Stephen Ross Johnson Sworn In as First Vice-President of Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar
Washington, DC (Jul. 14, 2025) – Stephen Ross Johnson was sworn in as First Vice-President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's annual meeting held on July 12. Johnson has defended criminal cases in state and federal...
Stephen Ross Johnson Teaches Jury Trial Skills to Lawyers at the Second Annual Tennessee Bar Association YLD Trial College
May 9, 2025 Stephen Ross Johnson, a partner at Ritchie, Johnson & Stovall, presented two continuing legal education seminars to attorneys at the Second Annual Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Division Trial College at Belmont College of Law. Mr. Johnson...
Samantha Ellis Appointed by Governor Lee to Tennessee Board of Appeals
May 6, 2025 Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Knoxville attorney Samantha Ellis to the Tennessee Board of Appeals. This board plays a vital role in resolving employment disputes by hearing appeals related to demotions, suspensions and dismissals of preferred service state...
James Stovall Elected Inns President
On April 9, 2025, James R. Stovall was elected President of the Hamilton Burnett Chapter of the American Inns of Court for the 2025-26 year at the annual banquet. The Inn is an organization of lawyers and judges dedicated to promoting the highest levels of ethics and...
Catalina L.C. Goodwin Presents Argument at the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
On March 18, 2025, Catalina L.C. Goodwin presented oral argument in State of Tennessee v. Mario Albanese at the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in Knoxville, Tennessee. A written order from the court is forthcoming. The video recording of Ms. Goodwin's argument...
James R. Stovall Presents Argument at the Tennessee Court of Appeals
On March 5, 2025, James R. Stovall presented oral argument in Stephen Ross Johnson v. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Nashville, Tennessee. A written order from the court is forthcoming. The video recording of Mr. Stovall's...
Samantha Ellis named East Tennessee Governor for TBA Young Lawyers’ Division
On March 10, 2025, RJS Senior Associate Samantha Ellis was named East Tennessee Governor for the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers' Division, which is a service position dedicated to fulfilling the professional needs of young lawyers throughout State and...
Catalina L.C. Goodwin Presents Oral Argument at the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
On January 29, 2025, Catalina L.C. Goodwin presented oral argument in State of Tennessee v. Justin Keith Willoughby at the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in Knoxville, TN. A written opinion from the Court of Criminal Appeals is forthcoming. The video...
Stephen Ross Johnson Sworn In as Second Vice-President of Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar
Washington, DC (Jul. 29, 2024) – Stephen Ross Johnson was sworn in as Second Vice-President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's annual meeting held on July 27 in Seattle, WA. Johnson is a criminal defense trial and...
Stephen Ross Johnson Sworn In as Secretary of Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar
Washington, DC (August 7, 2023) - Stephen Ross Johnson was sworn in as Secretary of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's annual meeting held on August 5 in Chicago, IL. Johnson is a criminal defense trial and appellate...
Samantha Ellis receives the President’s Award for her service with the Tennessee Bar Association’s Young Lawyers’ Division.
On June 16, 2023, Samantha Ellis was awarded the President’s Award by Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Division President Brittany Faith. Ms. Ellis received the award for her service as the the CLE Chair and New Attorney Liaison for East Tennessee for the...
Stephen Ross Johnson selected for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” and as a 29th Edition “Lawyer of the Year” for his work in Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Stephen Ross Johnson has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 29th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© and as “Lawyer of the Year” for his work in Criminal Defense: White-Collar, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has been selected for inclusion in Best...
Stephen Ross Johnson Sworn in for Two-Year Term as Treasurer of Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar
Washington, DC (Aug. 15, 2022) – Stephen Ross Johnson was sworn in to serve a two-year term as Treasurer of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's annual meeting held on August 13 in Palm Beach, FL. Johnson concluded a...
Samantha Ellis Appointed as CLE Chair and New Attorney Liaison of TBA’s Young Lawyers Division.
Effective July of 2022, Samantha Ellis has been appointed to serve as the CLE Chair and New Attorney Liaison for East Tennessee for the Tennessee Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. As part of the Practice Services Committee, Mrs. Ellis will plan and coordinate...
Stephen Ross Johnson Sworn in as Treasurer of Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar
Washington, DC (Oct. 15, 2021) - Stephen Ross Johnson was sworn in as Treasurer of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's board meeting held on October 9, 2021, in Washington, DC. Johnson is a criminal defense trial and...
Trial Practice Conference set in Milan, Italy
The American Board of Trial Advocates will conduct a trial practice conference with members of the Italian Bar in Milan on October 11-12, 2021. Wayne Ritchie (Knoxville) and Steve Laird (Ft. Worth) co-chair ABOTA’s International Issues Committee which has been...
James Stovall Named Partner
James R. Stovall was announced a named partner of the firm on July 1, 2021, at a reception in Knoxville attended by over 100 friends and colleagues. The event was held at the City View Terrace at the Hyatt Place Hotel. Mr. Stovall has been a partner at the firm since...
James Stovall Obtains Dismissal of Federal Securities Fraud Action
A motion to dismiss filed by James R. Stovall in a federal securities fraud action was granted by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The motion addressed, among other things, whether the negotiation of a stock purchase agreement...
Wayne Ritchie Reappointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court Rules Commission
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee reappointed RJS attorney Wayne Ritchie to serve on the Supreme Court’s Rules Commission. The Commission periodically reviews and evaluates proposals for changes in various rules applicable to Tennessee courts, including the...
James Stovall Secured Seven-Figure Settlement for our Clients
James R. Stovall headed up an RJS litigation team that secured a seven-figure settlement in a wrongful death action. The litigation involved an insurance-coverage action in federal court, as well as tort claims stemming from the incident that were pursued in state...
James Stovall Appointed Co-Chair of KBA Professionalism Committee
Effective January 2021, James R. Stovall was appointed to serve as Co-Chair of the Knoxville Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee. The Committee advises the KBA Board of Governors about proposed changes to state and local rules of ethics and procedure. Stovall...
Wayne Ritchie Appointed to the ABOTA National Board
RJS attorney Wayne Ritchie was reappointed to the National Board of Directors of the American Board of Trial Advocates for 2021. Ritchie has served on the National Board for seven consecutive years. Ritchie previously served as the President of the Southeastern...
James Stovall Obtains Dismissal of Federal RICO Action
James R. Stovall headed up an RJS litigation team that secured the dismissal of a complaint asserting claims under the federal RICO statute. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee granted a motion to dismiss filed by RJS.
Stephen Ross Johnson installed to third term on Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Washington, DC (Aug. 17, 2020) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers installed newly-elected and re-elected officers and directors
Stephen Ross Johnson presents to Corporate Counsel on Security Issues with Cloud Storage and Video Conferencing
On August 20, 2020, Stephen Ross Johnson presented at the Knoxville Bar Association Corporate Counsel Ethics Seminar on security issues with cloud storage and video conferencing. He discussed platforms like Zoom, Teams, GoToMeeting, WhatsApp, Slack, Dropbox, OneDrive,...