Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Supreme Court honored Knoxville Attorney Donald Paine today for 35 years of service on the court’s Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure. The court also recognized Paine’s long-time assistant, Karen Roberts.
Members of the advisory commission are appointed by the Supreme Court. The commission meets four times a year to vote on proposed rule amendments for appellate procedure, civil procedure, criminal procedure, juvenile procedure and the rules of evidence. Paine retired from his post as reporter of the commission today.
In a special ceremony prior to oral arguments, Chief Justice Janice Holder read the official Orders of Commendation recognizing both Paine and Roberts for their service. In the Order, Paine was also named “Reporter Emeritus” in acknowledgment of his many years as reporter of the advisory commission.
“No other person has contributed more than Mr. Paine to the ongoing development of the rules of procedure and the rules of evidence in Tennessee,” Holder read on behalf of the court. “Over his many years of service on the Commission, Mr. Paine has left an indelible mark on the practice of law in Tennessee and today we recognize his unparalleled contributions to the bench and the bar of this state.”
For many years, Paine taught evidence and civil procedure at the University of Tennessee and at Vanderbilt University law schools. Paine continues to be “of counsel” at Paine, Tarwater, Bickers, and Tillman, the law firm he helped create in the late 1980s. He also lectures for the Tennessee Law Institute, which sponsors continuing legal education for attorneys. A licensed attorney for more than 46 years, Paine is also known for authoring Tennessee Law of Evidence in 1974.
Paine served as president of Knoxville Bar Association in 1983 and president of the Tennessee Bar Association from 1986-1987. He is also a member of the Knoxville Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Foundation, Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society and American College of Trial Lawyers.
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Paine has two children, Franklin Simpson Paine and Emily Alexander (Paine) Settlemyer, who both reside in Knoxville.
Roberts began working for Paine when he was assistant professor of law at the University of Tennessee. A recent high school graduate, Roberts was the first faculty secretary at the law school. When Paine left the University of Tennessee to join a law practice, he invited Roberts to be his secretary at the firm. Roberts became Paine’s personal secretary in the mid-1980s; and on July 1, Roberts and Paine celebrated 40 years of working together.
“The Court has been a direct beneficiary of Ms. Roberts’s work in assisting Mr. Paine with his duties as the Reporter for the Advisory Commission,” Holder said on behalf of the court.
“I could not have accomplished anywhere near the things I’ve been fortunate enough to accomplish without her. Period,” Paine said of Roberts.
Roberts is a native of Mascot, Tenn., where she is active member of Mascot United Methodist Church. Roberts and her husband, Ernie, have one daughter and two grandchildren.