The Memphis Bar Association announced today it will present David Wade with the 2026 Judge Jerome Turner Lawyer’s Lawyer Award at the MBA's annual meeting next month. The Lawyer's Lawyer Award recognizes a Memphis attorney who has practiced law for more than 15 years and embodies professionalism, civility and courtesy, and is considered to be the highest honor awarded by the Memphis Bar Association.
David Wade, Shareholder of Martin Tate, is a lifelong Memphian. He began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge Robert K. Dwyer, then worked with the Memphis City Attorney's Office and as a trial Assistant District Attorney General before joining Martin Tate in 1977.
Mr. Wade's practice centers on litigation and administrative law. His matters include accountants' defense, federal enforcement actions, construction and land use disputes, banking, environmental, securities, criminal, and general business and contract cases. As a certified mediator, he is often chosen by parties in federal and state cases to help resolve pending disputes, and he teaches Alternative Dispute Resolution and negotiation at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.
Mr. Wade became a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1995 and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® every year since 1995. He has served as president of the Memphis Bar Association and the Leo Bearman, Sr. Chapter of the American Inns of Court, chaired the City of Memphis Civil Service Commission, and currently co-chairs the Tennessee Supreme Court Civil Rules Commission.