Philip M. "Phil" Kirkpatrick

M. Reid Estes, Jr. is the Practice Group Chair for the South Region Labor & Employment Practice. He has nearly 40 years of experience as a trial lawyer and has served as trial counsel for numerous Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the restaurant, hospitality, retail, manufacturing, construction, health care, and other industry sectors, and during his career has handled nearly every conceivable type of case from tort claims, to theft of trade secret, covenant and contract breach, commer...

Mark Carver practices primarily in the areas of real estate, finance and corporate law. He regularly works on real estate matters such as acquisitions and dispositions, development, leasing, zoning, title insurance and financing. Mark also frequently represents both borrowers and lenders on loan transactions, including serving as Tennessee counsel on many multi-state deals. He regularly represents bank trust departments on real estate matters. His practice also involves providing general busi...

Catie Lane Bailey is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Government Relations Practice. Catie Lane, who practices law in Nashville, Tennessee, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Catie Lane is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Kara is a member and Practice Group Leader for Butler Snow’s Labor and Employment group. She regularly advises clients in a variety of industries on employment law compliance. She has extensive employment litigation and agency experience in Tennessee and around the country.

Daniel Crowell is a partner in Barton’s Labor and Employment Group residing in the firm’s Nashville office. His practice primarily focuses on counseling employers concerning day-to-day employment issues and defending them before administrative agencies and state and federal courts across the United States. Daniel closely advises employers as they navigate workplace issues, conduct layoffs, manage government investigations, defend against employment claims, and pursue and defend re...

Charles H. Williamson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Health Care. Charles H., who practices law in Nashville, Tennessee, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Charles H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mr. Harrison is licensed and practices in both Texas and Tennessee. He is Board certified as a labor and employment law specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His practice is devoted exclusively to the representation of employers in matters of personnel policies and practices, labor and employment litigation, wage-hour compliance and other workplace issues. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Baylor University, Mr. Harrison attended the University of Virginia School of Law and focuse...

Jeff Buschmann regularly advises clients involved in complex business transactions. He concentrates his practice on the corporate and securities law aspects of such transactions. He counsels public and private clients on corporate governance issues and advises on matters such as strategic mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures; private equity and venture capital investments; debt and equity restructurings; leveraged buyouts; SEC reporting requirements; and public and private ...

Howard Herndon is a nationally recognized thought leader in the fintech and electronic payment systems space, known for his strategic counsel to next-generation businesses, financial sponsors, and key stakeholders. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Howard is widely recognized for the pivotal role he has played in establishing the city as a growing fintech hub. He is highly respected both locally and nationally and is frequently sought after to speak at major industry events across the country. W...

Tom Forrester’s practice is focused primarily on business bankruptcy cases under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, workouts and commercial litigation. Tom represents debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, court-appointed creditor and equity committees, buyers and sellers of assets, lenders, trustees, lessors and others in the field of insolvency. Tom also has extensive experience in claims litigation and lien-enforcement litigation in the Bankruptcy Courts. He works wi...