George T. “Buck” Lewis III is a shareholder in the Memphis office of Baker Donelson and chair of the Appellate Practice Group. He graduated from UT’s Haslam College of Business in 1976 and earned a joint JD/MBA from the university in 1980.
Upon graduation, Lewis served as law clerk for the Honorable Frank Drowota of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Currently, he focuses his law practice on complex business, banking, personal injury, insurance coverage, health care, and class action litigation and arbitration. He is the former chair of the litigation department and the business litigation group of the firm. In 2013, the American Arbitration Association named Lewis to its panel of arbitrators and he received the American Bar Association President’s Citation for Leadership.
Lewis has served as president of the Memphis Bar Foundation and the Tennessee Bar Association. He was twice named to the Honor Roll of the American Bar Association Torts and Insurance Practice Section. He was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to chair the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and became the chair of the Mid-South Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Never one to stop offering legal assistance, Lewis and his colleagues created ABA Free Legal Answers, a website that has answered more than 100,000 legal questions in 41 states, with international rollouts planned for England and Australia.
In 2016, Lewis received the William Reece Smith Jr. Special Services to Pro Bono Award from the American Bar Association (ABA) and was appointed chair of the ABA’s Pro Bono and Public Service Committee. One year later, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. In 2018, he was recognized by the Memphis Business Journal as the recipient of one of its Best of the Bar awards. He has also been named a Pro Bono Hero by the Virginia State Bar and received the Justice Janice Holder Pro Bono Award from the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services.
Lewis and his wife, Malinda, have made multiple gifts to UT, including to the College of Law’s Institute for Professional Leadership, where Buck serves on the advisory board. He has also served on the UT Law Alumni Council, the President’s Council, and the Law Dean’s Circle. Previously, he has been named the University of Tennessee College of Law’s Outstanding Service Award recipient, Alumni Leadership Award recipient, and the college’s Larry Wilks Distinguished Practitioner in Residence.
Upon graduation, Lewis served as law clerk for the Honorable Frank Drowota of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Currently, he focuses his law practice on complex business, banking, personal injury, insurance coverage, health care, and class action litigation and arbitration. He is the former chair of the litigation department and the business litigation group of the firm. In 2013, the American Arbitration Association named Lewis to its panel of arbitrators and he received the American Bar Association President’s Citation for Leadership.
Lewis has served as president of the Memphis Bar Foundation and the Tennessee Bar Association. He was twice named to the Honor Roll of the American Bar Association Torts and Insurance Practice Section. He was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to chair the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and became the chair of the Mid-South Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Never one to stop offering legal assistance, Lewis and his colleagues created ABA Free Legal Answers, a website that has answered more than 100,000 legal questions in 41 states, with international rollouts planned for England and Australia.
In 2016, Lewis received the William Reece Smith Jr. Special Services to Pro Bono Award from the American Bar Association (ABA) and was appointed chair of the ABA’s Pro Bono and Public Service Committee. One year later, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. In 2018, he was recognized by the Memphis Business Journal as the recipient of one of its Best of the Bar awards. He has also been named a Pro Bono Hero by the Virginia State Bar and received the Justice Janice Holder Pro Bono Award from the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services.
Lewis and his wife, Malinda, have made multiple gifts to UT, including to the College of Law’s Institute for Professional Leadership, where Buck serves on the advisory board. He has also served on the UT Law Alumni Council, the President’s Council, and the Law Dean’s Circle. Previously, he has been named the University of Tennessee College of Law’s Outstanding Service Award recipient, Alumni Leadership Award recipient, and the college’s Larry Wilks Distinguished Practitioner in Residence.
Buck Lewis
2013 Alumni Service Award Winner
2013 Alumni Service Award Winner
