My Lawyer Is a Member of the Tennessee Bar Association!

I talked to a lawyer about a personal injury case.  He has a sign on his wall that says that he is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association.  What does that mean?

That means he almost certainly has a law license and the money to pay the dues.  Not much more.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am a proud member of the Tennessee Bar Association.  I have been a member for almost 29 years.  They do wonderful work and, in my opinion, every lawyer in Tennessee who can possibly afford it should be a member.

But the only requirements to be a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and virtually all of the other voluntary bar associations in Tennessee are a Tennessee law license, money for dues, and a heartbeat.  That’s it.

Now, what may be relevant is whether the lawyer ever played a leadership role in a bar association. Leadership roles mean that the lawyer is willing to give time and usually money to support the efforts of the association, and those efforts are relatively rare and worthy of some consideration. But mere membership?  Let me put it this way:  the absence of membership should be a negative factor, but the fact of membership and membership alone should bear no weight whatsoever is trying to determine who to hire as a personal injury lawyer.

What to learn more about what really counts in determining which lawyer to hire for a personal injury or wrongful death case in Tennessee?  Read this.