LOCAL ATTORNEY SELECTED BY TENNESSEE BAR FOUNDATION

Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott, & Cannon, PLLC

David G. McDowell has recently been elected a Fellow of the Tennessee


Bar Foundation, an association of 840 attorneys across the state. Invitations to membership, which is a position of honor, were extended to 27 attorneys by the Board of Trustees. The introduction of new Fellows took place at the annual Fellows' Dinner in Nashville. 


The Bar Foundation's purpose is two-fold: to recognize attorneys who have distinguished themselves in the community and the profession and to administer a grant making program. That project, known by its acronym “IOLTA” (Interest On Lawyers' Trust Accounts), has awarded grants in excess of $25,000,000 to law-related, public interest projects throughout Tennessee.



McDowell is a Member in the firm of Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon PLLC and has been practicing law in Chattanooga for 18 years. He is a graduate of Furman University and of the University of Memphis School of Law. 

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.

Longtime Legal Leader Sam D. Elliott Takes Helm of Tennessee Bar Foundation

July 10, 2025
On July 1, 2025, Sam D. Elliott, a member of the firm, assumed the chairmanship of the Tennessee Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. A member of the Board since 2019, Sam will serve a one-year term as chairman. The Tennessee Bar Foundation was established in 1982. Its mission is to administer Tennessee’s IOLTA (Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts) program, honor distinguished attorneys as "Fellows," and support law-related public interest projects. The IOLTA program supports Tennessee’s Legal Aid programs and other non-profit organizations which provide legal services to the poor and/or work to improve the administration of justice. Sam is a former president of the Tennessee and Chattanooga Bar Associations and also currently serves as Chairman of the Tennessee Historical Commission.