Love-Hate Mail
Business of politicsIn light of your recent article (“Replacing Rob,” June 26) and Pith postings (pithinthewind.com) on Waller attorneys, I wanted to rise to their defense (and no, I am not seeking a job there). At least the big four firms in town are honest about their mission to represent their business clients avidly—not like the trial lawyers. See where the trial lawyers changed their name to Attorneys for Justice? What a laugh.
Like most plaintiff lawyers, they don’t understand or appreciate humor, unless it’s in their bills.
The problem here in Nashville is that the big firms that should be doing it right (in every sense) either ignore politics and government (Bass Berry; Boult Cummings) or consistently waste their talent on low-quality candidates and elected offices that only their clients are interested in. (Great for their clients, but a bummer for us—hear that Baker Donelson?)
Waller Lansden does it pretty well, though. Their leadership has always pushed hard for the right-wing agenda—James Weaver and Tom Lee are smart enough to sound like community-minded advocates so they can stir up lots of support for their candidates and win (the name of the game). Weaver has been the mastermind a long time in playing the money angle plus entrenched political figures for a winning combination. Witness the Predators deal last year that Weaver and Waller made sound like a good deal for Nashville on paper by using money and influence in the right way to benefit the business community (which ought to be the true function of government). Witness their representation of the Tennessee Lottery (despite a few bungles there lately).
In recent years, Weaver has successfully groomed Tom Lee to sound like a good community guy (a requirement to win at this serious game) while doing our bidding at the state legislature. What Lee brings to the table so well are his media contacts (at least until his recent dust-up with Will Pinkston, when McNeely Fox clearly had better access to the Nashville Scene than did Waller and Lee, but you can’t expect to win every time).
Attorney Michael Stagg at Waller is also a winner. He helps defend their environment and toxic tort lawsuits against EPA charges and successfully defended utilities accused of serving contaminated drinking water.
Now the new protégé at Waller is Mike Stewart, who has successfully adopted the Weaver winning style of über-business representative.
Stewart is our kind of guy, serving as tax counsel to the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association in our winning fight in the legislature last year; he was our lobbyist for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce in recent years; he beat the city and county attempt to raise business taxes in the Tennessee Court of Appeals restatutory depreciation tables; he is helping lead the fight to gentrify East Nashville by personally buying with his wife 11 different rental properties there with an assessed value of more than a million dollars. This is the kind of guy we need in office. No other law firm has been this aggressive and successful for our business community, and you should recognize their accomplishments.J. CHANDLERdilemma99@gmail.com (Nashville)
They are not a matchI have three questions regarding “Dead Wrong” (June 26): 1) Will we ever know if House’s blood and urine tests are a positive match? 2) How does Dr. Blake know that the blood from House’s jeans were spilled from a vial? 3) Will Ms. Muncey’s fingernail scrapings ever be used?ROBERT RUCKERrobertrucker@comcast.net (Nashville)
The real tragedyI lived in New York City for a few years, and perhaps shouldn’t reveal this but am old enough to remember when the Village Voice was an independent, before the eventual effects of Village Voice Media. And I miss the kind of unchartered writing and editing that was possible back then.
One can be certain that Matt Pulle would have made a great editor of the Nashville Scene, and not simply because he’s already internal or local, but because he understands the gig, is an important writer and has an independent voice (“A Rust Belt Import,” June 26). No doubt Pete Kotz will come up to speed, hopefully before the end of the world in 2012. But all of that is just Liz Garrigan’s last magic trick, diverting our attention elsewhere, while the biggest thing in the room is that she’s suddenly and quietly exiting stage left, and that her completely unique editorial vision, writing and presence are not replaceable. Anyone who can inspire Jim Ridley to pick up a guitar and strum a farewell tune has got to have some serious mojo goin’ on.ANDY VAN ROONfilm.television@gmail.com (Nashville)
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