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Bill Purcell
Counsel
Nashville, TN
Counsel
Nashville, TN
Bill Purcell has spent more than 30 years in law, public service, and higher education. During his eight-year tenure as Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee (1999-2007), the city saw unprecedented economic expansion, an increase in Metro school funding of more than 50 percent, and the development and preservation of more than 26,000 affordable housing units. He was elected to his second term as mayor by a record-setting 84.8 percent of the vote. During his term, Nashville was ranked as the number one city for corporate headquarters and twice ranked as the hottest city in America for expansion and relocation of business.
Bill was elected to five terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1986-96), serving as Majority Leader (1990-96). During his decade in the General Assembly he sponsored and passed legislation undertaking major reforms in Tennessee’s schools, courtrooms, industrial plants and boardrooms, criminal and juvenile justice, hospitals, and voting booths. During his service Tennessee was twice ranked the best managed state in America.
Having represented clients in all of the trial courts of Nashville as well as the federal and state appellate courts, he has been focused on advising clients with administrative and policy concerns at the local level across Tennessee. An active participant in the work of the profession, Bill has been honored by the Nashville Bar Association with the John C. Tune award for outstanding contributions to his community and faithful service to the bar.
Meharry Medical College, Visiting Professor, 2014
Harvard University Special Advisor and Co-Chair – Allston, 2009-2011
Harvard Institute of Politics, Director, 2008-2010
Harvard Kennedy School, Lecturer in Public Policy, 2009-2010
Harvard University Institute of Politics Fellow, 2007
Tennessee State University, Founding Dean of the College of Public Service and Urban Affairs, 2008
Founder and Director, Child and Family Policy Center at Vanderbilt University, 1996-1999
Office of the Metropolitan Public Defender, Senior Assistant, 1981-1985
West Tennessee Legal Services, Staff Attorney, 1979-1981
Commission on the Future of the Tennessee Judicial System
Tennessee IOLTA Grant Review Committee
Board of the Nashville Bar Association
Fellow of both the Tennessee and Nashville Bar Foundations
Vanderbilt University School of Law, J.D., 1979, Distinguished Alumnus (2003)
Hamilton College, B.A., 1976
United States Supreme Court, 1988
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1985
National Superintendent’s Roundtable, Robert Koff Award, 2019
Nashville Alliance for Public Education, Distinguished Service Award, 2008
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Welcoming Tennessee Award, 2008
Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Honorary Realtor of the Year, 2007
Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee, Jack C. Massey Leadership Award, 2007
Nashville Downtown Partnership, Vision Award, 2007
Community Nashville, Human Relations Award, 2006
Americans for the Arts, Public Leadership in the Arts Award, 2006
International District Energy Association, Leadership Award, 2006
John C. Tune Public Service Award, Nashville Bar Association, 2006
Public Official of the Year, Governing Magazine, 2006
Tennessee Education Association, Friend of Education Award, 2006
Civil War Preservation Trust, State Leadership Award, 2004
Vanderbilt University School of Law, Distinguished Alumnus, 2004
Public Relations Society of America Nashville, Apollo Award, 2003
Country Music Association, The Connie B. Gay Founding Presidents Award, 2001
Legislator of the Year, Tennessee Counseling Association, 1996
Legislator of the Year, Metropolitan Nashville Education Association, Friend of Education Award for Outstanding Support of Public Education, 1996
Legislator of the Year, Tennessee Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics, Tennessee Pediatric Society, 1995
Tennessee Hospital Association, Community Service Award, 1994
Vanderbilt Institute of Public Policy Studies, The Bridge Award, 1991
Legislator of the Year, Tennessee Conservation League, 1991
Legislator of the Year, Tennessee District Attorneys Association, 1989
Nashville Bar Association
Tennessee Bar Association
Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, Board of Commissioners, Chairman
Center for Non-Profit Management, Nashville, Board of Directors
MDC, Inc., Durham, NC, Board of Directors
Abe’s Garden, Nashville, Board of Directors
St Bonaventure University, Board of Trustees, 2011-2020
Roundtable on Obesity Solutions, National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, Chair, 2011-2019
June 23, 2020 | Press Releases
Bill Purcell, the fifth mayor of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, has joined Frost Brown ...
