Hixson-based law firm Baker, Kinsman, Hollis & Clelland has joined Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell, a firm with offices in Memphis, Jackson and Nashville. The merger was official Jan. 1.
Rainey Kizer is a business and litigation firm with lawyers licensed to practice in Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas and Georgia.
With the addition of Baker Kinsman’s attorneys, Rainey Kizer now has more than 40 attorneys serving clients from five offices across Tennessee.
Baker Kinsman was founded in 1984 by the late Josiah “Jody” Baker and N. Mark Kinsman.
Joining Rainey Kizer are local attorneys Kinsman, Joe Hollis, Wilfred “Fred” Clelland and Stephany Pedigo.
N. Mark Kinsman
Kinsman holds two degrees from the University of Georgia, a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting and his Juris Doctor.
In 1984, Kinsman joined Baker to form Baker & Kinsman after practicing in a large insurance defense firm.
Kinsman is known as a preeminent lawyer in Tennessee and Georgia in the area of fire and arson litigation. In addition, Kinsman has focused his practice on insurance coverage litigation, premises liability, personal injury defense and products liability.
Kinsman is admitted to practice in all state courts in Tennessee and Georgia. He is also admitted in the United States District Court for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee as well as the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Kinsman is a member of the Chattanooga and Tennessee Bar Associations as well as the Defense Research Institute and the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association.
An avid outdoorsman, Kinsman enjoys rowing, cycling and running. He and his wife, Patty, have two adult daughters: Jessy and Bailey.
Joe Hollis
Hollis was born and raised in Walker County, Georgia. He worked his way through college and law school, earning a bachelor of arts from the University of Georgia in 1981 and his Juris Doctor from Mercer University in 1985.
Hollis joined Baker Kinsman in 1985 as an associate attorney and became a partner in 1990.
Since joining Baker Kinsman, Hollis has focused his practice on insurance defense, including personal injury defense, wrongful death, common carrier and general liability.
Hollis is admitted to practice in all state courts in Tennessee and Georgia. He is also admitted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and is a member of the Chattanooga and Tennessee Bar Associations.
Hollis lives on Signal Mountain with his wife and twin children. He is a member of the Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church, where he is active in several areas of ministry.
Fred Clelland
Clelland grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and attended the University of Tennessee where he received a bachelor of arts in 1986.
His postgraduate degrees are from UT, where he received both his MBA and Juris Doctor in 1990.
During the first ten years of his career, Clelland was a partner in a general practice law firm, where he handled everything from domestic relations and criminal work to personal injury litigation.
Since joining Baker Kinsman in 1999, Clelland’s practice has consisted primarily of general defense litigation with a focus on representation of insurance companies, their insureds and other corporate entities.
Clelland has tried cases throughout Middle and East Tennessee and has argued cases before the Tennessee Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court.
He is licensed to practice in the State of Tennessee and is admitted to the Tennessee Supreme Court and the United States District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee.
Clelland is a member of the Chattanooga Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association and the Brock-Cooper Inns of Court.
Clelland and his wife, Mary Ann, have two children: Emily and Mary Catherine.
He and his family are members of First Centenary United Methodist Church.
Stephany Pedigo
Pedigo attended law school at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham. She was active in her class and served as editor-in-chief of the Law Review, “The American Journal of Trial Advocacy.” Pedigo was a member of Phi Kappa Phi and nominated by the faculty to the Order of the Coif. She graduated fourth in her class of over 200 peers.
After law school, Pedigo and her husband, Austin, moved to Chattanooga, his home town. While working with a firm that offered various areas of practice, Pedigo concentrated her work in the areas of insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, bankruptcy, wills and estates and commercial litigation.
When Pedigo and her husband welcomed their first child in 2000, she chose to continue her legal career from home. During this time, Pedigo developed a practice representing the mentally ill and foster children, representing families in conservatorship matters and drafting estate planning instruments.
Pedigo is a member of Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church. She serves her church as a Sunday School teacher, youth group volunteer and volunteer with special needs children. Pedigo and Austin have three children: Philip, Nathanael and Margaret.
Information, visit www.raineykizer.com.
Sources: Baker Kinsman and Rainey Kizer