In Memoriam:

NSL Alumnus Bob Ballow ’63 passed away in December 2022, at the age of 91. Mr. Ballow was one of our School’s most distinguished graduates. During his six decades of practice, he became nationally and internationally renowned for his skill and expertise in media labor relations.

Mr. Ballow started his law firm, King & Ballow, with Frank S. King in the late 1960s. He represented various media companies all over the country. Ballow created the Robert L. Ballow Award for Excellence in Legal Writing at NSL which is given to those who win top honors in our Rigorous Writing Exercise Program.

Longtime Nashville School of Law Professor and former Board Member Harris Abram Gilbert passed away in February at the age of 91. He taught both Agency and Property at NSL from 1963 to 1986 and served on the NSL Board of Trust from April 1993 to September 2005.

Gilbert’s generosity was prevalent throughout the legal community and here at NSL. In 2007, he created a scholarship in memory of his father, Judge Charles Gilbert, which remains available to students today.

In honor of the late Robert “Bob” Beryl Beck Sr., a 1964 Alumnus of Nashville School of Law and well-respected business leader in our community, TDOT unveiled the Robert B. Beck Sr. Memorial Interchange in February.

The sign can be seen when you travel along Briley Parkway (State Route 155) near the Gallatin Road exit, which is mile marker 14. Beck passed away in February 2021.

Bar Exam Success List

Congratulations to these NSL Alumni who passed the bar exam.

James Rhyne Arnhart (1970)

Doswell P. Brown, III (1982)

Charles F. Carrick Jr. (1987)

Joe Marvin Chapman (1969)

Dinah L. Clark (1984)

Emery Frank Ferguson (1973)

Bobby Gene Foust (1966)

Charles Nicholas Griffith (1971)

Berry Schreve Hedrick (1987)

Dorothea Sensing Hetzel (1985)

Albert “Hale” Hooper (1961)

Nelda Faye “Sandy” Jones (1979)

Donnell J. Kelly (2007)

Robert Kirk Lee (1984)

James F. Lofton (1961)

David Earl Mead (1973)

James Theoplis McCoin II (2018)

Samuel “Tolby” McPheron (1967)

William Dunham Miller (1991)

Peggy J. Shipe Monger (1987)

Saundra Jean Newton (2010)

Gerald David Richardson (1971)

Stephen Irwin Rogers (1978)

Harry Max Speight (1969)

John Lee Smith (1956)

Robert Daniel Travis (1982)

Barry E. Weathers (1999)

Vincent Zuccaro (1980)

JULY 2022

Nicholas Alexander Bellamy

Jerry Dale Belt

Grant Doyle Benere

Michael “Chip” Cathey

Michael Chad Cunningham

Turner Smith Evans

William Lightfoot Gobbell

Benjamin Joseph Goss

Justin Kyle Hall

Sarah Frances Hay

Gregory Scott Hazelwood

Seth James Kantorik

Shannon Celeste Kerr

Robert Wesley Laxson

Craig William LeQuire

Alexandra Annelyse Lovan

Joy Ruth Santander Matanguihan

Danielle Nicole Montooth

Maxwell Arthur Moody

Rebecca Leigh Moore

Stephanie Limbaugh Nolan

Julie Downs Payne

John David Peppers

Randall Weston Pierce

Samantha Jane Prince

Christopher Rucker

Emily Rose Tatum

Donna Marie Tees

Kailyn Nicole Weiss

Matthew Steven Wood

Courtney Anne Worrall

“I watched the ceremony on YouTube once it was uploaded. One of my close friends came to visit. Several classmates texted, and my class wore pink ribbons on their gowns. I think my Facebook post explains how special that was to me,” Cherry said. (See FB Post photo below.)

Later that summer, Cherry and her dad, Ray Cherry, came to the NSL campus so she could receive her diploma. NSL Dean William C. Koch Jr. and the entire staff recognized Cherry and helped celebrate this special occasion.

I Want To Be One And Done

Where are They Now?

Annette Cherry ’22: Step by Step

Deciding to sit for the Tennessee Bar Exam comes with an understanding that life leading up to the exam will be filled with intense hours of planning, researching, and reviewing almost everything learned in law school.

For law school graduates who work full time, must take care of their family, or have other personal responsibilities, the process can test their limits.

Most Nashville School of Law 2022 Graduates took the exam in July. Alumna Annette Cherry decided to wait. She was already coping with an all-consuming life challenge.

“Experiencing six rounds of chemo, four hospital stays, bronchitis, multiple kidney stones, COVID, not even having the strength to go up and down the stairs at my house and just generally being knocked out from the treatments for two to three days in a row, I knew there was no way I could take the test in July,” said Cherry.

NOT GIVING UP AT THE END OF FOUR YEARS’ WORTH OF WORK

Cherry was diagnosed in March of 2022 with Stage IIB HER-2 positive breast cancer. With only two months before graduation, Cherry told NSL Staff, her professors, and classmates about her diagnosis.

“Everyone I told was so supportive. My class was more supportive than I could have imagined. They prayed for me and gave me their phone numbers so I could call them. They sent

Bible verses, a prayer cloth, and gift cards,” she said. “They gave me a book filled with notecards that I could read during treatment or on the days that I needed a pick-me-up.” mates who shared their study methods and even challenged herself to take the simulated Multistate Bar Exam (MBE).

Regaining her health became Cherry’s priority. Starting chemotherapy in April, she managed to endure treatments while continuing her schoolwork.

