Michael J. Wall
Michael Wall is an experienced appellate advocate and a former chair of the Nashville Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee. He has successfully argued for clients on a wide range of topics, including labor and employment, constitutional rights and consumer protection. Recently, he secured a decision from the Tennessee Supreme Court applying the Tennessee Drug Dealer Liability Act to prescription opioid manufacturers. This groundbreaking interpretation of a model act gives people in many states a way to recover for harm caused by the opioid epidemic.
Mr. Wall also leads the firm’s public utility practice, representing water, sewer and natural gas utilities across the state. He advises utilities on their legal powers and responsibilities and drafts contracts on their behalf. When necessary, he represents utilities in condemnations, service area disputes and other types of litigation.
Mr. Wall is a 2002 graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned his J.D. in 2005 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he won the Nathan Burkan Memorial Prize for his seminar paper on copyright.
Areas of Practice
- Appellate Law
- Utility Law
Education
- Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., 2005
- Nathan Burkan Memorial Prize for seminar paper on copyright
- Vanderbilt University, B.A., 2002
Languages
- English
- Spanish
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Experience
Representative Cases:
- Effler v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 614 S.W.3d 681 (Tenn. 2020) (holding that children born dependent on opioids could sue pharmaceutical companies under the Tennessee Drug Dealer Liability Act)
- Zeon Chemicals, L.P. v. UFCW, Local 72D, 949 F.3d 980 (6th Cir. 2020) (upholding a labor arbitration award that reinstated a terminated employee)
- Mills v. Barnard, 869 F.3d 473 (6th Cir. 2017) (reversing the dismissal of a wrongfully convicted man’s claims under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments)
- Jones v. Coleman, 848 F.3d 744 (6th Cir. 2017) (reversing the district court’s decision to abstain in a First Amendment case challenging Tennessee’s Campaign Financial Disclosure Act)
- Stevens-Bratton v. TruGreen, Inc., 675 F. App’x 563 (6th Cir. 2017) (holding that the arbitration clause in an expired agreement did not require the customer to arbitrate a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act)
- Petty v. Metropolitan Gov’t of Nashville-Davidson Co., 687 F.3d 710 (6th Cir. 2012) (affirming back pay and liquidated damages award to a veteran under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act)
Representative Utility Experience:
- Routinely advises clients on all aspects of utility law
- Negotiates and drafts contracts with other utilities, developers and vendors
- Defeated challenge to utility district’s exclusive service area before county mayor
- Has overseen the creation and consolidation of utilities
Professional Honors and Activities
Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Nashville Bar Association