Harlan Dodson and Covington Dismukes Release 2020 Edition of Estate Planning Text
Harlan Dodson and Covington Dismukes have released the 2020 edition of their treatise Introduction to Estate Planning and Administration in Tennessee. Since its initial publication, the book has served as both textbook for students and an indispensable source of reference for attorneys throughout the state. Each year, Dodson and Dismukes revise the text to reflect developments in the law, particularly in the area of tax consequences. This year’s edition has been updated to reflect the recent SECURE ACT.
To order a copy of the text, call 615-254-2291.
Appellate Advocacy: A Handbook on Appellate Practice in Tennessee, 9th Edition Now Available
The Nashville Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee has published the ninth edition of Appellate Advocacy: A Handbook on Appellate Practice in Tennessee. The Handbook, available here, provides novice and experienced litigators helpful tips and analysis on practicing in the state’s appellate courts.
Editor in Chief, Donald Capparella of Dodson Parker Behm and Capparella, P.C., has handled over 400 appeals in state and federal courts. Assistant editors are Kimberly Macdonald, William T. Owen, Candi Henry.
Donald Capparella Serves as Local Counsel in Successful Medical Malpractice Suit
Donald Capparella serving as local counsel and along with South Carolina attorneys, Gerald Jowers and Kenneth Suggs, recently prevailed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in a medical malpractice case on behalf of their client, a child who was catastrophically injured at birth. The child, who was born at a hospital operated by the U.S. Army located at Fort Campbell, was awarded damages in the amount of $15,153,488.00 for future medical care, future lost earnings, past pain and suffering, future pain and suffering, past loss of enjoyment of life, and future loss of enjoyment of life arising from injuries that occurred during labor and delivery.
Medical staff responsible for overseeing the pregnancy and birth of the child’s mother, who were employees of the United States government, were found to have repeatedly performed below the standard of care, causing life-long injuries to the child and significantly reducing the child’s quality of life. The court determined that the standard of care the mother should have received considering her prior labor complications, was not met and government personnel were liable for the injuries suffered by the child.
Harlan Dodson Recognized for 50 Years of Practicing Law During NBA’s Bar Banquet
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Harlan Dodson’s practice of law. The Nashville Bar Association recognized this significant milestone at its Annual Bar Banquet this past December.
After graduating college at Duke University, Dodson came home to Nashville to study law at Vanderbilt University. He started his law practice with his father’s firm, Hooker, Keeble, Dodson, & Harris. In 1985, he founded Dodson & Associates, which later merged with Shipley & Behm in 1988, and has now grown into Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, PC.
In addition to maintaining a vibrant law practice, Dodson regularly presents at CLEs, teaches estate planning at the Nashville School of Law, authors the annually updated Introduction to Estate Planning and Administration in Tennessee, and serves as the editor to the West Publishing Company’s Tennessee Practice Series volumes on business formation and estate planning.
Dodson has received extensive recognition for his efforts at improving not only the legal community, but the Nashville community as a whole.
Four DPBC Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers
Four Dodson Parker Attorneys have been recognized by Super Lawyers® on its 2019 List of Top Attorneys in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
Margaret L. Behm‘s diverse practice includes business transactions and litigation, employment law, and providing counsel to municipal agencies. She has been named to the Super Lawyers list each year since 2007.
Donald Capparella focuses his practice on litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, with an emphasis on tort and insurance litigation, family law, and personal injury matters. He has been named to the Super Lawyers list each year since 2009. Capparella was also named to Super Lawyers® Top 100 Tennessee list and Top 50 Nashville list.
Paul Parker practices in the areas of estate planning and probate and tax law. He regularly conducts continuing legal education seminars for other attorneys on tax, trust, and estate planning issues. This is his third consecutive appearance on the Super Lawyers List.
Tyler Chance Yarbro’s practice focuses on trial and appellate litigation, including employment, probate, personal injury, and criminal law matters. She was selected to the Rising Stars list in 2014, and has now been selected to the Super Lawyers for 2019.
