Each year, the Tennessee Bar Foundation honors legal professionals who have distinguished themselves in the profession by electing them to become “Fellows” of the Bar. On Friday, Jan. 17, Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Christie Sell and local attorneys Joe White, Cynthia Hall, and Rheubin Taylor will be inducted during a Fellows Dinner in Nashville.
The Tennessee Bar Foundation elects lawyers, judges, and teachers of law who have practiced for ten or more years to be Fellows in recognition of their integrity and high ethical standards, in addition to their dedication to making contributions to the legal profession and the public good.
Judge Christie Sell
For over 20 years, Judge Sell has served the local community as a volunteer, board member, and speaker.
Judge Sell was a partner with the law firm of Shumaker Witt Gaither & Whittaker, where she practiced in Tennessee and Georgia. In addition, she served as judicial clerk to Hamilton County Chancery Court and has been an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Cleveland State Community College. She is a Rule 31 Tennessee Supreme Court Approved Mediator.
In 2008, Court Watch Partners awarded Judge Sell their Outstanding Judicial Services Award, and in 2010, she received the statewide Leadership Award from the Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. In December, the American Lung Association in Tennessee named Judge Sell one of its 2014 Chattanooga Woman of Distinction, an honor the organization bestows on women who have distinguished themselves within their family, career, and community.
Judge Sell is a lifelong resident of Chattanooga and a graduate of Notre Dame High School. She received her Juris Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Memphis.
Currently, Judge Sell is a member of the American Inns of Court, the Southeast Tennessee Legal Association of Women, the Downtown Chattanooga Rotary, and the Harrison Ruritan clubs. She serves on the boards of the Chattanooga Bar Association and the Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute. Judge Sell is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga and Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law. She is also a member of the American Judges Association of Women Judges.
Judge Sell is already a Chattanooga Bar Fellow, an honor recognizing outstanding records of service to the bar and the community.
Judge Sell enjoys raising her teenagers - daughter, Samantha, and son, Thomas - and spending time with her husband, Kurt Faires, who has two sons, Ross and Kurt J.
“I’m honored and excited about the opportunities being a Tennessee Bar Foundation Fellow will provide to contribute to both the legal profession and the public in a more far-reaching capacity,” Judge Sell said.
Cynthia Hall
Hall was born in 1961 in Pell City, Ala. She’s a graduate of Auburn University and Georgia State College of Law, and is admitted to practice law in Tennessee and Georgia.
Hall practices in the areas of general civil litigation, personal injury defense, commercial litigation, and insurance coverage disputes. She’s been listed in Mid South Super Lawyers since 2011 for her practice in personal injury defense. For many years, Hall has advised businesses on matters relating to risk management, insurance coverage disputes, and contract interpretation. She has more than 21 years experience handling negligence and premises liability cases, and has tried many jury trials in Tennessee and Georgia. Hall has also presented numerous seminars on various employment related topics, and has counseled clients concerning compensation, discipline, and discharge of hourly and management level employees.
Hall is a member of the American, Tennessee, Georgia, and Chattanooga Bar Associations. She was president of the Chattanooga Bar Association in 2008. She served on the Board of Governors for the Chattanooga Bar Association from 2002-2003 and 2005-2009.
Hall currently sits on the Board of Directors for Signal Centers, where she’s serving as 2014 president. She served for many years on the Board of Directors for the Humane Educational Society of Chattanooga, and was its president in 2003 and 2004. Hall is also a member of the Chattanooga Downtown Rotary Club and the Brock-Cooper Chapter of the American Inn of Court, where she served as president for the 2012-2013 year.
“I have utmost respect for the Fellows of Tennessee Bar Foundation, and am very honored to be invited to join such fine group of attorneys,” she said.
Joe White
White was born in 1957 in Whitwell, Tenn. He’s a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee College of Law, and is admitted to practice law in Tennessee.
White has focused his practice on representing insureds. Over time, his practice and expertise have developed into one involving the defense of personal injury claims, workers compensation, products liability, and employment claims focused on the defense of discrimination in the workplace. He has used this experience to represent his clients in the resolution of multi-million dollar accounting malpractice, products liability, employment, and injury claims.
White is a member of the Tennessee and Chattanooga Bar Associations, the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association, and the Tennessee Supreme Court Bench/Bar Relations Committee. He has served as president of the Chattanooga Bar and the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Associations.
White has volunteered as a Little League baseball and a basketball coach, sat on the Corporate Volunteer Council, and contributed to the American Heart Association.
“Being selected to an organization which requires the nomination and approval of your peers and colleagues is an honor,” he said.
Rheubin Taylor
Born in 1948, Taylor is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University and Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.
He’s a member of the American, Tennessee, and Chattanooga Bar Associations, as well as the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Tennessee Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. He served as chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Chattanooga Bar Association.
Taylor is highly involved in civic and community activities. He’s served as legal counsel for the Chattanooga chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries. He has also contributed his time, resources, and effort to Big Brothers of Chattanooga, Inner City Development Corporation, M. L. King Community Development Corporation, and the Fort Wood Neighborhood Association
Taylor has served in a variety of elected positions. He was the delegate from the 28th Legislative District to the 1977 Tennessee Limited Constitutional Convention, where he served as chairman of Interest Rate Committee and was a member of Judicial and Homestead Committees. He also served on the Hamilton County Commission from 1978 to 1993.
Over the years, Taylor has also been appointed to a variety of positions. He’s served on the State of Tennessee Judicial Council since Gov. McWherter appointed him in 1988, as Hamilton County attorney since 1993, and on the Board of Professional Responsibility of The Supreme Court of Tennessee from 1995-2001.
Taylor is the pastor of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in LaFayette, Ga.
A class of no more than 35 new Fellows is elected in the fall of each year. Suggestions for new Fellows are solicited annually from the current membership. Names are then forwarded to the appropriate committee, which whittles the submissions to the required number. The Board of Trustees makes the final decision as to the members of the class. The newly-elected Fellows are honored each January at the Fellows Dinner.
Their contributions are used to support law-related public interest projects.
Sources: Judge Christie Sell, Joe White, Cynthia Hall, and Rheubin Taylor