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Old 01-21-2013, 03:33 PM
 
8 posts, read 10,091 times
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Hey, everyone. Can you stand another request for relocation advice? Thanks in advance.
I'm a native New Englander who practiced law for more than a decade in the northeast. I grew very unhappy with the elitism where I'm originally from, and grew disenchanted with the legal profession in general. I moved to central Florida (I have family here) to start my own business.
Long story short, I'm unhappy here in FL (though I do like the weather). My girlfriend and I have discussed relocating, perhaps to Kentucky (where she has family), or to TN or even Virginia.
I'm wondering what advice you can offer about jobs practicing law in TN. Because I am licensed elsewhere, I might be able to "waive in" to the Tennessee bar, which of course would make a transition much easier. (Note: my primary practice areas would be estate planning, civil litigation, family law, and criminal defense.)
A bit more: politically, my gf and I are both pretty moderate. (I'm a Ron Paul constitutionalist.) I despise arrogance and elitism. On the other hand, I really dislike central Florida because of the crime, and the general sense of laziness. (It seems everyone here is on permanent vacation.)
We both love a small town atmosphere, but we are realistic enough to know that there must be enough (non-tourism, non-retiree related) economic infrastructure to make employment feasible.
Any advice you can offer regarding the legal community, basic employment prospects (legal and otherwise), crime issues, a "welcoming" community (remember, I'm a yankee, lol), a vibrant arts community, etc. would be deeply appreciated. Basically, we're looking for Mayberry, but with jobs.
Thank you!!!
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Old 01-21-2013, 05:40 PM
 
Location: Sullivan County, Tennessee
510 posts, read 1,388,173 times
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This is interesting. Back before the big real estate meltdown in 2007-2008, there had been a lot of folks from Florida buying property in rural Johnson County whose county seat and only principal town is Mountain City. We were probating my mother's estate that year and were surprised to see that several law firms in Mountain City were advertising being licensed for both Tennessee and Florida. I don't think real estate market in these rural mountain counties will really come back until real estate in places like Florida reinvigorate and the interest in mid-south re-locations can be realized.

My mother talked about "all the Florida folks" coming in for at least a decade before the Bush/Greenspan blight occurred. A big land development (Daniel's Trace on Doe Mountain) there also failed in 2009 due to the market decline and death of the principal developer. I don't know how opportunities are for lawyers there now. Our probate lawyer just recently passed away. He was 80+ and still practicing as head of the firm. There were still only the remaining two lawyer in that small firm last I heard.

Mountain City zip is 37683 if you want to use that in search tools.
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Old 01-21-2013, 07:13 PM
 
16,177 posts, read 32,501,220 times
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If I were you I would consider the greater Knoxville area. There are just so many areas surrounding Knoxville that are very diverse. I also think that you will find the options for employment and work good in this area. This is a nice area in which to live and work.
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Old 01-21-2013, 07:54 PM
 
880 posts, read 1,415,790 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim37680 View Post
This is interesting. Back before the big real estate meltdown in 2007-2008, there had been a lot of folks from Florida buying property in rural Johnson County whose county seat and only principal town is Mountain City. We were probating my mother's estate that year and were surprised to see that several law firms in Mountain City were advertising being licensed for both Tennessee and Florida. I don't think real estate market in these rural mountain counties will really come back until real estate in places like Florida reinvigorate and the interest in mid-south re-locations can be realized.

My mother talked about "all the Florida folks" coming in for at least a decade before the Bush/Greenspan blight occurred. A big land development (Daniel's Trace on Doe Mountain) there also failed in 2009 due to the market decline and death of the principal developer. I don't know how opportunities are for lawyers there now. Our probate lawyer just recently passed away. He was 80+ and still practicing as head of the firm. There were still only the remaining two lawyer in that small firm last I heard.

Mountain City zip is 37683 if you want to use that in search tools.
Mountain City is a beautiful area and has a nice down town.

Knoxville however is likely to be a better place to start a law practice.
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Old 01-22-2013, 07:11 AM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,294,239 times
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Knoxville is like a very large Mayberry with a decent unemployment rate. In fact it is lowest of the largest MSAs in the state.

On a side note, I'm from New England, lived in Orlando - and Fort Myers/Naples - and have very happily lived in Knoxville for over seven years.
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Old 01-22-2013, 10:27 AM
 
8 posts, read 10,091 times
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Thank you everyone for the information. Keep it coming, lol!
By the way, can anyone recommend any good professional organizations (bar associations, particular attorneys or other legal professionals, whatever) where I can get a feel for the overall "vibe" of the Tennessee bar? It's very much a generalization, but from what I can gather, certain legal communities can be very adversarial (more than necessary) while others can be fairly cordial. Thanks again!
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Old 01-22-2013, 01:14 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
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Knoxville is a very friendly, welcoming community. I know a few lawyers and they are the same as well.

Knoxville Bar Association
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Old 01-22-2013, 03:27 PM
 
4,344 posts, read 4,722,397 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnywhereIsHome View Post
I'm a native New Englander who practiced law for more than a decade in the northeast. I grew very unhappy with the elitism where I'm originally from, and grew disenchanted with the legal profession in general. I moved to central Florida (I have family here) to start my own business.
Start your own law practice? Or another business?

To waive in, you must have been actively engaged in the practice of law pursuant to a law license for five of the seven years immediately preceding the application for admission.
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Old 01-26-2013, 05:12 PM
 
8 posts, read 10,091 times
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N.Cal: I haven't been practicing law recently. But from what I've seen on the Tennessee bar website, there is some degree of flexibility regarding the "5 of the past 7 years" requirement. (The site says the board has discretion to count "at least" five years experience, whether within the past seven years or not.)
Thanks very much, everyone!
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Old 01-30-2013, 10:43 PM
 
Location: Memphis
506 posts, read 1,475,908 times
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Knoxville and East TN in general like a lot of the South is very much good ole boy oriented. Pretty much every lawyer in the Knoxville area is a UT law grad (with some Memphis, Vandy & other SEC law schools sprinkled in) so it can be difficult to attract clients without that. You are also not from the area and have zero ties. I'm sure you already realize these uphill battles. As far as the elitism, it is not elitist in the traditional sense, but some locals can be unwelcoming of outsiders.

If you want to practice in a small town, i.e. Mountain City, it is going to be even more difficult. Most of the locals will not necessarily care where you went to law school, but they will care where you are from and what you are doing in their town (hard to believe, but I've found this true).

The Tennessee bar is cordial, without question, although again, most of these people have known each other for years and were friends before law school.

Best of luck on your quest. I'm very interested in how it turns out for you.
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