First and foremost, I hope all of you, your friends and your family are safe following the tornado that struck Middle Tennessee earlier this week. We will be working together as a Chapter to determine how we can best support the greater Nashville community during this difficult time. If any members are in need, please reach out and we will do what we can to assist you.
Dear ACC Tennessee Members:
I hope all of you had an enjoyable holiday season and were able to take some time to relax and reflect on the past year. Looking back on what our Chapter accomplished, here are some of the highlights from 2019:
- We offered more programs and free CLE hours for members across the State than ever before, and saw our highest average attendance rate in the history of our Chapter;
- We held our first ever half-day CLE, “MBA in a Half Day”, which had over 100 attendees; covering the following topics: Understanding Financial Statement: A Guide From Corporate Counsel, Performance Conversations, Business Case for Emotional Intelligence, & 2019 Year- end Ethics Review.
- We launched our Chapter’s first-ever Pro Bono Initiative with Legal Aid and Nelson Mullins to establish legal conservatorship over family members who have severe special needs or who are medically incapacitated.
- We kicked-off an initiative to partner more closely with local area law schools, partnering with Belmont College of Law to host our first state-wide, half-day CLE program;
- We sent two of our Chapter’s leaders to ACC Headquarters’ Leadership Development Institute (LDI) in Washington, D.C.;
- We held a two-day Spring Leadership Retreat in Nashville to collaborate in-person, develop new, innovative ideas and initiatives, and set the strategic course for our Chapter for years to come;
- We hired a new Chapter Administrator to provide enhanced support to our Chapter and its members;
- We had over eighty Tennessee Chapter members attend the ACC Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona;
- We more than doubled our Chapter’s previous record of sponsorship revenues;
- We hosted a Member and Sponsor Appreciation Event and casino night to thank our awesome sponsors and recognize our amazing members; and
- We received our Chapter’s first-ever ACC Silver Chapter of Distinction Award.
Clearly, we achieved amazing success in 2019 all while having fun, being an open, collaborative and inclusive group, and staying committed to the Chapter’s Mission of improving the quality of in-house practice for lawyers in Tennessee.
We have accomplished a lot but our work isn’t done yet. We will continue to work diligently to improve our Chapter and will re-invest our financial resources to do so. This includes improving how we communicate with our members. We welcome your feedback on the new look of this newsletter, and you can expect them more regularly in the future.
We have a lot of exciting things planned for 2020, and I’m looking forward to another fantastic year for our Chapter!
Steve Cavezza
President, ACC Tennessee
Senior Counsel, Mars, Incorporated
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MBA in a Half Day- December 2019
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By any measure, ACC Tennessee’s inaugural state-wide CLE event was wildly successful! The half-day event, titled
MBA in a Half Day, was held on Friday, December 13, at the Belmont University College of Law in Nashville.
There were more than 100 in-house attorneys from across the state that attended the event, representing more than 50 companies.
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Recognition & Cocktail Dinner Casino Night
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ACC Tennessee is very proud of the strong network of sponsors it has built and the Chapter is constantly looking for ways to show its sponsors how much their partnership is appreciated. One of those ways was by holding the Chapter’s first ever Sponsor and Member Appreciation Casino Night on Friday, December 13, 2019.
Professional photographs from the event are available to view.
Click here to view
. Thank you again to all of our members and sponsors.
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(From Left) ACC TN Middle TN VP, Peter Malanchuk; Kendra Cheek, Volunteer Lawyers Program Project Coordinator, Director of the Office of Conservatorship Management, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Amy Willoughby Bryant; CLE Presenter, Attorney Travenia Holden; ACC TN President-elect Scott Ellis; Attorney John Baxter, Nelson Mullins; and Andrae Crismon, Volunteer Attorneys Program Director, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.
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TN Conservatorship Pro Bono Project
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The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Nelson Mullins and ACC TN recently completed the second training for its collaborative Conservatorship Project that began in early 2019. Participants in the Conservatorship Project represent parents and caregivers in probate court to establish legal conservatorship over family members who have severe special needs or who are medically incapacitated. The training covers initial procedures and information gathering, court forms and filing fees, preparing for the client meeting and the hearing. During the first year, ten cases were assigned and handled by participants in the project. Four more cases will be assigned next week. Attorneys from Nelson Mullins are available to partner with ACC members during any step of the process.
If you or your legal team are interested in participating in pro bono initiatives, please feel free to contact the ACC TN for more information and to inquire about future trainings!
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Silver Chapter of Distinction Award
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In October, the Tennessee Chapter received it's first ever Silver Chapter of Distinction at the Association of Corporate Counsel Annual meeting that was held in Phoenix. We are honored to be recognized with this award.
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2019 Most Valued Program was awarded to Butler Snow. Pictured is Larry Crawford recieving the award on behalf of Butler Snow.
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Board Director of the Year
Peter Malanchuk
Committee Chair of the Year
Stephanie Chambers
Newcomer of the Year
Jeff Wheeler
Middle TN Member of the Year
Chris Javillonar
West TN Member of the Year
David Chambers
East TN Member of the Year
Stephanie Daniel
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Please see below for upcoming ACC TN Events in your area:
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Wed, Mar 4, 2020 5:00 PM CST
ACC Global Membership Month and Continuation of Enron Discussion
Butler Snow,
Memphis
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Tue, Mar 10, 2020 4:30 PM CST
ACC Global Membership Month, One Hour CLE & Happy Hour
The Thompson Nashville,
Nashville
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March is Global Membership Month
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All members are encouraged to bring a Non-Member to an ACC TN event in the month of March.
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Click the link below to read more about Pre-Implementation Strategy for Compliance with the CCPA and other Consumer Privacy Statutes.
Written By: Ryan D. Levy & Dominic A. Rota
Three Star Partner- Patterson IP Law Firm
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Ryan Levy focuses on intellectual property litigation with an emphasis on patent litigation. He counsels clients on IP procurement and licensing in both trademarks and patents, and is regularly involved in developing and supervising patent prosecution strategies for maximizing the value of clients’ IP portfolios. Ryan continues to maintain a patent prosecution practice with particular experience in both the medical device and the firearm industries. He received B.S. degrees in Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering in 2001, and earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 2005.
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Dominic Rota’s practice encompasses diverse areas of interest, including patent prosecution and litigation, trademark litigation, and intellectual property licensing. A Registered Patent Attorney through the United States Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”), Dominic received his B.S. in Physics, with Minors in Mathematics and Chemistry, from Belmont University in 2015, and earned his J.D. from Belmont University College of Law in 2019.
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