(Main Office)

Since 1987, Howard, Tate, Sowell, Wilson, Leathers & Johnson, PLLC has provided Tennessee quality service in a variety of legal areas. The firm was founded with three attorneys and over time, has grown to 10 attorneys. Our office is located in the historic Nashville Sash and Door Building, on Second Avenue, three blocks from Nashville's Public Square.

Howard, Tate, Sowell, Wilson, Leathers & Johnson, PLLC offers potential clients the same resources as many large firms, without sacrificing the attention that comes with a mid-sized law firm. Regardless of whether you face a jury trial, bench trial, administrative proceeding or general business transaction, our team of highly-skilled attorneys will be beside you every step of the way.

Statement of Practice

General Civil and Trial Practice. Commercial Litigation, Insurance, Complex Litigation, Surety, Bankruptcy, Products Liability, Entertainment and Construction Law, Workers Compensation, Consumer Law and Employment Law.

Representative Clients:

ACE, USA
Aero Mayflower, Inc.
AIG Claims Service
Allied Insurance Group
Allstate Insurance Company
American Family Insurance Company
American National Property & Casualty Insurance Company
AmeriCare Inc.
APAC/Ashland, Inc.
Associated Building Systems. Inc.
Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.
Carrier Corporation
Clayton Homes
Crawford & Company
Curb Music Company
Employers Reinsurance Corporation
Findlay Industries, Inc.
Fireman's Fund Insurance Companies
Gallagher-Bassett Services, Inc.
Generali-U.S. Branch
General Motors Corp.
Graward General Companies
Great American Insurance Company
Great West Casualty Company
Harlan Electric Company, Inc.
HealthSouth Corporation
Holland Employment Group
Home Insurance Company
House of Blues, Inc.
Kroger Company
Lenox Group
Levi Strauss Company
Luby's Inc.
Lumber Mutual Insurance Company
Mapco Petroleum, Inc.
Nautilus Insurance Co.
Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp.
NPS Energy Services, Inc.
Patriot Homes, Inc.
Peterbilt Motors
Provident General Insurance Company
Prudential Insurance Company
R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Inc.
RaceTrac Petroleum, Inc.
REM
RSKCo
St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company
Tennessee Insurance Guaranty Association
United Technologies Corporation
USX Corporation
The Vanderbilt University
ViroGroup, Inc.
Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company
Zurich U.S.

Former Names

(Formerly:, Gracey, Ruth, Howard, Tate & Sowell)

Address

Nashville Sash & Door Building
150 Second Avenue North, Suite 201
Nashville, TN 37201, (Davidson Co.)

Phone

Phone: 615-256-1125
Fax: 615-244-5467

Website

http://www.howardtatelaw.com

MEMBERS OF FIRM

Barry L. Howard (Member) born McMinnville, Tennessee, May 9, 1953; admitted to bar, 1978, Tennessee and U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee; 1979, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. Education: University of Tennessee at Knoxville (B.S., 1975; J.D., 1977). Phi Delta Phi. Member: Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations; Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association; International Association of Defense Counsel; Defense Research Institute. Practice Areas: Insurance; Products Liability; Commercial Litigation.Email: Barry L. Howard

William H. Tate (Member) born Knoxville, Tennessee, May 6, 1953; admitted to bar, 1979, Tennessee. Education: University of Tennessee at Knoxville (B.A., 1975; J.D., 1979). Member, Tennessee Law Review. Law Clerk to: Hon. Houston M. Goddard, Judge, Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section, 1978-1979; Hon. Ray L. Brock, Jr., Chief Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court, 1979-1980. Author: "Constitutional Law-Due Process-Mechanics' and Materialmen's Liens," 45 Tennessee Law Review 741. Chairman of the Board, Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, 1997-1998. Listed General Civil Mediator. Member: Nashville (Member, Board of Directors, 1997-1999; First Vice President, 1999) and Tennessee Bar Associations; Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association; Defense Research Institute; Member, Council on Litigation Management. Fellow: Nashville Bar Foundation (Member, Board of Trustees, 2000—). Reported Cases: Assurance Company of America v. Continental Development, 3:08-CV-0711 U.S.D.C. MD TN (Nashville), slip op. (June 8, 2009); Maryland Casualty Company v. Overholt, No. 1-03-1070-T U.S.D.C. WD TN (Jackson), slip op. (April 26, 2004); Miele v. Zurich U.S., 98 S.W.3d 670 (Tenn. Ct. App., 2002); In re Thompson 30 B.R. 165 (Bankr. Mid. Tenn. 1994). Languages: French. Practice Areas: Construction Law; Bankruptcy; Surety Law; Entertainment Law; Commercial Litigation; Insurance Coverage.Email: William H. Tate

