Our People
William M. Barker
Of Counsel
Muecke Barker is a member of the firm's litigation section, concentrating his practice in mediation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. He brings his 25 years of experience serving at all levels of the Tennessee Judiciary to the firm.
Mr. Barker began his service in the Tennessee Judicial System in 1983, when he was appointed by Governor Lamar Alexander to become Judge of the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial District of Tennessee. In 1985 he attended the National Judicial College, University of Nevada at Reno. He was elected to two eight-year terms and was consistently the highest rated circuit court judge by the Chattanooga Bar Association's bi-annual polls. In 1995, he was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and was elected by Tennessee voters in August 1996.
Mr. Barker was appointed by Governor Don Sundquist to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1998, and was then elected to a full eight-year term and again in 2006. In 2005, he was unanimously chosen by his colleagues to become Chief Justice. Upon his retirement from the Supreme Court in September 2008, former Chief Justice Barker was named Appellate Judge of the Year by the Tennessee Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
American Arbitration Association, Member, Commercial and Judicial Settlement Service Panels
Certified Mediator pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31
Approved Federal Court Mediator, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee
Memberships
- American Bar Association
- American Inns of the Court, Brock-Cooper Chapter
- American Law Institute, past Member
- Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices, past Member
- Board of Governors of the Chattanooga Bar Association, past Member
- Board of Governors of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, past Member
- Chattanooga Bar Foundation, past President
- Chattanooga Rotary Club
- Chattanooga Trial Lawyers Association, past President
- First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, Ruling Elder and past Chairman, Board of Deacons
- Golden Key National Honor Society at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
- Hamilton County Republican Party Executive Committee, past Precinct Chairman
- Joseph Johnson Mental Health Center, past Board Member
- CCJ Problem Solving Courts Committee, past Chairman
- State Law Library Commission, past Chairman
- Supreme Court Building Commissions, past Chairman
- Team Evaluation Center, past Board Member
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Tennessee Code Commission, past Chairman
- Tennessee Judicial Council, past Chairman
- Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society, past President
- University of Chattanooga Foundation, Member Board of Trustees Executive Committee
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Alpha Society; Alumni Association Executive Committee, past Board Member
- Valley Psychiatric Hospital, past Board Member
Honors
- Appellate Judge of the Year, Tennessee Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, 2008
- Distinguished Alumnus for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 2007
- Distinguished Alumnus for the University of Cincinnati College of Law, 2007
- Equal Access to Justice Award, Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the Young Lawyers Division of the Chattanooga Bar Association, 2010
- Frank F. Drowota, III, Outstanding Judicial Service Award, 2008
- Highest-rated Circuit Court Judge by the Chattanooga Bar Association
- Outstanding Adjunct Professor, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 2002
- Fellow, Tennessee Bar Foundation
- The Best Lawyers in America, Arbitration and Mediation
Capt., United States Army, (1967-1969)
