Lew Conner is of counsel with Waller Lansden. His legal practice focuses on commercial, contract and tort litigation as well as employment, domestic and government relations matters. In recent years Mr. Conner has been lauded for his effectiveness in mediation, arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. In 2004, Mr. Conner mediated all 31 cases filed after the tragic National HealthCare nursing home fire in Nashville, settling 29. Mr. Conner is a member of the Tennessee Academy of Mediators and Arbitrators.
Widely respected and recognized for his trial and appellate successes, Mr. Conner has been listed in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White, Inc.) for the past 20 years, and was recently named by Business Tennessee magazine to its 2005 list of “101 Best Lawyers” and in the inaugural and all subsequent listings of the Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar.”
Mr. Conner rejoined Waller Lansden in 2005 where he had practiced from 1985 to 1989. He served as Special Counsel at Stokes Bartholomew Evans & Petree and was a former partner at the Boult Cummings Conners & Berry and a founder of Dearborn & Ewing. In addition, Mr. Conner’s career includes serving as a Special Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court and as a Judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, where he was initially appointed to the bench by Gov. Lamar Alexander and later won a statewide election for an eight-year term, and resigned his judicial position to explore a race for governor.
Mr. Conner serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Tennessee Business Roundtable. He is the Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee, has served on its Board for over 25 years and recently received the organization’s highest national honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. Conner also is a Past Chairman of the Gaylord Music City Bowl Board and Tennessee State Museum Board. He has served on the Boards of the Nashville Symphony, the Pencil Foundation, Vanderbilt University School of Law and the National Commodore Club.
Mr. Conner is Former President of the Nashville Bar Association. During his tenure, the Association hired its first executive director and conducted its first CLE programs. He chaired the Tennessee Correction Overcrowding Commission when the state’s prison system was in crisis. Much of the legislation recommended by that Commission was passed in a special session of the Tennessee Legislature, averting a federal court takeover of the system. He served on the Special Supreme Court Commission on the Future of the Court System which recommended sweeping improvements to the Courts in Tennessee for the first quarter of the 21st Century.
Member, Tennessee Academy of Mediators and Arbitrators
Special Chief Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court, 1980-1981
Judge, Tennessee Court of Appeals, 1980-1984
Named one of the “Best 101 Lawyers” in the State of Tennessee by Business Tennessee
Listed in the every edition of The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White Inc.) for the past 20 years
Named one of the "Best 101 Lawyers" in the State of Tennessee by Business Tennessee (2004) and "Best 150 Lawyers" by the same publication (2005)
Member, Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations
Founding Fellow, Nashville and Tennessee Bar Foundations
Fellow, American College of Civil Trial Mediators
Former Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Former President, Nashville Bar Association
Life Member, Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference
Former Adjunct Professor, Vanderbilt University School of Law
Member, Supreme Court Commission for the Future of the Court System in Tennessee
Fellow, American Bar Association
Former Chairman, Tennessee Corrections Overcrowding Commission
Civic and Other Activities
Member, Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Tennessee Business Roundtable
Member and Former Chairman, Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee
Recipient, Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest national honor presented by the Boys & Girls Clubs
Former Chairman, Board of Directors of the Gaylord Music City Bowl
Former Chairman, Board of Directors of the Tennessee State Museum
Former Member, Boards of Directors of the Nashville Symphony, the Pencil Foundation, Vanderbilt University School of Law and the National Commodore Club
Founder and Former Chairman, Tennessee Golf Foundation
Inaugural Recipient, Tennessee Golf Foundation's "Tennessee Person of the Year" award
Member and Former President, Board of Directors of the Tennessee Golf Association
Member, Boards of Directors of the American Senior Golf Association and the Southern Golf Association
Former Finance Chairman, Tennessee Republican Party, Alexander for Governor, Presidential and Senatorial Campaigns
Former member, National Finance Committee, Reagan for President, George H. W. Bush for President
