Eric Burnette’s biography on the Burnette, Dobson & Pinchak Web site is notable for two things: One, for how much slimmer Burnette looks now than he does in his photo, and two, for the length of the list under “Areas of Practice.” From “Employment Law” at the top to “Pharmaceutical Products” at the bottom, his bio lists 27 areas of practice.
“I like to be able to take a client that comes in for one reason and help him throughout his life,” Burnette says. “If a client comes to see me because he was illegally terminated from his job, he’s probably going to need to write a will, he might be involved in an automobile accident, and any number of other issues could crop up, and I want to be able to help him with those things.”
Essentially, Burnette is the person people contact when they say, “I’m going to call my lawyer.” But a closer look at his areas of practice does reveal one area of concentration: employment law. Through his work at the firm his father founded, he’s become a go-to attorney for matters involving the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and Wage and Hour laws, as well as employment discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
“I like new challenges and opportunities, but I also enjoy focusing on our employment law practice,” Burnette says.
The seemingly interminable process of resolving an employment law claim has given Burnette the opportunity to develop relationships with his clients and become involved in their other legal matters. “Frequently, when we’re working with a client on a multi-year litigation, life-changing events will happen to those clients throughout that process, and if I’m able to help them with those issues, I let them know I want to help,” he says.
While Burnette, 35, has handled many different kinds of cases, he’s quick to tell a client if he or she asks him to handle a matter outside of his areas of interest or expertise.
“If you need someone to do trademark and patent work, then I’m not your guy,” he says, laughing. He also steers away from family law.
Burnette came from good legal stock. His father, Harry, has been practicing law since 1973, and is listed in “Best Lawyers in America” and “Mid-South Super Lawyers.” Since he was young, he knew he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“Growing up, I was around the law. I saw how my father was able to provide a comfortable way of life for us, and I wanted to do the same thing for my family,” he says.
Burnette majored in political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, partly because he thought it would provide a good foundation for law school, but also because it was the only major that didn’t require a foreign language. “I struggled with Spanish in high school, so that worked out great,” he says, laughing again.
Instead of going from college directly to law school, Burnette went to work for Intec, an integrated networking technologies company. It was 2000, the dot-com boom was in full swing, and Burnette staked his future in sales and project management at the local technology group. Unfortunately, the tech bubble burst that same year. Two years later, he was sitting on his couch on a Sunday morning in early spring reading the newspaper when he said to his wife, Sudie, “Let’s go to law school.”
Mrs. Burnette was game, but the admissions period for most law schools had ended. Burnette wound up attending the Appalachian School of Law, located in Grundy, Va., because its admission process was still open.
Even though his attendance was a matter of timing, Burnette has good things to say about the school, and he brags on the support his wife gave him as he worked to earn a law degree.
“We sold our house on Lookout Mountain and moved to chilly Appalachia. My second daughter was four weeks old at the time. Even though I had a family, I treated law school like a job. I got there at seven o’clock in the morning and, at least during the first year, didn’t make it home until 7 o’clock at night. I would not have been able to do that with two kids if my wife hadn’t been as wonderful and supportive as she was. Her father was a lawyer in Mobile, Alabama, so she knew the law is a jealous mistress,” he says.
While Burnette enjoyed his three years in law school, when they were over, he was ready to return to his hometown and take his place at his father’s side.
“I had always wanted to work with my dad. A lot of people have trouble working with their parents, but that hasn’t posed a problem for us. It’s worked out well. We get along great,” he says. (The senior Burnette was unavailable for comment.)
Since returning to Chattanooga, Burnette has done more than grow his practice; he and his wife are now the proud parents of four children, including 13-year-old Hails who, like her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, is now attending Baylor School; 9-year-old Ruthie; 3-year-old Lulu; and 21-month-old Garth. “I finally got my son. We can quit now,” Burnette says, laughing a third time.
His two older children are active in athletics, like their father was growing up. While Burnette wrestled in high school, he made a name for himself as a pole-vaulter. The 15 feet he was able to clear were good enough to win Baylor a state championship and earn him a scholarship to UTC. Today, Burnette continues to wrestle with the team at Baylor (being able to do that is one of the reasons he dropped the extra pounds he’d acquired), and he’ll be coaching his alma mater’s pole-vaulting team starting this spring.
“It’s hard for me to not be active in the things I loved growing up,” he says.
Burnette is also active in his community. He’s a volunteer fireman on Lookout Mountain, a member of the alumni board at Baylor, and is the president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Chattanooga Bar Association. His goals in the latter capacity include completing a play area in the Juvenile Court Building and referring new attorneys to the bar.
“Young lawyers that don’t work for a large firm might not have a network to plug into, so we encourage them to join the Chattanooga Bar Association and get involved,” he says.
Professionally, Burnette’s plans are simple: stay by his father’s side and deliver quality work on behalf of his clients.
“I don’t see ever leaving. They’ll probably have to carry my dad out, and I imagine it will be the same with me.”