Two Patterson attorneys named Bar fellows

Friday, March 11, 2016, Vol. 40, No. 11

James R. Cartiglia and Ryan Levy, shareholders at Patterson Intellectual Property Law, have been named fellows of the Nashville Bar Foundation. Fellows are selected by their colleagues in honor of significant contributions to the community.

Cartiglia, a registered patent attorney, has been practicing intellectual property law for more than 30 years. He has filed and prosecuted more than 1,500 patent applications, primarily in the fields of chemical and materials engineering, nutrition and life sciences, and has appeared before the Japanese, Korean and European Patent Offices, as well as representing clients in litigation in the US and in Europe.

Cartiglia earned his J.D. at St. John’s University School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Levy, also a registered patent attorney, primarily focuses on intellectual property litigation. He was an active member of the Nashville Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division (YLD), having served as president, president-elect, events director and social co-chair. Levy received the Nashville Bar Association YLD Enterprise award in 2008 and the NBA YLD President’s award in 2011. He was recently elected to the NBA Board of Directors and also serves on both the Executive and Social Committees.

He earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 2005 and dual B.S. degrees in Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University in 2001.

Bass, Berry & Sims welcomes 4 associates

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC has hired four new associates to the firm’s Nashville office. They are:

Jeff H. Gibson represents clients in litigation and government investigations, conducting internal investigations and defending individuals and companies facing white collar criminal charges, quasi-criminal civil claims and compliance violations.

Prior to joining the firm, Gibson practiced at the law firm of Neal & Harwell, PLC and clerked for Judge Susan H. Black on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Gibson earned his law degree from the University of Georgia and a B.A. from Furman University.

Joseph A. Kimmet focuses his practice on the tax aspects of complex business transactions and reorganizations. Prior to joining Bass, Berry & Sims, Kimmet practiced at Woolf, McClane, Bright, Allen & Carpenter, PLLC in Knoxville. Kimmet earned his LL.M. in taxation from the University of Alabama School of Law and his law degree from the University of Tennessee. He also earned a B.A. from UT.

John H. Lawrence counsels clients in defense of allegations of health care fraud and abuse. Prior to joining the firm, he practiced at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. in Chattanooga. Lawrence earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina. He earned a M.Div. from Wake Forest University and a B.A. from Duke University.

Taylor K. Wirth advises clients on a variety of corporate matters including securities offerings, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining the firm, Wirth practiced in the Nashville office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C. Wirth earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Stites & Harbison adds to property, technology group

Stites & Harbison, PLLC has hired attorney Sean Ritchie for its Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group.

Ritchie’s practice focuses on the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications. He also has experience in FDA compliance issues.

Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, he was an associate at McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC in Harrisburg, Pa., in their Intellectual Property Group. Before that, he served as in-house counsel for a biotechnology company with a focus on health care and medical device regulation.

Ritchie has a degree in bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh, studying molecular cell biology with an emphasis on stem cells, artificial organs and biocompatibility. He also earned his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.

GNAR honors Awards of Excellence winners

The Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS® honored over 200 Realtors for their personal achievements at its recent annual Awards of Excellence Gala.

Awards for personal achievements were given to 215 Realtors. Seven special awards were also distributed, including the new Affiliate of the Year Award. Those individual awards include:

-- REALTOR® of the Year - Mike McKee, Adex!Homesellers

-- Rookie of the Year - Gentry Allen, Parker Peery Properties

-- Affiliate of the Year - Christy Hoskins, Churchill Mortgage

-- Community Service Award - Vivian Brandon, Pilkerton REALTORS

-- Top Individual Listing & Selling Agent - Tom Repass, Fridrich & Clark Realty

-- Top Team Listing Agent - Kendra Cooke, Cooke Realty Partners

-- Top Team Selling Agent - Brianna Morant, Benchmark Realty

Wilson moves to Hall from DVL Seigenthaler

Justin H. Wilson, most recently a vice president at public relations agency DVL Seigenthaler, has been named managing director of public relations for Nashville-based public affairs firm Hall Strategies.

Wilson will manage strategic communications, marketing and branding, crisis communications and media relations for Hall Strategies’ diverse roster of clients which includes national, regional and local companies and associations.

Wilson also served as director of client services for Seigenthaler Public Relations before its merger with DVL. He is former senior coordinator for the Political Affairs and Federation Relations Department at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

Wilson, an Auburn alumnus, is a graduate of Nashville Emerging Leaders, as well as the Young Leaders Council.

Foundation hires communications director

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, a charitable organization connecting the generosity of donors with nonprofits serving Middle Tennessee and portions of Kentucky and beyond, has hired Pat Embry as director of communications.

A former editor and writer at both the Nashville Banner and The Tennessean, Embry had served as director of the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies at Middle Tennessee State University since 2014.

Embry spent 18 years at the Banner in roles ranging from sports writer to executive editor before the afternoon newspaper closed in 1998. He then worked at The Tennessean for nearly eight years, with posts that included launching The Rage entertainment guide as general manager and editor, before becoming editorial director for Brentwood-based Magellan Press.

He is a graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Turner Construction adds marketing manager

Turner Construction has named Anna DeLong marketing manager of its Nashville office.

DeLong most recently served as market pursuit manager for Gresham, Smith and Partners. There, she supported 25 principals across seven office locations and was responsible for the oversight and management of marketing activities for the firm’s largest market, healthcare. She also led a team of marketing professionals, overseeing various projects to assist in advancing strategic business and marketing goals.

At Turner, DeLong will be responsible for overall management and organization of the office’s marketing plan, including public relations tactics, market research, branding and strategic planning.

A Group expands, adds 3 team members

The A Group (TAG) has added three team members, expanding the agency’s capabilities in client service and business development.

Chris Johnson has joined the sales team as director of business development, while Sarah Herr and Rebekah Tate joined the client services team as account managers.

Johnson was a former client of The A Group, working as the U.S. media sales manager for TWR, a global nonprofit media organization.

Prior to his work with TWR, Johnson worked as business development manager for Office Depot and as a regional account executive for G/O Digital.

Tate joins The A Group as an account manager with a focus on marketing, previously serving as the marketing director for Chick-Fil-A in Brentwood.

Herr will also work as an account manager with a focus on technology-driven projects. Previously Herr worked for Dell as an inside sales representative.

Fifth Third Bank names financial center manager

Paul Barton recently joined Fifth Third Bank’s Tennessee region as assistant vice president/financial center manager for the Callender Lane Financial Center in Hendersonville.

Barton, who has more than 20 years of financial industry experience, most recently worked as a branch manager for US Bank in Hendersonville.

He has a degree from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

HarperCollins Christian Publishing promotes Reiss

HarperCollins Christian Publishing has promoted Damon Reiss to director of Bible sales for HarperCollins Christian Publishing.

Reiss has been with the organization for 13 years, originally hired as an inside sales rep. In 2012, Reiss was tasked with selling all Bible translations for HarperCollins Christian Publishing.