KBA Executive Director Tasha Blakney and CLE Director Tammy Sharpe at the TBA annual convention.

Knoxville Bar Association hosts TBA annual meeting

Knoxville Bar Association hosted the Tennessee Bar Association’s annual meeting June 10-13 at the Crowne Plaza.

Peter Oh

Unam Peter Oh, an assistant federal public defender in Memphis, received the TBA’s Claudia Jack Award. Named for the late Claudia Jack, a public defender in Maury County, the award is presented each year to an outstanding public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who serves the legal community and clients in an exemplary fashion.

Oh is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law.

Roger Page

Roger Page, former Tennessee Supreme Court chief justice, received the TBA’s Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award.

Page remains the only licensed pharmacist to have served on the Tennessee Supreme Court and one of just a handful of pharmacists-turned-justices in the country. Page was elected in 1998 as circuit court judge for the 26th Judicial District covering Chester, Henderson and Madison counties. In 2011, Page was appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam to the Court of Criminal Appeals and was nominated to the Tennessee Supreme Court by Haslam in 2016.

After a little more than five years on the court, on Aug. 24, 2021, Page was elected to serve a two-year term as chief justice.

In Memoriam

Two area lawyers have died recently; both with striking similarities. Both graduated from Columbia Military Academy, a boarding school for boys in Columbia, Tennessee. One was first in his class; the other was second. Both were married for over 60 years and both had five children. Both served in the military and both completed college on the GI Bill.

Jim Bell

James W. “Jim” Bell passed away on May 15, 2026, at age 91. He practiced law in Knoxville. His degrees from UT at Knoxville were in chemical engineering and law. He and wife Sandra were married for 60 years and raised five daughters.

While practicing law, Mr. Bell served on the Knox County Board of Education. He adopted the nickname “School Board Bell” to distinguish himself from a lawyer with a similar name. When his daughters started dating, he could not remember the names of their boyfriends, according to the obituary. “He called them ‘gerbils’ or ‘keepers.’”

Jim Bell will be interred at the East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at 12:30 p.m. on August 28, 2026. The obituary concludes: “In lieu of flowers, please donate to a Democrat. Jim never voted for another Republican after they tried to kill the GI Bill.” He is survived by five daughters and their families. The obituary is here.

Clyde Dunn

 Clyde A. “Scutter” Dunn passed away on June 4, 2026, at age 88. He was a practicing attorney in Newport, Tennessee, for nearly 60 years. His degrees from UT Knoxville were in business and law.

A member of the ROTC program at UT, he was recognized as Outstanding Junior Cadet in Leadership and Command and graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate with the rank of second lieutenant. He completed his military service as a personnel officer at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

The Dunn family settled in Newport in 1966. Mr. Dunn also served as county attorney and president of the area bar association. He was active in the Newport Theatre Guild, performing in almost 40 plays. He loved golf and played Augusta National in 1983. He is survived by his wife, Mary; one son and four daughters and their families. The obituary is here.

Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.