Pro Bono Hall of Fame
TJC could not exist without the support of volunteers and interns. From our founding days under the leadership of Nashville attorney Riney Green to our ongoing partnerships with nationwide private and public interest law firms, we have come to realize that TJC’s mission relies on the work of countless people beyond our staff. We are inspired daily by the generosity of individuals and companies who have come to the aid of our clients. To recognize the tremendous amount of support that TJC has received over the years, we have begun an annual award for the lawyer and law firm that have carried the torch for our clients.
Our 2011 Honorees
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis is being honored for the firm’s efforts in representing needy families in their TennCare appeals. In 2010, attorneys at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis were intensely involved in two cases in which they contributed hundreds of hours of pro bono legal services to clients of the Tennessee Justice Center. Through Waller Lansden lawyers Christopher Dunn, John Tishler, Michael Yopp, and Jason Shields’s efforts, the Worsham family home of more than 20 years was saved from foreclosure. Through Christopher Dunn and Michael Gardner’s work, Julie Williamson, a quadrepelegic TennCare enrollee in west Tennessee, stayed on the program, receiving lifesaving nursing care, when the state threatened to cut her off. A mother of three, she was able to stay at home with her family instead of facing institutionalization. Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis’s pro bono representation of these individuals during their hearings allowed low-income Tennesseans to retain the basic necessities of life.
Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith is being honored for his work handling pro bono TennCare cases and setting up a partnership between his firm, TJC, and the UT-Memphis School of Law to serve the needs of low income families on TennCare. The partnership will allow many families each year, who would otherwise go unrepresented at their TennCare hearings, to have capable legal counsel. It will provide law clinic students at UT Memphis with courtroom experience. Adams and Reese has agreed to oversee the project, with technical assistance from the Tennessee Justice Center.
Our 2010 honorees
Kirkland and Ellis LLP
K&E has been involved in the John B. case since 2006. During this time, more than 48 of the firm’s attorneys have worked with TJC to represent the children enrolled in TennCare.
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
SNR also joined the John B. case in 2006. Attorneys at the firm have provided more than 6,000 hours of pro bono service to TennCare children over the past two years alone.
Our 2009 honorees
Bradley Arrant Boult Cummings
In 2008, 15 attorneys at BABC took referrals from TJC, logging almost 500 hours of pro bono services. These were attorneys from various backgrounds and legal areas of focus who dedicated themselves to ensuring that Tennessee families got the services they needed. This firm continues to lead our state in pro bono services to TennCare families.
Michael Abelow
Michael Abelow was the lead attorney on Crabtree v. Goetz, which was filed in the fall of 2008. This case sought to prevent TennCare from restricting home health care benefits on adult enrollees. These cuts affected nearly 900 of the most medically fragile adults across the state. Mr. Abelow partnered with attorneys from the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and the National Health Law Program. He won a preliminary injunction for named plaintiffs that helped them keep their care until new programs began that allowed patients with extraordinary needs to access higher levels of home health care.
Tennessee Heroes
The above honorees are only a small sample of the lawyers who help our clients. Most of our referrals are to lawyers who agree to represent a patient who has been denied services by his or her health insurance company. In 2010 alone, we referred 31 cases to volunteer attorneys. These attorneys have won wheelchairs, home health nurses, residential treatment, and behavioral therapies when families desperately needed them. The lack of these services can easily lead to family breakups and death. These cases aren’t flashy, but they have a profound impact on a people’s lives. To say that we are grateful to the following attorneys would be an understatement:
- Haavi Morreim
- Jeffrey C. Smith
- Michael A. Gardner
- Christopher S. Dunn
- Thor Y. Urness
- Peter C. Sales
- David K. Taylor
- Jay Hardcastle
- Phillis Rambsy
- Mike Abelow
- Bill Farmer
- Tera Hambrick
- Amelia Crotwell
- Wendy Bach
- Christina Zawisza
- John Tishler
- Jason Shields
- Michael Yopp
- Timothy Takacs
- James B. Johnson
- Paula Flowers
- Leslie Muse
- Paul Drozdowski
- Linda Casals
- Don Donati
- David P. Cañas
- Jim Bilbo
- Lara Flatau
- Jon Rose
- Frankie Spero
- Jessica Patrick
