Community Involvement
Since our beginning, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC attorneys have not only been leaders in local, regional and national legal organizations, but have also made significant contributions to our local communities. Our firm understands that these experiences broaden and deepen our understanding of our communities and the world around us which in turn enables us to better serve our clients.
All attorneys are encouraged to play an active role in the community, which often involves volunteer work, involvement on nonprofit boards, leadership roles in civic organizations and pro bono work.
Pro Bono
Attorneys at our firm provide pro bono work for several organizations including the Legal Aid Society, local bar associations, nonprofit groups and individuals. Below are a few examples of our pro bono representation.
Since 2007, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC has joined with other law firms around the country through the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) for the purpose of representing military veterans who have been denied benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The effort has been organized by
Matt Curley, member at the firm, and cases have been handled by attorneys in the firm's offices in Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis. The NVLSP is an independent nonprofit veteran’s service organization that has assisted veterans and their advocates since 1980. In December 2008, the NVLSP launched its newest program, "Lawyers Serving Warriors," which offers pro bono legal assistance to veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawsuits brought by NVLSP attorneys have resulted in VA payments of hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits to veterans and their families. Through its various programs, NVLSP recruits, trains, and assists thousands of volunteer lawyers and veterans' advocates.
Our firm's Nashville office represents
KIPP Academy Nashville with a pro bono legal team, which includes
Ross Booher, who also serves on KIPP's board of directors,
Tim Garrett,
David Smith,
Steve Jasper,
Jeff Yarbro and Leslie Hafner. KIPP Academy Nashville is a free public charter school serving disadvantaged middle school students in east Nashville. The school, which is part of the nationally recognized
Knowledge is Power Program, focuses on developing student character and academic excellence in a team atmosphere. KIPP's students were recognized as the 2005
Nashvillians of the Year by the Nashville Scene.
Eighteen attorneys and staff from Bass, Berry & Sims PLC participated in a Pro Bono Clinic at the 2009
All About Women event, sponsored by the firm. They provided Advanced Care Plans and Durable Powers of Attorney for 96 people and answered legal questions for at least 50 more, providing a valuable service to women who otherwise would not have access to these resources.
All About Women seeks to provide women from all economic backgrounds access to the information, services and tools needed to lead healthier lives. In
All About Women’s four-year history in Nashville, more than 50,000 have been transformed, enlightened and educated by the organization’s programming.
Since 2003, the firm has partnered with the
Center for Justice and Accountability in representing five plaintiffs originally from El Salvador against the former vice minister of defense, Col. Nicolas Carranza. Carranza was accused of torture, murder and human rights abuses during the early 1980s when El Salvador was in the midst of a civil war. Experts estimate that 10,000 to 12,000 unarmed civilians were killed in 1980 alone. During this time, Carranza exercised command and control over the three units of the security forces responsible for most of the attacks on civilians. Each of our plaintiffs personally suffered torture and abuse or had family members who were murdered while Carranza was in power. The jury trial took place from October 30, through November 18, 2005, in Memphis, Tennessee, where Carranza now lives as a U.S. citizen. There were 45 total timekeepers at our firm who collectively spent 5,000 hours working on this case. In addition, our firm's lead attorney on this case traveled to El Salvador to gather information and find additional witnesses. Bass, Berry & Sims PLC also covered the expenses related to trial preparation and the litigation, including the travel arrangements for the attorneys to attend depositions. While the success of this case did not rest on monetary damages, that was the only remedy available under the law. Above all, the plaintiffs sought justice and accountability for the abuses they suffered. The jury came back with a verdict awarding our plaintiffs a total of $6 million in compensatory and punitive damages. In March of 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the verdict. Our firm made an extraordinary commitment to this case because we truly believed in its merit and we wanted to make the statement that human rights abusers, regardless of their origin, will be brought to justice in the U.S. The Bass Berry legal team included
David Esquivel, Jennifer Eberle,
Matt Sinback and
Steve Jasper.
Ross Booher represented Lieutenant Jason Hudson who, while serving as a Navy human resources officer, was demoted, publicly maligned and issued an adverse performance evaluation after objecting to and properly reporting an unlawful Navy recruiting directive which required racial discrimination against minority Navy applicants. Booher prompted Congressional inquiries and media coverage and as a result, the Navy and Defense Department conducted multiple investigations of Lt. Hudson's allegations, ultimately acknowledging that the recruiting policy was "legally indefensible." On July 23, 2007, the Deputy Secretary of Defense signed a strengthened Military Whistleblower Protection Directive. On July 26, 2007, the Navy announced that Hudson has been selected for promotion to Lieutenant Commander.
