Edward Schell – Partner

Ed Schell practices in Franklin TN in the areas of commercial litigation, family law, probate and personal injury law.  He is also admitted to practice in Tennessee’s Appellate Courts.  Before entering private practice in 1989, Ed spent nearly three years clerking for Justice Charles H. O’Brien of the Tennessee Supreme Court.  Before that, Ed spent two years as a law clerk in the office of the State Attorney General in Nashville.

Since founding this law firm in 2008, he has served as a Hearing Panel Member for the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. Ed represents a number of small business clients, including those in the construction trades, employee benefits, insurance, banking and real estate, among others.

In his family law practice, Ed attempts to navigate clients through the complex and often frustrating process of obtaining a divorce.  Special attention is paid to advising the client on what to expect in the way of an equitable division of marital assets and debts.  Typically the most sensitive issues in a divorce case revolve around the children.  Ed is consistently able to assist clients in structuring a parenting arrangement which gives consideration to the needs of the children as well as the rights and responsibilities of both parents.  The vast majority of divorce cases settle out of court, either as a result of negotiation between the parties and their counsel or through the process of mediation.  Ed has assisted many clients in mediating their disputes satisfactorily and thus, avoiding the expense and emotional turmoil of going to trial.  In some cases, however, trial is inevitable and Ed has successfully litigated a number of divorce cases as well as post-divorce cases involving changes in custody and parenting schedules, modification of child support, grandparent rights and alimony modification.  Ed frequently practices in Juvenile Court as well, where issues arise concerning paternity, legitimation, child support, visitation and termination of parental rights.  Ed also has extensive experience in prosecuting claims for criminal contempt of court and civil contempt of court.  This is a particularly tricky area of the law and one that Ed has been involved in for nearly twenty-five years.

Ed also devotes a substantial portion of his practice to preparing wills, powers of attorney and living wills.  Ed also represents personal representatives of estates as well as persons serving as conservators for the benefit of an incompetent person.  For some years, Ed was regularly appointed by the court to serve as Guardian Ad Litem for persons with certain disabilities.

Ed Schell prides himself on being available to his clients and effectively representing their interests with integrity and professionalism.