Since 1922, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC has been involved in some of the largest and most significant litigation matters, investigations and business transactions in the state of Tennessee and across the country. We represent more than 35 publicly traded companies and multiple Fortune 500 companies in a full-range of business matters.

Our attorneys work seamlessly across substantive practice disciplines, industries and geographies to deliver highly effective service and business-focused solutions. Notably, we represented a healthcare client in history’s largest leveraged buyout at the time; we were engaged as the New York Stock Exchange’s regulatory auditor; and we successfully tried the largest case in Tennessee involving the breach of a $1.4 billion merger agreement. It is matters like these that have earned our firm top honors in the legal industry, including six practices (banking & finance, corporate/M&A, environment, healthcare, litigation: general commercial, and real estate) ranked as Band 1 in Tennessee by Chambers USA (2019), more rankings than any other law firm in the state; Best Lawyers (2020) rankings for 84 of our attorneys; a healthcare practice ranked in Chambers USA (2019) Nationwide category and recognized as one of Law360’s “Practice Groups of the Year” (2016); and named “Tennessee Firm of the Year” for litigation by Benchmark (2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2012). In a recent client satisfactory survey, Bass, Berry & Sims received an 86 percent advocacy rating, which according to Acritas Research Ltd., beats the U.S. benchmark by 27 percent.

Bass, Berry & Sims’ strength is rooted in our collective knowledge, diverse experience and team approach. We have lawyers who have worked at the U.S. Department of Justice, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Internal Revenue Service; as a federal judge; state attorney general; and in executive roles for corporations large and small.

Areas of Practice

• Antitrust: Provides counseling, litigation and pre-merger compliance.
• Corporate and Securities: Extensive experience in domestic and cross-border merger and acquisition transactions, securities offerings, corporate governance and Dodd-Frank compliance, executive compensation, proxy contests, regulatory issues, private equity and venture capital.
• Government Contracts: Provides litigation and transactional support and counseling for companies that contract with federal, state and local governments.
• Healthcare: Ranked by American Health Lawyers Association as the fourth largest health law firm in the nation (2019), we are experienced in mergers and acquisitions; joint-ventures and syndications; contracting, regulatory and operational matters; and government investigations, enforcement and compliance.
• Intellectual Property: Experienced in the identification, development, acquisition, protection, commercialization and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) assets and related technology.We assist clients as both plaintiffs and defendants in connection with claims of patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, and misappropriation of trade secrets.
• Internal Investigations: Multidisciplinary team develops and implements internal compliance policies; handles financial reporting/restatements; conducts internal investigations; and assists clients in responding to scrutiny by government entities in white collar, FCPA and healthcare fraud and abuse related matters.
• International Trade: Experienced in guiding clients through challenging issues related to economic sanctions (OFAC), exports (DDTC and the ITAR; BIS and the EAR), anti-bribery (DOJ and SEC), anti-boycott regulations (OAC and Treasury), and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
• Life Sciences: Counsels global companies across this diverse industry offering strategic legal guidance and compliance advice related to regulatory and compliance, investigations, litigation, intellectual property and technology, corporate and securities, mergers and acquisitions, financing, and other matters.
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution: Experience in complex business litigation matters including securities and shareholder class actions, privacy and data security, special litigation committees, business and insurance disputes, financial institution litigation, construction and products liability.
• Other Areas: Provides counsel to public and private companies, nonprofit organizations and other entities in the areas of commercial transactions/real estate, labor/employment, employee benefits, restructuring/bankruptcy, environmental, government relations, public finance and tax.