Originally Published in The Wilson Post
by Sabrina Garrett, Feb. 1, 2018
The oldest law firm in Lebanon has welcomed a new partner and recently unveiled new signage to signal the change.
What was previously the law offices of Agee & Agee is now Agee & Tinsley.
Jonathan Tinsley joined the practice founded by Neal Agee, Sr. in August 2017; however, it was not his first time working with now-partner Neal Agee, Jr. He worked for Agee as a legal assistant in 2009, while attending the Nashville School of Law."He is extremely practical," Tinsley said of Agee. "I think we have so much in common."
Outside of the office, both gentlemen operate farms. Agee has a horse farm in Norene, and Tinsley raises sheep on his property in Shop Springs.
Agee said the timing of their merger was good. "I want to keep the firm going. At some point I’m going to slow down," he said. "When I do I want there to be someone here who will continue it."
Agee is a second-generation attorney. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Neal Agee, Sr. "If he would have been a plumber, then I would have been a plumber," Agee said; however, their calling was law. Agee, Sr. was a World War II veteran and a graduate of the Cumberland School of Law. Back in those days, Cumberland had a two-year law program – which the eldest Mr. Agee completed before receiving his undergraduate degree. He established a practice on the Lebanon Public Square in 1949, and in the years following, was joined by attorneys J.O. Bond, Jerry Hunt, and his son.
Agee, Jr., who studied at the University of Tennessee School of Law, passed the bar exam in 1981 – the same year Tinsley was born.
Agee, Sr. practiced law until 2003 when the firm moved to its present location at 406 West Main Street, Suite A, Lebanon. He passed away three years later in 2006.
Tinsley, who has practiced law in Wilson County since 2012, brings expertise in the areas of probate, estate planning, civil and criminal litigation to the practice. He served as president of the 15th Judicial District Bar Association in 2016.
Agee specializes in personal injury, wrongful death and estates.