Super Lawyers® is a rating service of lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.
DBPC Listed in Best Lawyers® – U.S. News 2020 “Best Law Firms” List for Metro Nashville Area; 16 Practice Areas Recognized
U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers have announced their 2020 “Best Law Firms” rankings. According to the publications, the rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations and peer review from leading attorneys in their field.
Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, PC received rankings in sixteen different practice areas for the Metro Nashville Area, with “Tier 1” rankings in Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Employment- Individuals, Employment – Management, Insurance Law, Litigation-Labor & Employment, Non-Profit/Charities Law, and Personal Injury Litigation- Plaintiffs.
Nine DPBC Attorneys Named A 2019 Attorney For Justice
On October 28, 2019, Belmont University College of Law hosted the Tennessee Supreme Court’s sixth annual recognition of attorneys and law students in the state who have devoted significant time to provide pro bono services to those who cannot afford the cost of legal representation. Nine of our attorneys were recognized as an “Attorney for Justice” for 2019, signifying that each of those attorneys had performed at least fifty hours of pro bono legal services in the past year. The law firm was also honored, now for the sixth year in a row, for its firm-wide pro bono efforts.
The attorneys honored by the Tennessee Supreme Court for 2019 are:
Harlan Dodson
Margaret L. Behm
Donald Capparella
Tyler Chance Yarbro
Paul Parker
Miranda Christy
Covington Dismukes
Kimberly Macdonald
Michael Bressman
We are proud to stand with lawyers and law students across the state who are working to expand access to justice.
Harlan Dodson Speaker at Oasis Center 50th Anniversary
Harlan Dodson, one of the founders of Oasis Center, was a featured speaker for its 50th anniversary celebration on October 26, 2019. His remarks provided a glimpse into Nashville life fifty years ago and the origins of Oasis Center.
According to Harlan, 1969 Nashville was the “It City.” It was a wonderful place where people came to chase their dreams, but it was also
a place where the homeless population had reached a critical point. Whether they were run away teens looking for an escape, or young people drawn to the streets due to addiction, there was an overwhelming crisis and no one knew what to do about it. The organization, which started in 1969 as the Rap House, began with some individuals saying somebody needed to step up and do something about it, and they did. That group of people started figuring out steps they could take to help.
Oasis Center has carried that vision forward, continuing to see many of the problems in our community, and still stepping up to figure them out as they arise. Oasis now has over 20 programs available to struggling youth and their families, and strives to continue to build on the foundation it laid 50 years ago.
You can believe that the ever-young team at Oasis would identify the issues which, as Sue Fort White eloquently put it, “troubled and troubling teens would be facing – and would take action to address them.” As Harlan Dodson says: “you cannot predict Oasis, you can only believe it.”
To learn more about Oasis Center, click here to visit their website.
DPBC’s Margaret Behm Named to Nashville Business Journal’s 2019 Power 100: Dealmakers List
Margaret Behm has been identified by the Nashville Business Journal’s 2019 Power 100 list as one of Nashville’s most influential dealmakers in the city’s business scene. Click here to read her profile, which details how her legal acumen has earned her a reputation for getting things done.
Margaret Behm Featured in Tennessean Article: “They’re trailblazers in their own right, and they’re dedicated to telling the story of women’s suffrage in Tennessee.”
Margaret Behm was featured in a Tennessean article over the weekend, alongside Jeanie Nelson and Juli Mosley. The article spotlights the efforts these women have undertaken in their careers to break through the glass ceiling and create opportunities for other women to do the same. It also discusses the Votes for Women Project, set to become a permanent exhibit at the Nashville Public Library, envisioned by Behm, Nelson, and Mosely. This article comes the day after Mayor David Briley announced the creation of the Mayor’s Council on the State of Women, to which Behm was named.
Click here to read the Tennessean article.