C. Dewey Branstetter, Jr.

Member

p. (615) 742-4567
f. (615) 742-4539

dbranstetter@srvhlaw.com
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Dewey Branstetter has represented a broad range of individuals and entities, but his practice concentrates on utility and municipal issues; employment matters, including employee benefits issues; and complex litigation.

Mr. Branstetter has extensive experience advising and representing utility districts, municipalities, and utility related entities such as Tennessee 811. He recently appeared before the Utility Management Review Board and successfully defended against the first ratepayer petition ever filed against a utility district in Tennessee. He has also assisted a number of public entities concerning their pension plans, insurance programs, and other health and welfare programs.

Mr. Branstetter has handled many wide‐ranging employment matters for both employees and employers, including employment contracts, separation issues, labor disputes, and pension plan issues. He regularly assists employees with non‐compete covenants, benefit issues, shareholder agreements, and severance packages. He has counseled and represented labor organizations and their individual members, most notably serving the Nashville Fire Fighters Association for over three decades.

Mr. Branstetter has argued numerous cases before the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In addition to litigating utility and employment matters, he has successfully handled probate cases, personal injury claims, consumer protection cases, trust disputes, administrative claims, and complex cases including class actions and shareholder derivative actions.

Mr. Branstetter was appointed liaison counsel in the antitrust case brought on behalf of Tennessee consumers against Microsoft, Inc. and served as a lead counsel in the antitrust litigation regarding High Pressure Laminates. He represented the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System in its securities litigation against WorldCom, Inc. He has also served as lead counsel in several shareholder derivative cases including obtaining the largest recovery in Tennessee history in a derivative case.

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Education & Bar Admissions

Education

  • Vanderbilt University School of Law, Order of the Coif, Chief Justice, Moot Court Board, 1981
  • Vanderbilt University B.A.,Summa Cum Laude; Phi Beta Kappa, 1978

Bar Admissions

  • Tennessee
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court, Middle, Western and Eastern Districts of Tennessee
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court of Colorado
Recognition
  • Woodward/White: The Best Lawyers In America 2011-Present (Litigation-Labor and Employment; Utilities Law)
  • Woodward/White: The Best Lawyers In America Lawyer of the Year 2011, 2012, 2019 (Litigation-Labor and Employment)
  • Attorney for Justice Tennessee Supreme Court Pro Bono Service Award 2020-present
  • Benchmark Litigation 2017-2019 (“Litigation Star”)
  • Super Lawyers Mid-South Super Lawyer
  • Nashville Business Journal Best of the Bar
  • Business Tennessee Magazine 150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee
  • Junior League of Nashville Paragon Award for Outstanding Community Volunteer
  • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Professional & Civic Activities

Professional Activities

  • Nashville Bar Association, Director 2011-2015, First Vice President 2014-2015
  • Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, Hearing Officer 1996-2002
  • Nashville Bar Foundation Fellow
  • Napier-Looby Bar Foundation Fellow
  • Napier-Looby Bar Association Life Member
  • Tennessee and American Bar Associations
  • Lawyers’ Association for Women
  • Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society Life Member

Civic Activities

  • Metropolitan Nashville Charter Revision Commission, Chairman
  • Leadership Nashville
  • Bellevue YMCA – J.L. Turner Senior Center, Capital Campaign Co-Chair
  • Past Board Memberships Include:
    • Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education, Chairman
    • Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
    • Center for Nonprofit Management
    • Nashville Alliance for Public Education
    • Harding Academy, Board of Trustees, Advisory Board
    • Nashville Public Television Council, Secretary
    • Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee
    • Our Kids
    • March of Dimes Middle Tennessee Chapter
    • Emergency Communications District for Metropolitan Nashville

Blog Posts

When PR Bites Back

For anyone involved in a newsworthy dispute, refusing to acknowledge our media-saturated modern world can be a dangerous proposition. As Amy Rao Mohan has already explained in the pages of this [...]