She leaned on her family and classmates and remained steadfast in her faith. “I am a firm believer that the Lord knew what day he was going to put me on this Earth, and he knows what day he is going to take me from this Earth. My job is to do the best I can each day in between,” said Cherry.

During treatments her medical team determined the cancer had spread to her liver, which changed the diagnosis to metastatic breast cancer (aka Stage IV). Despite the unfortunate news and an increase in medication, Cherry did not quit.

“When people asked if I was going to finish (law) school I said, ‘Um yeah! I don’t care if I have to have someone drop me off at the door, I am not giving up at the end of four years’ worth of work,’” she said.

Cherry did finish her coursework, took her exams, and was on track to graduate. Days before NSL’s Commencement Ceremony, she was hospitalized once again which kept her home and unable to walk across the stage to receive her diploma.

“My entire body hurt taking the timed simulated MBE. I planned specifically to take it on that day because I had treatment the next day, and I knew I could rest,” Cherry said.

“Almost everything takes me longer now. I get very tired. Some days my body just says, ‘Lay back down ‘cause we aren’t doing anything but resting today.’”

Where are They Now?

Leigh Wilburn ’12: On a Good Path

Sharing a similar life experience with Annette Cherry ’22, NSL Alumna Leigh Wilburn ’12 is thankful to be where she is today – married, busy with work, and healthy.

But I believe that having momentum at that time in my life kept me from falling into a depression,” she said.

In December of 2022, Cherry’s scans were clear, showing no cancer in her breast, lymph nodes or liver. However, due to her metastatic breast cancer (Stage IV) diagnosis, Cherry will continue IV maintenance chemotherapy and some oral medication for the rest of her life.

“I have been working on building up my strength and endurance. I have worked throughout this entire process remotely from my home office. My employer and team of co-workers have been very helpful,” she said. Recently celebrating 10 years working at the Law Office of K. Brian Hay in Columbia, Tennessee, Cherry talked with her boss about taking the bar exam in February.

“I want it to be ‘one and done’ as Professor David Hudson said at orientation all those years ago,” she said.

Cherry used Barbri, AdaptiBar and CriticalPass note cards to study. She called on class-

Cherry continues to struggle with side effects from her medications. Feeling nauseous and sleepy are common symptoms. Yet, once she makes a plan, she follows through with that plan. For months, Cherry studied for the bar exam in her home office, and when she felt tired, she would listen to audio lectures and flash cards. She studied in her bed, or a comfortable nook, setting up makeshift desks throughout her house.

On Feb. 21 and 22, Cherry sat for the Tennessee Bar Exam at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds and finished on time both days. “It took a lot out of me, but I made it,” she said.

FOCUSING ON THE NEXT STEP, NOT THE STAIRCASE

Coming from a family of real estate professionals, Cherry started her career as a title searcher in January of 1999. She hopes to continue her work at the Law Office of K. Brian Hay, and after passing the bar exam she would like to eventually expand her role working on quiet title suits and probates.

“I do not know yet what my ‘new normal’ is going to be, but I do know that one of my passions is property law and that will definitely have a place in my future,” Cherry said. To the NSL staff, instructors and her classmates, Cherry said she will always be grateful for their kindness and compassion.

“I have so many people praying for me. That is truly a blessing, a blessing that I have no way to repay, but one that I am thankful for,” she said. “NSL is a tight community of people who are willing to help their students and alumni.”

“I continue to remind myself to focus on the next step in front of me, not the entire staircase ahead of me,” Cherry said. “I just keep getting up each morning and doing the best I can for that day.”

Wilburn was also diagnosed with breast cancer, back in September 2011.

Even though it was 10 years ago, she clearly remembers the first visit with her medical team.

“I promptly explained to the doctors that I ‘didn’t have time for this right now.’” We were approaching final exams, and I was determined not to repeat my third year,” she said.

Part of the Henry Class, whose students attended NSL February through December, Wilburn was wrapping up her third year in law school.

“I scheduled my surgery, a bilateral mastectomy, for October and only missed two weeks of class. I came back after surgery for finals and scheduled chemo to occur during the winter break. I completed chemo and reconstruction surgery and was back in class on the first day of my fourth year,” Wilburn said.

“I will never forget that day. One of my professors called on me to brief the first case “because my hat was so distracting.” I was prepared for the case. I briefed it, and after class I explained to him why I was wearing a hat in his class. He was very apologetic. We laughed and had a great semester together.”

During her final year at NSL, Wilburn remained determined and finished school on time, graduating with her classmates.

“I was on a mission and nothing else mattered. Sometimes I wish I had slowed down more.

Wilburn was declared cancer free after her last chemotherapy treatment in 2012. She was admitted to the bar on May 1, 2013.

Nowadays, she owns and operates two successful title company offices in Tennessee — Fayette County Title Company in West Tennessee and CBC Title & Escrow in Portland, Tennessee. She also teaches a variety of classes at the UT Martin campus in Somerville.

“I will say, looking back on it now, I am so thankful and so grateful to be alive and to have had the support and camaraderie of my classmates and the faculty at NSL. I take absolutely no credit for being a survivor. For some reason, God didn’t see fit to call me home at that time. I don’t know why. But I am thankful,” she said.

1970

Former Williamson County Juvenile Court Judge and Magistrate Jane C. Franks retired as Magistrate in 2022. She is now enjoying time with family, volunteering, and traveling.

1974

Alumni from the NSL Class of 1974 gathered for their annual reunion in October 2022. It was their 48th reunion.

1977

Stella Hargrove retired in August 2022. Judge Hargrove was the first female prose -