Both
David Esquivel and
Ross Booher have received the Harris Gilbert
Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award from the Tennessee Bar Association. The award recognizes private attorneys who have contributed significant amounts of
pro bono work and have demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of legal services to the poor.
Kristen Wright works with the Forrest City Junior Auxiliary, Inc. (JA) in its acquisition, utilization and preservation of the historic Campbell House of Forrest City, Arkansas. JA has obtained the extraordinary building from the family of its original owners and is developing it as the JA headquarters and center for its charitable programs and projects. In addition, JA hopes to use Campbell House as a rental facility for parties, wedding receptions, organizational meetings and the like to fund JA's charitable endeavors. Kristen has worked with the owners of the home and the JA. Together with the leaders of JA, she oversees the fundraising efforts, develops and evaluates rental agreements, researches future grants and preservation projects and focuses on promotion for the east Arkansas area.
Among those activities that have sprung from the firm’s BBS Cares pro bono initiative is an effort within the firm to take on the “lions share” of adoption cases for the Legal Aid Society, representing prospective parents with limited financial means. More than 20 of our attorneys have volunteered for this project, which includes cases to terminate parental rights.
I
n 2009, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC sponsored and hosted a free continuing legal education course to train lawyers to take pro bono immigration cases representing unaccompanied immigrant children.
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Community Service
Each of our three offices is actively involved in their community. These service projects allow our attorneys and staff to work together for the communities where they live. Some of the activities are:
- Nashville Since 2002, the firm’s Nashville office has been a PENCIL Partner for Antioch Middle School. In that time, attorneys and staff members have participated in various activities including tutoring, collecting donations, giving tours of our Nashville Downtown office, participating in "Read to Me Day," providing a teacher appreciation breakfast, presenting awards for the most improved student and much more.
- Knoxville On May 13, 2006, Habitat for Humanity's Women Build Initiative began building a home in Knoxville. Four of our female attorneys participated in the effort on May 20. The home was built in 12 days, and the project organizers included: Mintha Roach, president and CEO of Knoxville Utilities Board; Carol Petersen, University of Tennessee's first lady; Dee Haslam of Rivr Media; and others, with the support of Tennessee's first lady, Andrea Conti.
- Memphis Four attorneys and three staff members participated in a community-wide Servathon. They were assigned to assist the United Way of the Mid-South by assembling materials and stuffing boxes called "Children Do Come With Instructions." Hospitals throughout Shelby County distribute these boxes to new parents, and the materials include information on breastfeeding, childcare, SIDS, child development and other topics. In addition to this assignment, they raised $275 for Hands on Memphis.
In addition to these activities, our attorneys are either presently working with or have worked with the following organizations, among many others:
- 100 Black Men of Tennessee
- Alive Hospice-Middle Tennessee Chapter
- American Cancer Society
- American Red Cross
- Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis
- Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
- Drug & Alcohol Council of Middle Tennessee
- Kids on the Block, Middle Tennessee
- KIPP Academy Nashville
- Knoxville Greenways Commission
- Knoxville Symphony
- Lupus Foundation of America - Mid-South Chapter
- Memphis Botanic Gardens
- Memphis Housing Resource Center
- Nashville Metro Board of Education
- The Nature Conservancy
- Our Kids, Inc. Nashville
- Second Harvest Food Bank
- Tennessee CASA Association
- Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Tennessee Performing Arts Center
- Tennessee Repertory Theatre
- YWCA of Nashville
Our firm also supports efforts beyond the Tennessee and U.S. borders.
- Wally Dietz and Drew Goddard participate in projects with the International Justice Mission, a human rights agency that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression.
- In September 2005, our firm actively participated in Katrina relief efforts through a fund raising campaign and other efforts to assist families who were displaced by the flooding in New Orleans. Our firm matched dollar for dollar all financial contributions made by the employees for this effort. In addition, food was collected for local food banks to provide food to Louisiana residents who traveled to Tennessee for refuge. Our firm provided office space in our Nashville Downtown location for a New Orleans attorney until his firm could reopen its office. We also helped a Tulane Law School student transfer for a semester to Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville and provided housing and financial support for her until she could move back home. Finally,our Memphis attorney Bill Whitman volunteered through the Memphis Area Legal Services to help hurricane victims properly complete FEMA paperwork.
Firm-wide Affiliations
Our firm is known for being a "community activist," with attorneys who are well connected throughout the state in business, civic, and social arenas. Listed below are some of the organizations we support through a firm membership.
- Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership
- Memphis Area Legal Services
- Memphis Regional Chamber
- Nashville Chamber of Commerce
- Nashville Downtown Partnership
- Nashville Health Care Council
- Partnership 2010
- Tennessee Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities
- Tennessee Business Roundtable
- Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry
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