Legendary Nashville attorney and one-time Court of Appeals Judge Lew Conner passed away on Jan. 4 at 87 after a long and debilitating illness. Conner was also a passionate and significant leader in the golf community in Nashville and across Tennessee. Conner was a “larger than life personality” who regularly referred to friends and colleagues as one of the all-time greats.”
Conner practiced law in Nashville for more than 60 years. He served a four-year period as an appeals judge before returning to private practice and becoming a much in-demand mediator. He would often say he preferred being a player to being a referee. In addition to serving on multiple boards and associations — including the Boys & Girls Club of Middle Tennessee for more than 30 years — Conner was an incredible amateur golfer, having won dozens of tournaments and assisting in the development of courses across the state. He was also an avid philanthropist who became fully engaged in any project he touched. Conner was also a noted Republican political activist and influencer.
In 2019, he was selected by his legal peers as the Business Journal’s Best of the Bar Lifetime Achievement honoree. When asked about his legacy at that time, Conner said he didn’t want his legacy to be about legal victories, but about how he treated people around him.
“I would hope they say, ‘He treated everybody the same,’” Conner said in a 2019 interview. “That’s important in life, and I think I’ve done that in life. I’ve had a lot of fun with a lot of people from all different stations in life.”
Following his undergraduate and legal studies at Vanderbilt, where he played on the golf team,
Conner started his career as a captain with the Army JAG Corps at Fort Campbell’s 101st Airborne Division. He then went into private practice and co-founded the prestigious law firm Dearborn & Ewing. Future Governor Lamar Alexander, a longtime friend of Conner, was a part of that firm.
In 2005, Conner joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP, now Holland & Knight, as senior counsel. During his legal career, he served as a judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals; a partner at both Waller and Boult Cummings Conners & Berry (now Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP); and senior counsel at Stokes Bartholomew Evans & Petree.
Throughout his career, Connor mentored a large number of lawyers who went on to become judges, significant members of the legal community in their own right, and political and business leaders.
Steve Gill is editor and publisher of TriStar Daily and started his own legal career working with and mentored by Connor at Dearborn & Ewing.
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