Spencer Fane attorney William J. (Paz) Haynes III was a presenter for the Nashville Bar Association (NBA)’s Annual Free Historical CLE on May 12. Attorneys Charles W. Bone, James Crumlin, Jack Stringham, and Stephen Zralek attended.
Co-presented by the NBA Historical Committee and the Napier-Looby Bar Association, the half-day event – The Nashville Sit-Ins: Legal Challenges, Civil Rights, and Lasting Impact – explored the enduring legacy of the Nashville sit-in movement. In the 1960s, this student‑led, nonviolent campaign successfully resulted in the desegregation of several downtown lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee.
For the program, Paz led the Impact of the Nashville Sit-Ins & The Civil Rights Movement session. Placing this series of protests within the broader context of civil rights advocacy, he delved into how the sit‑ins advanced nonviolent protest strategies and helped catalyze broader social and legal reforms. Several members of the firm’s Nashville office attended his CLE.
At Spencer Fane, Paz serves as the Public Trustee for Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, where he oversees, administers, and manages assets held in trusts, estates, conservatorships and guardianships over several states. He maintains a portfolio of inter vivos trusts and testamentary trusts. Paz also maintains a practice drawing on his extensive experience in labor and employment and health care law, representing clients before a variety of regulatory boards, including the Board of Medical Examiners, and other administrative agencies.
Furthermore, Paz co-chairs the firm’s connect group, Black Opportunities to Network and Discover (BOND), which provides a central point of connection and belonging for Black professionals and ally members to flourish within and outside the firm. He also maintains several leadership roles within Nashville legal and community organizations.