January 2008 - IOLTA Grants
The Board of Trustees announced awards from the Tennessee IOLTA program of $1,400,000 - - the largest total since inception - - to 56 law-related organizations. The recipients are headquartered in twenty-four communities around the state and provide their services in many additional cities and counties.  Individual awards ranged from $2,000 to $275,000.  The grantees are listed here.





June 2007 – Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Bar Foundation was held June 14 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville. Chairman Paul Plant’s report on the activities of the past year included the IOLTA program’s 55 grant awards (for a total of $1,000,000) to law-related public service providers for 2007; the completion of six Legal History Project interviews with senior lawyers and judges; and the fact that the strong economic condition of the Foundation warranted the selection of investment consultants who will assist in reaping the best return on IOLTA funds.

Howard H. Vogel, of Knoxville, assumed office as Chairman of the Foundation. The members of the Board of Trustees for 2007 – 2008 are listed here.

          




May 2007 – Points of Interest
The Foundation’s annual newsletter, Points of Interest, is in the mail to all Tennessee attorneys. The cover story describes the work of an IOLTA grant recipient organization, Community Reconciliation, Inc., the VORP (Victim Offender Reconciliation Program) of Chattanooga, which promotes mediation as a method of solving disputes. In addition to other information, the success of the Foundation’s own Legal History Project is detailed inside the newsletter, along with a list of its interviewees. Points of Interest is available by clicking here.





October 2006 – Legal History Project
Three lawyers went before the cameras in late summer, bringing the Project’s video collection to 48 interviews.

Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr., was questioned by his longtime law partner, Robert F. Worthington, Jr.  He described a career trajectory that began in Scott County’s Huntsville, went to Knoxville to Washington, D.C. to Tokyo, Japan and then back to Huntsville (population 1,128).

Donald F. Paine, of Knoxville, told his interviewer, Howard H. Vogel, that during high school he enjoyed a summer job as a jackhammer operator and considered making that his career - - until his parents intervened.

Floyd Flippin, of Milan, interviewed his mentor, Judge W. Frank Crawford, of Memphis.  In addition to practicing law and serving on the bench, Judge Crawford had a brief film career: in the movie, The Firm (from the John Grisham novel), he “acted” as the judge who swore in the lawyer/characters to the Tennessee bar.

All DVD/VHS copies of the interviews conducted by the Legal History Project may be borrowed from the Foundation. Contact info@tnbarfoundation.org.