Blair Bennington Cannon was a child when the desire to become a lawyer sprouted within her. One could argue her family had cultivated that seed: her mother’s father, Ray Brock, was a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court; her aunt was a lawyer; and her mother is a paralegal. Plus, her parents taught her the art of debate when she was young. When Cannon would defend her opinions successfully, people would tell her, “You should become a lawyer.”
However, Cannon’s brother and sister did not pursue law as a career, so something beyond her family must have steered her in that direction. Cannon suggests it was her attraction to the theatrical aspects of the profession. “I was drawn to that; I get a rush out of speaking in public,” she says. As an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Cannon double majored in American Studies and Theater, believing she’d become a criminal law attorney. When she moved on to law school, however, she clerked for firms that did civil work, and in time, her focus changed.
What’s more, as Cannon came out of law school, her options were limited. In one hand was the option to work in the District Attorney’s office for a smaller salary than a private civil firm was offering her, and in the other hand was hanging her own shingle and competing against the legions of other criminal defense attorneys in Chattanooga.
Cannon went with option three: the private civil firm. “Back then, I didn’t have the nerve to strike out on my own. But I don’t think it would have been as bad as I was imagining it would be. If I were starting out today, I believe I’d have the guts to do it,” she says. While Cannon thinks criminal law might have been more of a stretch for her, she’s happy with where she ended up, even though as a civil litigator with Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, she doesn’t spend much time in court.
“You don’t go to trial much when you practice civil law. Cases settle, and while that’s good for the litigants, it’s a little boring because you don’t get to practice your theatrics,” she says. In the 10 years Cannon has been a lawyer, she’s been able to argue a few cases in court, and has enjoyed the experience, even when she’s lost. “I tried a federal jury case against two experienced lawyers. We didn’t win because we didn’t have good facts on our side. That didn’t stop us, though; we went all the way,” she says. Cannon also argued a case in which pit bulls belonging to the neighbor of her client killed her client’s smaller dog. Although she went up against a well-known attorney with considerably more experience, the facts favored her client, and she won. Today, Cannon primarily focuses on insurance defense, domestic law, construction law, and worker’s compensation. While she’d like to spend more time in court, she understands why participants in a civil case usually settle.
“The stakes are high in a civil case. You might be struggling over a lot of money or who gets the kids. People settle because they could end up spending more money than it’s worth proving they’re right,” she says. Even though Cannon traveled down a different career path than she originally envisioned she would, she’s used her time both on and off the job well. She’s greatly concerned about discrimination in society, for example, and is working through her profession to effect change. As a member of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, she and a Memphis woman in 2010 developed a program for law students called The Diversity Leadership Institute.
Through the program, 15 law students from various backgrounds took part in panel discussions about what it means to be a legal professional, listened to speakers discuss how to lead and serve others, and did a service project at Ronald McDonald House in Chattanooga. Cannon says the idea was to expose law students to people of diverse backgrounds in the hopes of providing them with a more accurate picture of the profession and of changing their perceptions of people who are different from them. “Students of diversity are coming to Tennessee and thinking, ‘If I want to be around people like me, I need to go to a bigger state.’ We wanted to show students there’s plenty of diversity in Tennessee.
“Also, discrimination be-cause of race, gender, or sexual orientation is a big issue to me. I have hard time thinking a legal professional, who’s supposed to be protecting the rights of all people, would do otherwise. But I believe that if you spend time with people who are different than you, then you’ll see how much you’re like each other. “People who are racist haven’t spent much time with people who don’t look like they do, and people who think women can’t do what men can do haven’t been around many strong women. Being exposed to those things changes your perceptions,” she says. Cannon has been active in her community as well. An alumnus of Girls Preparatory School, she’s participated in her alma mater’s career mentor program. Cannon has also served on the board of the Chattanooga Ronald McDonald House, is a member of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, and is active at Pilgrim Congregation Church, where she led Vacation Bible School this summer. Cannon is also a 2009 graduate of Leadership Chattanooga.
As much as Cannon would like to do more, she limits the amount of time she spends on community service, as she and her husband, Eddie, are the proud parents of two girls: Grace, five; and Addie, 20 months. Their favorite activity together is camping. Although they go many different places, Cannon’s favorite spot is the Nantahala River in North Carolina. “It’s beautiful. This time of year, it gets a little chilly at night, and the river is ice cold,” she says. Cannon also likes to sew, and is a FCC licensed ham radio operator.
There are no traces of the young, inexperienced lawyer who was uneasy about opening her own firm; rather, Cannon’s voice projects confidence, and she has the poise of a professional. She also remains intrigued by the possibilities the future holds. For instance, even though she didn’t become a criminal lawyer, she could still end up in a courtroom full-time, as she’s thinking about someday running for judge.
In the meantime, Cannon will continue to live the dream of the child who wanted to become a lawyer. While the reality of what she does might not have lined up with her vision, she can’t imagine doing anything else. “There are days when I don’t like my job. That’s why it’s called a job. But then I think, ‘If I wasn’t a lawyer, what else would I do?’ And I can’t think of anything else I’d enjoy. Even if I were independently wealthy, and didn’t need to work to support my family, I’d practice law. I’d just do more pro bono work.”