Dale Grimes, a member of the firm and co-chair of its Antitrust & Trade Practices Group, has more than 30 years of experience handling civil litigation matters in both state and federal trial and appellate courts and administrative agencies throughout Tennessee with a special focus on antitrust, consumer fraud, complex litigation, class actions, telecommunications, energy and water. He currently serves as counsel for a major auto manufacturer in a complex auto parts antitrust investigation. In addition to extensive experience in complex cases, including multidistrict litigation, Dale has been counsel of record for defendants in more than 30 class actions.

Dale’s practice also focuses on antitrust counseling to clients on a variety of merger, pre-merger notification, competition conduct and compliance issues, as well as government and internal antitrust investigations, in a broad spectrum of industries including automotive, healthcare, pharmaceutical, distribution and retail, communications, consumer products, medical technology, and wood products. He has spoken on healthcare and antitrust issues to business and trade organizations, healthcare provider groups and various clients including the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, the American Health Lawyers Association, and the Tennessee Bar Association. In addition, Dale has designed and presented antitrust compliance programs for various clients.

In the telecommunications and utilities field, Dale represents telecommunications, natural gas and water distribution clients before the Tennessee Regulatory Authority as well as in state and federal courts.

Dale served as editor of the 4th and 5th editions of the Tennessee chapter of the State Antitrust Practice and Statutes and editor of the Federal chapter of the Price Discrimination Handbook, both published by the American Bar Association. He was chair of the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group for the Middle District of Tennessee, in which he co-authored the Cost and Delay Reduction Plan and local rule on case management practices currently in force in that federal court. Dale has been listed in Best Lawyers® since 1999, and named as one of the best litigation lawyers in Tennessee by Chambers USA. He is also listed in the Lawdragon 500 and Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America. He has lectured on healthcare and antitrust law in the Executive Seminars Program at the Owen Graduate School of Management of Vanderbilt University. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Nashville Bar Foundation, and has been active in many bar association activities. Dale is past chairman of the board of regents of the University of the South, a former senior warden of Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, president of the board of trustees of St. Mary’s Sewanee and former chair of the Constitution and Canons Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee.

A native of Nashville, Dale received a B.A. from the University of the South in 1975 and graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1978, where he served as an editor of the Tennessee Law Review. Following law school, he served a two-year judicial clerkship with the Honorable L. Clure Morton, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. He joined Bass, Berry & Sims in 1980. He attended the Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers in 1985, where he studied Antitrust Law with Professor Philip Areeda, Federal Civil Procedure and Economics.

Memberships

Lex Mundi — Antitrust, Competition & Trade Practice Group, Chair (2012-2014)

American Bar Association — Antitrust Law Section: Long Range Planning Committee (2023-2024), Vice-Chair of Programs Committee (2019-2023), Co-Chair (2017-2018), Chair (2016) and Vice Chair (2013-2016) of Pricing Conduct Committee; Litigation Section

Tennessee Bar Association

Metropolitan Nashville Solid Waste Region Board — (2020-present)

City of Oak Hill, Tennessee — Board of Commissioners (2018–present), Mayor (2020–present).

Nashville Bar Association — Federal Court Committee, Co-Chair (1990)

American Health Law Association (AHLA)

Accolades

Best Lawyers® — Nashville Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year” (2019); Nashville Antitrust Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2017, 2013); Nashville Litigation: Antitrust “Lawyer of the Year” (2016)

The Best Lawyers in America© — Antitrust Law; Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation; Energy Law; Litigation: Antitrust; Utilities Law (1999-2024)

Chambers USA — Litigation: General Commercial (2004-2006, 2011-2013)

Benchmark Litigation — Local Litigation Star: Tennessee (2010-2024)

Who’s Who Legal — Competition (2018-2020)

Lawdragon 500

Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America

Mid-South Super Lawyers (2006, 2009-2023)

Top 50 Nashville Super Lawyers (2014)

Top 100 Tennessee Super Lawyers (2014)

Business Tennessee “150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee”

Nashville Business Journal “Best of the Bar” (2011-2012)

University of the South — Board of Regents (1989-1995); Chairman (1993-1995)

Federal Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group, Middle District of Tennessee — Chair (1991-1995)

American Bar Foundation — Fellow

Nashville Bar Foundation — Fellow

The Price Point, American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section Committee newsletter — Editor

Law Clerk to the Honorable L. Clure Morton, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee (1978-1980)

Omicron Delta Kappa

Tennessee Law Review — Articles Editor