Contact

130 North Court Ave,
Memphis TN 38103

Practice Areas

Commercial & Business Litigation

Government Relations & Municipal Law

Insurance Litigation & Coverage

Intellectual Property, Information Technology & Media Law

Personal Injury Litigation

Admitted to Practice

Tennessee, 2016

United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, 2016

United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, 2016

United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2017

Bar Admissions

American Bar Association

Tennessee Bar Association

Memphis Bar Association

National Bar Association, Ben F. Jones Chapter

Lani Lester is an experienced litigator whose practice includes handling complex commercial and business litigation, premises liability, and municipal matters in both federal and state court. She has also successfully arbitrated several construction industry and commercial litigation cases.

A lifelong Memphian, Ms. Lester joined Burch, Porter & Johnson after graduating from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 2016. She obtained her B.S. in Political Science and Print Journalism from Middle Tennessee State University.

Representative Matters

Assisted in securing dismissal of personal injury action against foreign institutional defendant at the pleading stage, saving client significant litigation expenses in 2021.
Volunteer attorney, negotiated settlements with CARES Act funds on behalf of tenants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Assisted in obtaining summary judgment on behalf of defendant municipality in high- exposure civil rights suit in 2019.
Provided pro bono assistance to several elderly clients facing wrongful eviction from assisted living center in 2019.
Successfully defended municipal client before government agency and on review in state court action seeking to disqualify municipal counsel from appearing before the agency in 2019.
Secured return of proceeds wrongfully garnished from the joint bank account of a non-debtor depositor by judgment creditor in 2018.
Assisted in obtaining summary judgment on behalf of defendant municipality in a civil rights suit alleging wrongful incarceration in 2018.
Secured multi-million-dollar consent judgment on behalf of corporate client in breach of contract matter in 2018.
Successfully settled high-exposure premises liability cases involving catastrophic injuries on behalf of defendant property owners in 2017 and 2019.

Education

The University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law (J.D., 2016) cum laude
Middle Tennessee State University (B.S., 2009) cum laude

Professional Honors and Activities

Named as Memphis Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 (2022)
Named Best Lawyers® “Ones to Watch” for Civil Rights Law, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs in the Memphis area (2025, 2024, 2022)
Memphis Bar Association Board of Directors (2022)
Memphis Business Journal’s Best of the Bar (2021)
University of Memphis Black Law Students Association, Esteemed Alumna Award for landlord tenant work with those adversely effected by COVID-19 (2021)
American Bar Association’s Entertainment and Sports Law Section Memphis CLE, planning committee (2019, 2021)
Board Member, Memphis Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division (2018)
Honoree, Champion of Justice, Tennessee Access to Justice Commission (2018)
Moot Court Board (2015-2016)
CALI Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Organizations, Voting Rights, and Neighborhood Preservation Clinic (2015)
Dean’s Award for Excellence, Best Brief in Legal Methods II
American Constitution Society, Student Chapter President (2014-2015), Vice-President (2015-2016)
Summer Research Assistant to Professor Andrew Mcclurg, Herff Chair Of Excellence In Law (2014)
Advanced Moot Court Competition Awards for Top Ten Oral Advocate and “Favorite Competitor” (2014)

Publications and Presentations of Note

Co-author, “The 2018 Amendments to the Neighborhood Preservation Act: A More Powerful Tool for Blight Eradication,” Guest Column in The Daily Memphian (January, 2019)
Co-author, “Yahoo’s Reliance on its Quarterly Performance Review Procedure to Terminate Employees,” HRProfessionals Magazine (April 2016)

Community Involvement

Board of Directors, the Community Legal Center (2017-present)
Board of Directors, Memphis Challenge (2017-present)
Board of Directors, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center (2016-2019)

Lani Lester Associate

Lani Lester