Meet the Attorneys
Lewis Jenkins
Lewis Jenkins has the experience, knowledge, judgment, and desire to help clients with challenges of any size or complexity: for thirty years he has combined extensive trial practice (over eighty-five trials, to both judges and juries, and arbitration hearings, on subjects including complex business and property disputes, employment-related cases, tort claims, domestic relations matters, and criminal cases) with an active transactional and tax practice, (business formation, planning, and counseling, estate planning, trust drafting, trust administration, tax planning, and tax disputes). Respected, objective accomplishments attest to his acumen and experience in each area: board certification as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy; membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); and, board certification as an Estate Planning Law Specialist by the National Association of Estate Planning Councils.
Education and a drive for wide experience have guided him along the way, and still do today. Lewis attended Vanderbilt University (1984-1988) on a scholarship from the United States Marine Corps, and received his undergraduate degree there, with Honors in History, in 1988. He was commissioned a second lieutenant on the day of graduation from Vanderbilt, and served four years on active duty with the Marines (1988-1992). After leaving active duty, Lewis returned to Tennessee to attend Vanderbilt Law School, taking a J.D. degree in 1995. To provide better service to business and estate planning clients, he entered the LL.M. in Taxation program at the University of Alabama School of Law, and graduated from that program, magna cum laude, in 2013. Lewis received three further postgraduate law awards from the University of London: Postgraduate Certificate in Maritime Law (2017); Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Regulation Law (2018); and, LL.M. in Legal Philosophy and History (2018). He completed all his post-J.D. educational endeavors while working full-time and raising a family – he tried cases, completed transactions, and provided ongoing business counseling for his clients as he studied for and finished his post-J.D. degrees.
Lewis’s analytical expertise covers an expanse – contracts, business counseling from formation to termination (and all stages in the life of the business), employment matters, tax disputes, civil rights and constitutional law (including Second Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights), probate (extending to will contests and spousal elections), bank liability, tax planning, wrongful death claims, health care liability, domestic relations, criminal law, and post-conviction relief, for example. He has personally written over one hundred dispositive motions / responses and appellate briefs covering these areas and others.
Lewis donates time and effort to help improve the legal system, legal education, and the administration of justice, with career-spanning instances of volunteer service in several roles: Tennessee Judicial Nominating Commission (2009-2013; statewide selection of trial and appellate court judges for Tennessee courts); Hearing Panel Member for the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (District VIII; 2012-2018); Tennessee Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (1996-present); past participation in the Tennessee Bar Association Appellate Pro Bono Project; and, Vanderbilt University School of Law Alumni Admission Interview Program. Lewis received the West Tennessee Legal Services Pro Bono Award in May 2013.
Lewis has spoken often at continuing legal education classes on the topics of trial practice, professional responsibility, business formation, and the rule of law. He conducts independent research focused presently on the history and significance of the Nuremberg Military Tribunals (the USA-sponsored follow-on trials). Lewis has made presentations on his research to several bar associations and legal groups.
Lewis is a Fellow of the American and Tennessee Bar Foundations, and is a Master at the Bench of the Howell Edmunds Jackson American Inn of Court. He is a 2008 graduate of the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law program. He belongs to diverse professional organizations, including the Tennessee Bar Association, the Missouri Bar, the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, Wealth Counsel, the Federalist Society, the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy, the American Society for Legal History, and the American Bar Association.
Lewis served his community on the Board of Directors of the New Life Union Mission and from 2015-2018 held the office of President of that non-profit board. Lewis is a Member and Sunday School teacher at First United Methodist Church of Dyersburg, Tennessee and has served on various church committees over the years.
Outside work, Lewis enjoys fishing, hiking, and camping with his family, and is a life member of Trout Unlimited, Quail Forever, and the National Rifle Association. Lewis is an Eagle Scout (1983) and a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars. Lewis and his family operate a small farm in rural Dyer County, raising mainly cattle.
Bar and Court Admissions
State Bar Admissions (by examination): Tennessee (1995); Missouri (1996)
Court Admissions (by application):
- U.S. Supreme Court (2003)
- U.S. Courts of Appeal: Sixth Circuit (1996); Eighth Circuit (2004)
- U.S. District Courts: Western District of Tennessee (1995); Eastern District of Missouri (1997); Eastern District of Tennessee (2001); Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas (2003); Middle District of Tennessee (2014); Eastern District of Texas (2018); Central District of Illinois (2021)
- U.S. Tax Court (2005)
