Tony Saunders

EDUCATION:

Undergraduate:

Received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Lipscomb University; graduated magna cum laude with a major in Political Science and a minor in English.

Law Degree:                                    

Received a Doctor of Jurisprudence with honors from the University of Tennessee College of Law.

* Order of the Coif (top 10 percent); 

* Student Materials Editor, Tennessee Law Review;

 *Member of National Moot Court Team.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PRACTICE OF LAW:

    1982-83                                          

Clerked for Senior Judge Harry Phillips on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

    1983-90                                          

Employed as an Associate with the law firms of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings and Denney Lackey & Cherneau in Nashville, Tennessee. 

    1990-1998                                      

Employed as Associate General Counsel and Senior Vice President at First American National Bank (now Regions Bank).   

    1998-present                                 

Partner with the law firm of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP.  Practice in the areas of Commercial Lending, Real Property, Creditors’ Rights in Bankruptcy, Secured Transactions, Business Associations, Contracts and Commercial Litigation; and licensed as a Title Agent for various national title insurance companies.  

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:        

Full Lecturer (previously an Adjunct Instructor) in the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs at Belmont University (Business Law I, Business Ethics and The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business); teaching since 2006.   

Instructor of American Government and Introduction to Political Science at Nashville State Community College.

Instructor of Business Entities and various other law- related courses at Southeastern Paralegal Institute. 

Taught Law and Banking Applications for the American Institute of Banking. 

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND LEADERSHIP POSITIONS:

Former President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Nashville  Bar Association.

Former Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Nashville Pro Bono Program, Inc.

Past Chairperson of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Nashville Bar Association.

Member in good standing of the Tennessee Bar Association.

AV (highest) Rating by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

Voted among America’s Best Lawyers by Peers.

RESEARCH / PUBLICATIONS:   Received Grant from Belmont University in 2021 to research the development of alternative dispute resolution in Tennessee and the “Business Court” Plot Program in the Nashville Chancery Courts.

“The Right of Mental Patients in Public Institutions to Receive Supplemental Security Income,” 48 Tennessee Law Review 919 (1981)[an analysis of the Supreme Court Opinion in Schweiker v. Wilson, 450 U.S. 221 (1981)].

                                                            Assisted in editing and providing textual material (on Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code) for Law & Banking Applications, by Craig W. Smith, American Bankers’ Association (1996).

SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS:   

Seminar speaker and the preparer of written materials for various Continuing Legal Education Seminars in Tennessee and other states:

*Commercial and Real Estate Loan Documents in  Tennessee.

*Recent Developments in Real Estate Law.

*Negotiating Commercial Real Property Leases.

*Ethical Considerations in Foreclosures.

*Real Property Evictions.

*Who’s Afraid of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.

*Foreclosures and Repossessions in Tennessee.

*Common Problems Associated with Commercial    Lending.

* Notary Requirements in Tennessee.

*Authority Issues in Real Estate Transactions.

*Commercial Real Property Purchases.

*Secured Loan Transactions.

BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA:

OF LAW (Samples):            

Amicus Cure Brief for the Tennessee Banker’s Association filed with the Tennessee Supreme Court in  Community Trust & Banking Company (Tenn. Sup. Ct. Docket No. M2002-00337-SC-R23-CQ).

Memorandum of Law in Support of Summary Judgment in Wakefield v. Luna, et al. (Chancery Court for Giles County, Tennessee, Case #4838)(legal issues regarding adverse possession and prescriptive easements).

Trial Brief (example) in Hudgens v. West Realty, Inc., et al. (Chancery Court for Davidson County, Tennessee, Case #02-2195-I)(legal issues regarding breaches of fiduciary duties).

Memorandum of Law in Taylor v. (Chancery Court for Davidson County, Tennessee (legal issues regarding the dissolution of a limited liability company and breaches of fiduciary duties)

LICENSES:                                      

License to practice law in Tennessee

License as title agent (to write title insurance for title underwriters)

CONTINUING EDUCATION:      15 hours each year of continuing legal education with the Tennessee Law Institute (updating recent developments in the law for the prior year)

MISCELLANEOUS:                      

Served as court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem for disadvantaged clients before the Probate Court for Davidson County, Tennessee.

In the last 2 years handled 4 pro bono cases assigned through the Nashville Pro Bono Organization.

AWARDS:                                        

2020 Faculty Making a Difference Award from Belmont University’s Student Chapter of the Center for Public Trust.