LAS Announces New Executive Committee Officers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. July 22, 2014 – Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands announced today its new executive committee officers, who began serving their two-year term this month. John T. Blankenship of Blankenship & Blankenship law firm in Murfreesboro, Tennessee now leads the Board of Directors as president.
Blankenship is the senior partner at Blankenship & Blankenship, a practice he started with his wife and law partner, Patricia, in 1979. He focuses his practice in the areas of commercial law, including construction and real estate litigation, arbitration and mediation. Blankenship is the founder of the Rutherford/Cannon County Bar Association Legal Clinic. He has also been on the American Arbitration Association’s mediation and arbitration panels since 1987 and is a charter member of the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel. Blankenship is also a Fellow in the College of Commercial Arbitrators.
Blankenship earned his LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Dispute Resolution degree from the University of Missouri School of Law, his juris doctorate degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the Middle Tennessee State University.
“With nearly 40 years of service and astute knowledge in the legal industry, John knows the issues that our clients face, as well as the issues our staff attorneys and volunteers experience when trying to meet the ever-present need for our services,” said Gary Housepian, Legal Aid Society’s executive director. “Legal Aid Society believes that, regardless of circumstances, no individual should be denied access to justice. I know John will work tirelessly to help us reach that goal throughout Middle Tennessee and the Cumberland Plateau.”
The other officers who will serve with Blankenship through 2016 are as follows:
- 1st Vice President – Robert J. Martineau, Jr., attorney, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation in Nashville
- 2nd Vice President – Charles K. Grant, attorney, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz in Nashville
- 3rd Vice President – Susan L. Kay, attorney, Vanderbilt University School of Law in Nashville
- Secretary – Turner McCullough, Jr., client-eligible, NAACP in Clarksville
- Treasurer – J. Andrew Goddard, attorney, Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville
- Member at Large - Charles H. Warfield, attorney, Stites & Harbison in Nashville
- Past President - James L. Weatherly, Jr., attorney, Weatherly, McNally & Dixon in Nashville
Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands advocates for fairness and justice under the law. The non-profit law firm offers free civil legal representation, educational programs and advice to ensure people in its region are able to protect their livelihoods, their health and their families. It serves 48 counties from offices in Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, Gallatin, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Oak Ridge, and Tullahoma. Legal Aid Society is funded in part by United Way.