University. Holland has a background in construction and real estate after spending 17 years in the Marine Corps.
Scotty Greer joins as an IT systems support engineer. Greer attended the United States Air Force Academy and Tennessee Tech University and previously worked with the State of Tennessee as an IT support specialist.