Bartlett High grad Craig Sanders named legal Rising Star
Jackson, TN — Craig P. Sanders, the son of Jean G. Sanders of Bartlett, has been recognized by his legal peers for the second time as a Rising Star among Tennessee attorneys in the Medical Malpractice Defense practice area, according to Law and Politics® Super Lawyers magazine.
Sanders, a 1994 graduate of Bartlett High, is the grandson of Almeta Grashot of Munford. His wife, Melissa (Rice) Sanders, is also a 1994 graduate of Bartlett High.
Sanders is an attorney in the Jackson, Tenn., office of Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell PLC (Rainey Kizer), where his practice focuses on representing doctors, hospitals, and other defendants in medical malpractice and professional liability cases. He joined Rainey Kizer after his graduation with high honors from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he served as an editor of the Law Review and as a member of the National Moot Court Team. Sanders currently serves on Rainey Kizer’s executive committee and as chair of the firm’s recruiting committee. He has a Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating of BV-Distinguished.
Sanders is a former president of the Jackson-Madison County Bar Association. He currently serves as co-chair of the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association’s Professional Negligence Section. He has served since 2007 as an adjunct faculty member at Union University, teaching medical ethics and the legal aspects of healthcare administration.
He and his family reside in Jackson, Tenn., and are members of West Jackson Baptist Church.
To earn recognition as a Rising Star, an attorney must be nominated by a colleague with personal knowledge of his or her work. Then, an attorney-led research team selects the best of those nominated. No more than 2.5 percent of the attorneys in a state are named to this list.
Lakeland promotes Jim Atkinson to director of planning and administration
The City of Lakeland recently announced the promotion of Jim Atkinson to the role of director of planning and administration. He has been with the City of Lakeland since 2005 as planning director.
“We are proud of Jim and believe he will be a tremendous asset in his new role,” said Lakeland mayor Wyatt Bunker.
Atkinson has been instrumental in coordinating the approval of the re-development of Lakeland Outlet Mall, part of which is scheduled to be razed.
His responsibilities include directly managing the planning department and overseeing code enforcement, permitting, inspections, GIS, and general administration. He reports directly to city manager Chris Thomas.
Thomas said, “I am excited to have Jim in this new position. With both his insight and oversight, he will play an important role in working with businesses and developers to help Lakeland become a destination city for both businesses and families.”
The City of Lakeland has been focused on streamlining to more efficiently provide services for its residents as well as to prepare for the future demands brought on by economic developement.
Bartlett, Arlington pharmacy pros earn promotions
Two area residents recently received promotions with Guardian Mid-South, a Memphis long-term-care pharmacy that serves west Tennessee.
Arlington resident Curt Bicknell has been promoted to co-president and partner. A graduate of the pharmacy program at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, Bicknell has been instrumental in establishing and building the pharmacy since its opening in July 2012. Before joining Guardian, he gained more than 10 years of pharmacy management experience in mail order, infusion and hospice pharmacies.
Bartlett resident Leigh German, who has a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree, has been promoted to director of pharmacy operations. German brings 20 years of experience in pharmacy management to her new position.
Germantown attorney Kevin Snider selected for two awards
For the fifth consecutive year, Germantown attorney Kevin Snider has been selected for inclusion and listing in the Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine as a Super Lawyer, which chooses fewer than five percent of Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi attorneys for listing. In addition, Attorney Snider was recently recognized as one of the top trial attorneys in the U.S. by being selected for membership into The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers.
Kevin Snider is the founding attorney of Snider & Horner, PLLC and a licensed attorney in Tennessee, a certified fraud examiner, board certified as a civil trial specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and board certified as a civil pretrial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
He concentrates on consumer law and consumer protection matters but is also active in many other areas of both civil and criminal litigation. He has completed more than 1,600 trials and hearings in local, state, and federal courts, as well as at administrative hearings, which included the precedent-setting case of Beverly Miller, et. al. v. United Automax (2005) in which the Tennessee Supreme Court adopted Mr. Snider’s argument on remedies available in consumer fraud cases.
In addition, he has served as a legal consultant and television commentator for WREG News Channel 3 as well as WMC News Channel 5; he conducts legal seminars and lectures for the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association, National Business Institute, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, West Tennessee Legal Services, Memphis Area Legal Services, SCORE and other local entities; he has testified before the Tennessee House Standing Committee of Consumer and Employee Affairs in regard to new consumer rights legislation; he is the author of “Selected Statutes of Tennessee Consumer Law” (2003) and “A Practical Guide to Identity Theft” (2003); he was instrumental in the drafting and subsequent passage of the 2003 amendments to the Tennessee Lemon Law; he has worked as a part-time Public Defender for the City of Germantown; he serves as a Special Judge for the Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court and previously for the Germantown Municipal Court; and he was the featured columnist for the Shelby Sun Times “Ask a Lawyer” newspaper column for 2000-2002 as well as the host of “Legal Ease,” a local legal television show for 2000-2008.
Snider received his bachelor of science degree in business administration from Southern College in Collegedale, Tenn., where he served as an auxiliary probation Officer for the Hamilton County Juvenile Court. He then completed the Graduate Summer Scholar Program at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Later, he received his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law in Memphis, where he was a member of the Moot Court Board and listed in Who’s Who Among American Law Students and subsequently received accreditation as a certified fraud examiner from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and board certification as a civil trial specialist by theTennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and the National Board of Trial Advocacy as well as board certification as a civil pretrial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Snider has been recognized as an “Advocate” by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America’s National College of Advocacy after completing extensive civil trial seminars and courses conducted at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Ga., and at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass.
He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Tax Court, all of the courts in Tennessee, the U.S. District Court and U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Snider has been awarded the highest attorney rating achievable (“AV”) by the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory, which has recognized him as a highly respected and ethical member of the bar.
In 2006, Snider was nominated for Trial Lawyer of the Year in TLPJ Foundation’s national award for attorneys who have made the most outstanding contribution to public interest through precedent-setting litigation. In addition, he is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, which restricts membership to attorneys who have obtained judgments or settlements in excess of $1 million, and he has served as President of the East Shelby County Bar Association and is a member of the Tennessee Association for Justice, the American Association for Justice, the Memphis Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
Snider served as the general legal counsel for the Shelby County Republican Party (1999-2003), the legal counsel for the Greater Mid-South Area Jaycees (1997-2004), and a former board member of the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Foundation. In addition, he is an active member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the National Association of Consumer Advocates. He has given legal opinions on CNN’s “Talk Back Live” television show and in local, regional and national newspapers and publications such as AARP magazine and Lawyers USA.
In 2002, Snider’s law firm was awarded the Small Business of the Year” award by the Germantown Area Chamber of Commerce and was voted “Favorite Law Firm” by the readers of the Germantown News in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2006, he was awarded the “Top 40 Under Forty” award in the Memphis Business Journal’s annual awards for individuals who have excelled in business and professional areas. In addition, he was appointed to the Business Advisory Council of the National Republican Congressional Committee and selected for listing in “Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals,” “Outstanding Young Men of America” and “Who’s Who in Germantown.” Snider is also a graduate of the 1998 Class of Leadership Germantown. In 2000, he was awarded and named a “Hometown Hero” by the City of Germantown. In 2012, Snider was selected for Business Leader’s Top 50 Entrepreneur Award.
