Nashville, Tenn., (February 7, 2014) – Bass, Berry & Sims PLC is pleased to announce that W. Brantley Phillips, Jr. and David A. Thornton were elected to serve on the firm’s Executive Committee. Richard R. Spore has been appointed to serve as the managing partner of the firm’s 54-person Memphis office.
Phillips serves as chair of the firm’s Securities & Shareholder Litigation Group, and his practice focuses on class action defense, derivative actions and other complex business litigation. As a member of the firm’s Government Advocacy Practice Group, Phillips also regularly represents clients in administrative and regulatory proceedings. For the past three years, Phillips served as chair of the firm’s Marketing & Business Development Committee. He earned his law degree from Washington & Lee University and received a M.P.P. from Duke University and a B.A. from Birmingham-Southern College.
Spore was named as the managing partner of the firm’s Memphis office after completing a three-year term on the firm’s Executive Committee. Spore’s practice focuses on advising clients in a variety of commercial real estate transactions as well as in representing clients in business planning and business divorces. In 2012, he authored a book, The Guide to Business Divorces, that was published by the American Bar Association. Spore earned his B.A. from The University of the South (Sewanee), his J.D. from The University of Virginia, and an M.B.A. in finance from Christian Brothers University.
Thornton currently serves as chair of the Employee Benefits Practice. In his 30 year career, Thornton has focused on various aspects of employee benefits law, including the design, implementation and administration of retirement plans such as pensions, 401(k) plans and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Most recently he has been working with clients to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and with meeting their fiduciary duties under ERISA. He received his law degree and a B.A. from the University of Tennessee.
Phillips and Thornton join existing Executive Committee members Todd J. Rolapp, Managing Partner; Anna M. Grizzle; George H. Masterson; Howard H. Lamar III; and Overton Thompson III.
About Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
With more than 200 attorneys representing numerous publicly traded companies and Fortune 500 businesses, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC has been involved in some of the largest and most significant business transactions and litigation matters in the country. For more information, visit bassberry2022.wpengine.com.