8 Gearhiser Peters Elliott & Cannon Attorneys Selected As 2024 Super Lawyers & Rising Stars

Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott, & Cannon, PLLC

     Gearhiser Peters Elliott & Cannon PLLC announces eight of its attorneys have been recognized as 2024 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars for their legal work in Tennessee, earning recognition as top-rated attorneys in their respective practice areas. The Gearhiser Peters attorneys selected for the 2024 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list are honored for their high levels of professional achievement and peer recognition. The 2024 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list includes Gearhiser Peters attorneys:


Lee Ann Adams – Estate & Probate

Wade K. Cannon – Banking

Sam D. Elliott – Business Litigation

Justin B. Faith – Business Litigation (Rising Star)

Robert L. Lockaby, Jr. – Business/Corporate

David G. McDowell – Business Litigation

Dillon P. Thornbury – Business/Corporate (Rising Star)

R. Wayne Peters – Estate & Probate


     Gearhiser Peters Elliott & Cannon is a full service and multi-faceted litigation, business, tax, and estate planning law firm in Chattanooga that has served local, regional, and national business and individual clients since 1974.


     Each year, no more than 5% of the lawyers in Tennessee are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to be included on the Super Lawyers list and no more than 2.5% are included on the Super Lawyers Rising Stars List. Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit SuperLawyers.com.

Legal Aid Of East Tennessee’s 60th Anniversary Honors Gearhiser Peters Elliott & Cannon PLLC As Pro Bono Firm of the Year

October 24, 2025
At Legal Aid of East Tennessee’s 60th Anniversary celebration on October 23, Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon, PLLC was honored as the organization’s Pro Bono Firm of the Year.  Member Sam Elliott said: "Many lawyers in our firm have supported the efforts of Legal Aid of East Tennessee and other pro bono initiatives through the years, either directly providing pro bono services through LAET, through financial contributions to LAET or other worthy organizations, or through the Chattanooga Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, or the Tennessee Bar Foundation. We are humbled to be recognized in such a significant way."

David McDowell was elected to serve as the Vice President of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Fellows

July 10, 2025
At the 144th Annual Tennessee Bar Association Convention, David McDowell was elected to serve as the Vice President of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Fellows, and began another term of service as the East Tennessee Governor on the Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors.