In 1951, Paul G. Blankenship, a successful photographer in Nashville, Tennessee, and the father of four small children, decided to go to law school. He enrolled in the Nashville School of Law, and graduated four years later with a Doctor of Jurisprudence. He set up his office at 3311 Gallatin Road, Nashville, Tennessee, and began to provide legal services to many of the residents and businesses of Inglewood, a neighborhood in east Nashville. In 1962, he was elected the first Metropolitan Councilman for the 9th Civil District of Metropolitan Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, and he served faithfully in this capacity until his death in 1990.

In 1973, his son, John T. Blankenship, started law school at the University of Tennessee, and graduated in 1977. He moved back to Nashville after graduation to join his father in the practice of law, and married Patricia Blankenship in January, 1979. He and Pat had met in law school at the University of Tennessee, had graduated together, and she now joined the firm as well. In 1981, John and Pat moved their growing family and their law practice to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and they have been practicing there ever since.

The firm evolved rather quickly into a general civil practice with an emphasis on business law, construction law, and alternative dispute resolution. Pat developed an office practice emphasizing estate planning, probate and business law, while John became greatly involved in construction law issues, as well as in arbitration and mediation in the construction industry. Pat has taught Business Law at Middle Tennessee State University for many years, and taught full time from 2004-2007, while maintaining a presence in the firm.

In 1999, Richard F. LaRoche, Sr., a well-respected and elder statesman of the Rutherford County Bar, joined the practice “of counsel,” and maintained a thriving full time office practice writing wills, probating estates, and forming and advising small businesses. Mr. LaRoche was an integral and beloved addition to the firm, and continued to practice until his untimely death in 2007.

In 2007, the firm experienced a good deal of growth. The firm moved into a new building at 307 Hickerson Drive in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, that was large enough to accommodate not only additional lawyers, but arbitration and mediation spaces for John’s alternative dispute resolution practice. Mary Beth Hagan joined the firm as an associate in January, 2008, after five years in a major law firm in Nashville, Tennessee, where her practice consisted primarily of representing clients in the construction industry. She continues that practice with Blankenship, Blankenship & Hagan, PLLC, where she has proven herself so valuable to the firm that she has become a member of the firm. She is currently engaged in advising and representing clients in all aspects of the construction process, forming and advising small businesses, and administering estates.

In August of 2006, when Katrina hit New Orleans and left devastation and destruction in its wake, Sharelle Lacey evacuated to Murfreesboro with her parents to stay with her sister until the storm blew over. Her home was flooded by the failure of the levees, and their weekend visit turned into a several month ordeal of dealing with insurance companies and a justice system that had been washed away. She worked with Blankenship & Blankenship for several months as a research assistant and paralegal until her family could make the necessary arrangements to go back to New Orleans. But having settled her parents back into their home in New Orleans, she has returned to Murfreesboro and will join Blankenship, Blankenship & Hagan, PLLC as a paralegal while she becomes licensed to practice law in Tennessee, and will then join the firm as an associate. Sharelle is a litigator, focusing primarily on probate, personal injury, and business & construction litigation.