Alan M. Sowell (Member) born Camden, New Jersey, March 23, 1960; admitted to bar, 1985, Tennessee. Education: Vanderbilt University (B.A., 1982); Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., 1985). Sigma Nu Phi. Member, Harry Phillips American Inns of Court, 1992-1994. Student Materials Editor, The American Journal of Trial Advocacy, Vol. 8, Samford University, 1984-1985. Member: Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations; Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association; Defense Research Institute; Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel; Trucking Industry Defense Association; Fellow, Nashville Bar Foundation. Practice Areas: Insurance; Personal Injury; Transportation.Email: Alan M. Sowell

Clifford Wilson (Member) born Southington, Connecticut, July 15, 1956; admitted to bar, 1983, Tennessee. Education: University of Connecticut (B.S., 1978); Memphis State University (J.D., 1983). Member: Moot Court Board; Jessup International Law Moot Court Team. Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award in Equitable Remedies. Law Clerk to the Hon. William H.D. Fones, Chief Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court, 1983-1984. Member: Nashville (Member, Board of Directors, Young Lawyers Division, 1985-1987; President, 1987), Tennessee and American Bar Associations. Fellow: Nashville Bar Foundation. Practice Areas: Personal Injury; Workers Compensation; Civil Litigation.Email: Clifford Wilson

Raymond S. Leathers (Member) born Nashville, Tennessee, July 27, 1954; admitted to bar, 1981, Tennessee. Education: University of the South (B.A., 1976); Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., 1981). Assistant Attorney General, State of Tennessee, 1982-1987. Deputy Attorney General, State of Tennessee, 1988-1990. Member: Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations; Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association; Defense Research Institute. Practice Areas: Workers Compensation; Personal Injury; Civil Litigation.Email: Raymond S. Leathers

Michael H. Johnson (Member) born Harlan, Kentucky, October 2, 1958; admitted to bar, 1989, Tennessee. Education: University of Tennessee at Knoxville (B.A., 1984); Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., 1989). Phi Alpha Delta (Marshal, 1987-1988). Member: Tennessee Bar Association; Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association. Reported Cases: In re Estate of Jones,154 S.W.3d 582,(Tenn.Ct.App.2004); Owens v. Truckstops of America,915 S.W.2d 420,(Tenn.,1996); Wood v. Newman, Hayes & Dixon Ins. Agency,905 S.W.2d 559,(Tenn.,1995). Practice Areas: Insurance; Civil Litigation; Consumer Law; Accident Insurance; First and Third Party Insurance; General Liability; Insurance Adjuster Liability; Insurance Bad Faith; Insurance Coverage.Email: Michael H. Johnson

William R. Meyer (Member) born Chattanooga, Tennessee, April 24, 1970; admitted to bar, 1996, Tennessee; 1997, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee. Education: Vanderbilt University (B.A., cum laude, 1992); University of Tennessee at Knoxville (J.D., 1996). Phi Delta Phi. Member: Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations; Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Professional Malpractice; Products Liability; Premises Liability; Insurance.Email: William R. Meyer

Melissa Bradford Muller (Member) born Hayti, Missouri; admitted to bar, 2001, Tennessee; 2003, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee; 2006, U.S. Supreme Court; 2008, U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee. Education: University of Memphis (B.A., summa cum laude, 1996); University of Memphis School of Law (J.D., 2000). Recipient, Dean's Award for Academic Excellence and CALI Award in Copyright; Cecil C. Humphreys Fellow, 1999-2000. Member, University of Memphis Law Review Staff, 1998-2000. Author, Note: "Perfecting a Security Interest in 'Electronic Chattel Paper' Under Revised Article 9," 31 U. Mem. L. Rev. 493 (2001). Member, Moot Court Board. Internship, Honorable Jancie M. Holder, Tennessee Supreme Court, 1999. Member: Tennessee Bar Association; Nashville Bar Association; Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Insurance; Professional Liability; Personal Injury; Appellate Practice; Civil Litigation; Contract Litigation; Construction Law; Products Liability.Email: Melissa Bradford Muller

ASSOCIATES

Kenneth M. Switzer (Associate) born Paducah, Kentucky, January 31, 1952; admitted to bar, 1977, Tennessee and U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee; U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. Education: David Lipscomb College (B.A., cum laude, 1973); University of Louisville (J.D., 1977). Phi Alpha Theta. Professor, Business Law, Constitutional Law and Labor Relations, David Lipscomb College, 1980-1983. Tennessee Supreme Court, Approved Rule 31 Mediator. Member: Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations. (Certified Civil Trial Specialist, Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization). Practice Areas: Personal Injury; Litigation; Workers Compensation; Medical Malpractice; Products Liability; Employment Discrimination.Email: Kenneth M. Switzer

Nathaniel Cherry (Associate) born Memphis, Tennessee, 1976; admitted to bar, 2003, Tennessee. Education: Lambuth College (B.A., 2000); University of Tennessee at Knoxville (J.D., 2003). Member: Tennessee Bar Association; Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Insurance Defense; Products Liability; Personal Injury; Workers Compensation; Professional Malpractice; Construction Law; Construction Litigation; Agribusiness; Agricultural Tort Claims; Family Law; Divorce.Email: Nathaniel Cherry