CBA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President Elect Lee Ann Adams
Of Gearhiser Peters Elliott and Cannon, PLLC
Lee Ann Adams, a member and the Secretary of the Firm, focuses her practice extensively on estate planning and estate administration. During her years of practice with the firm, her clients have included young couples with new families, small business owners, and mature clients facing end-of-life issues. Her estate planning experience includes simple planning as well as the complex planning necessary to address federal and state tax issues, asset protection, and business succession planning. Lee Ann is also routinely retained to assist in the administration of estates in Hamilton and neighboring counties in Tennessee.
Lee Ann has served as an adjunct professor for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga College of Business and has made presentations regarding estate and tax planning issues to various groups in the Chattanooga area. Lee Ann and her husband, Tom, currently reside on Signal Mountain with their two sons and are members of Signal Crest United Methodist Church.Immediate Past PRESIDENT JEFFREY W. MADDUX
of Chambliss Bahner & Stophel
SECRETARY HONORABLE ROB PHILYAW
Of the Hamilton County Juvenile Court
Rob Philyaw is the Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge where he has served since 2013. Judge Philyaw obtained his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Christian Brothers University and his J.D. degree from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Tennessee Journal of Practice & Procedure. He formerly served as a municipal judge, as an adjunct professor of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis, on the Tennessee Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee, and on the boards of the Chattanooga Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and several non-profit organizations. Judge Philyaw founded the local Youth Court in 2013 and the Hamilton County Juvenile Recovery Court in 2014. He currently serves on the Tennessee Commission for Children and Youth and as Secretary/Treasurer of the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Law Judges.
TREASURER ROBIN MILLER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EX-OFFICIO LYNDA MINKS HOOD
Of the Chattanooga Bar Association
Lynda Minks Hood is in her twenty-seventh year as Executive Director of the Chattanooga Bar Association. She received her education from Girls Preparatory School and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She received her certified General and Advanced Mediation Training Certificate in 1998.
Lynda's current professional memberships include: ROTARY Club of Chattanooga (Paul Harris Fellow in 2010 and 2018); the National Association of Bar Executives; American Bar Association; the Tennessee and American Society of Association Executives; National Association of Female Executives; South East Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women; Public Relations Society of America; Association for Fundraising Professionals; and Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute. Social memberships include the Black Creek Country Club, and the Walden Club.
Lynda was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve on the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education for a three-year term until 2022. She was appointed by County Mayor Jim Coppinger to serve as a Tri-Chair for the "Hamilton County Women's Suffrage Yellow Rose Committee" for the 100th Celebration of the 19th Amendment for 2020. Lynda currently served as Chairwoman of the Erlanger Health System Foundation from 2018 through December 2020 and is currently serving as Past Chair. She is married to Michael Hood and they have a daughter, Lauren. They live in Chattanooga and attend the Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church.
CBA board memBers
BOARD MEMBER RICHARD C. ROSE
Of miller and Martin, PLLC
Board Member Steven E. Smith
Of the pubic defender's office
Steve Smith is currently the elected Public Defender of the 11th Judicial District. He serves as Vice-Chair of the Tennessee Public Defender's Conference. While public defenders nationwide have historically and chronically suffered a lack of resources and manpower, during his first term Steve expanded the number of attorneys from 13 to 21, all who help indigent residents of Hamilton County navigate the criminal justice system. Accounting for the representation of 86% of all defendants with criminal cases serious enough to retain counsel, Steve's office typically opens and closes 10,000 case files annually. In addition, the Office of the 11th oversaw the creation and establishment of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Mental Health Court, and staffs the many recovery courts to divert as many people as possible directly into treatment and rehabilitation. Previously, Steve served as an assistant district attorney trying cases to juries in Division 1 of Criminal Court, served as a member of a small litigation firm and as an associate of a state wide firm. A graduate of the University of Memphis Law School, he also holds a B.S. degree in Geology, is a board member of the Bachman Community Center, an enthusiastic Big Brother and a fledgling sailor, gardener and musician.