Bass, Berry & Sims attorney John Golwen was named the 2024 recipient of the Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award bestowed annually by the Tennessee Bar Association. John was recognized for his pro bono work with PURE Academy, a nonprofit, private school in Memphis, Tennessee, that operates an inner-city boarding school with a holistic program where it houses, feeds, educates, mentors and provides athletic training for its students. John has been involved with the school for many years, most recently helping it acquire a new seven-acre campus in North Memphis where PURE will be able to expand the number of youth served. You can read more about our work with PURE Academy here.
The TBA published a profile of John and his career and work with PURE in the May/June 2024 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. The full profile is available here.
The Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award recognizes private attorneys who have contributed a significant amount of pro bono work and have demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of legal services to the poor. The award is named after Harris Gilbert, a Nashville attorney and past Tennessee Bar Association president, who exemplified this type of commitment. John is the seventh attorney from Bass, Berry & Sims to receive this award in its 32-year history. The award will be presented at the TBA Annual Convention to be held on June 13.
John Golwen
In addition to his pro bono work, John has an active litigation practice, representing business owners, management and directors in various disputes. During his 30-year career, John has represented clients in all types of contractual and transactional disputes, including business divorces among owners of all types of business entities; commercial torts such as procurement of breach of contract, tortious interference with business relations, interference with contracts, misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of restrictive covenants. He regularly represents parties as counsel in settlement negotiations, judicial settlement conferences, class actions and trials. Read more about John’s practice here.