William H. Tate

Bill Tate has been an attorney with Howard Tate Sowell Wilson Leathers & Johnson, PLLC where he has spent 42 years in construction, insurance and business litigation. He is also a Rule 31 Civil Mediator and an Arbitrator where his practice focuses on construction litigation, insurance coverage of construction disputes, bankruptcy and commercial litigation.  

Bill has lectured on insurance coverage of construction disputes and has advised clients regarding a multitude of insurance coverage issues including copyright infringement. Bill has been a featured speaker for the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel (2007, 2011, 2015 ,2017, 2021) and the Tennessee Bar Association Construction Law Section (2009, 2011, 2012, 2018) on the topic of Insurance Coverage of Construction Disputes in Tennessee. 

Bill is a 1979 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law where he was a Member of the Tennessee Law Review. He is the author of Mechanics’ and Materialmen’s Liens, 45 Tenn. Law Rev. 741. He served as a judicial law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, Ray L. Brock and was also a judicial clerk to Houston M. Goddard of the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  

Bill served on the Board of Directors and as First Vice-President of the Nashville Bar Association. He also served as the President and a Trustee of the Nashville Bar Foundation. Mr. Tate has also had a long affiliation with Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital including serving as the Chairman of the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital Board.  

Bill was elected as the 2015 President of the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel and has also served as the Chair of the Mediation/Arbitration Committee. Mr. Tate was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve and as Chairman on the Advisory Commission for the Tennessee Business Court Pilot Project to provide input for Tennessee’s first Business Court. He is an AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell and is conversationally fluent in the French language.  

Mr. Tate is admitted to all State and Federal Courts in the State of Tennessee, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Awards:

• Nashville Sigma Chi of the Year 2015
• Sigma Chi Fraternity national Significant Sig Award 2016
• Nashville Business Journal’s Best of the Bar Award 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. 2017 –Awarded to  Middle Tennessee’s leading lawyers as chosen by their peers.
• Lexology Client Choice Award 2013 and 2014 – Awarded to attorneys around the world for the  excellent client service they provide based on in-house counsel and client interviews and  comments. 
• Super Lawyer 2010--2021 –Lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. 
• Farmers Insurance Group Gladiator Award 2012 – Farmers presents this national award annually in recognition of outstanding trial results.

Bill has been married to Deborah (Debi) Taylor Tate for 43 years.

Bill is the father of three married children -- Will, Taylor and Cacky – and he is a proud new grandfather of Bennett Taylor Tate born March 23, 2021