Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon, PLLC

12/03/2024

Several of our attorneys were recently recognized by Super Lawyers in the 2024 listing of Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars! 💫

Congratulations to the following:

Lee Ann Adams (Estate & Probate)

Wade Cannon (Banking)

Sam Elliott (Business Litigation)

Justin Faith (Business Litigation - Rising Star)

Bob Lockaby (Business/Corporate)

David McDowell (Business Litigation)

Dillon Thornbury (Business/Corporate - Rising Star)

Wayne Peters (Estate & Probate)

10/30/2024

The HHM Certified Public Accountants Dine & Dash is an event we look forward to every year. A great time was had networking and meeting new people, and an even better time was had enjoying the great meal!

Very thankful for our partnership.

08/26/2024

Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon, PLLC Attorneys Selected for 2025 Best Lawyers ®

Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon, PLLC announced that 5 lawyers have been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers has earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

Congratulations to the following GPEC lawyers named to the 2025 The Best Lawyers in America list:

• Lee Ann Adams: Litigation – Trusts and Estates; Tax Law; Trusts and Estates

• Wade Cannon: Litigation – Real Estate

• Sam D. Elliott: Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Labor and Employment; Litigation – Land Use and Zoning; Litigation – Municipal; Municipal Law

• Robert L. Lockaby, Jr.: Commercial Litigation

• R. Wayne Peters: Litigation – Trusts and Estates; Litigation and Controversy – Tax; Tax Law; Trusts and Estates

07/23/2024

Sam Elliott Named Chair-Elect of Tennessee Bar Foundation:

Sam Elliott, a member of the firm, recently was confirmed as chair-elect of the Tennessee Bar Foundation’s Board of Trustees at the Foundation’s annual meeting held in conjunction with the Tennessee Bar Association in Memphis. He will serve a one-year term, and succeed to the chairmanship in June 2025. The Tennessee Bar Foundation was established in 1982. Its mission is to administer Tennessee’s IOLTA (Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts) program, honor distinguished attorneys as “Fellows,” and support law-related public interest projects. The IOLTA program has previously announced 2024 grants totaling $3,000,000, to support Tennessee’s Legal Aid programs and other non-profit organizations which provide legal services to the poor and/or work to improve the administration of justice.

Sam was also recently notified of his appointment by Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton to the reorganized Tennessee Historical Commission. Sam has served on the Commission since 2005 and was the chairman from 2009 to 2015. He is an avocational historian of Tennessee during the Civil War and has had several books, essays and articles published, including award-winning biographies of Isham G. Harris and John C. Brown.

07/17/2024

Please join us in congratulating our own Joshua Anderson on being selected as the co-recipient of Maryville College’s Kin Takahashi Award for Young Alumni, along with his wife, Molly Ridgeway Anderson, in recognition of their advocacy and lobbying for passage of multiple Tennessee laws over the past few years. 👏

Gearheiser, Peter, Elliott & Cannon, PLLC is a diverse and multi-faceted litigation, business, tax, and estate planning practice established in 1974.

07/09/2024

We were proud to support Bethel Bible Village - in their efforts to serve children who have experienced crisis or trauma - at the annual Bethel Golf Classic earlier this summer.

06/25/2024

Half a Century of Excellence: Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon, PLLC Celebrates Firm’s 50th Anniversary

July 1, 2024 is the fiftieth anniversary of the start of our law firm, Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon, PLLC. For fifty years, our lawyers have served our clients, our profession and our community. Growing from our first three founding members to now number fourteen lawyers, we have successfully guided our clients through a wide range of legal matters, representing individuals, estates, foundations, businesses and governments.

Our lawyers have been in leadership at almost every level of the legal profession, including the Tennessee Bar Association, Chattanooga Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, American Bar Association, Chattanooga Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Foundation, Chattanooga Tax Practitioners and the Estate Planning Council. Two have served as president of the Tennessee Bar Association, and three as president of the Chattanooga Bar Association. Demonstrating the esteem of fellow members of the legal profession, members of the firm have been honored as fellows of the American Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Foundation, Chattanooga Bar Foundation and the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers. Our lawyers have also participated in our local American Inns of Court and Southeast Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women. Six have been designated as Mid-South Super Lawyers, two as Super Lawyers Rising Stars, and four among the Best Lawyers in America.

Reflecting involvement in the community, several of our lawyers have engaged in various non-profit activities, including Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga, Chattanooga Area Food Bank, Girls Inc. of Chattanooga, McKamey Animal Center, the University of Chattanooga Foundation, the McCallie School, St. Nicholas School, North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy, Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association, Friends of the Park, Bethel Bible Village, University of Tennessee Alumni Association Board of Governors and the Tennessee Historical Commission. Our lawyers have served in the leadership of their various churches, and several provide pro bono legal work for Legal Aid of East Tennessee and other charitable organizations.

Commenting on the occasion, founding member Wayne Peters said, “It is with great pride that we celebrate our fiftieth anniversary. Our firm has zealously and effectively served our clients, while maintaining a family friendly atmosphere for our attorneys and staff. With a great blend of older and younger lawyers, we look forward to many more years of practice together.”

06/21/2024

As we bid farewell to our summer associate, Brianna House, we want to take the time to thank her for all of her hard work and dedication this summer. Brianna is a rising 2L at the University of Georgia School of Law, and we wish her the best of luck in all her future endeavors. 👏

06/14/2024

Thank you to everyone who supported the Chattanooga Area Food Bank in the inaugural Chattanooga Legal Food Frenzy! Our Firm finished in 1st place in our division for the most money raised. We sincerely appreciate all who contributed to helping feed hungry children in our area this summer.

Chattanooga Bar Association

06/10/2024

GPEC attorney Jason Lawless presented on the importance of Cybersecurity and the Law today as part of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Speaker Series. Jason, a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) who served for decades in the FBI, now concentrates his legal practice on cybersecurity/data privacy, criminal defense, and complex investigations.

05/13/2024

Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon, PLLC looks forward to participating in the 1st Annual Legal Food Frenzy with the Chattanooga Bar Association so we can help feed hungry children this summer.

We will be fundraising online for the food bank from May 13 through May 24. Stay tuned for more information.

In a close-knit partnership with the Chattanooga Bar Association, we're hosting our first ever Legal Food Frenzy, and it all starts today!

A dozen teams across 3 categories are competing to raise funds, so we can help feed hungry children this summer.

Follow along from now until May 24th to see which team, individual, and firm come out on top!

Are you competing? Use to spread the word and raise funds!

05/03/2024

The firm is proud to announce that Lee Ann Adams has recently been elected a Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation, an association of 850 attorneys across the state. Invitations to membership, which is a position of honor, were extended to 29 attorneys by the Board of Trustees. Lee Ann joins fellow members of the firm, Wayne Peters, Robert Lockaby, Sam Elliott (pictured) and David McDowell as a Tennessee Bar Foundation Fellow.