Painting ... (is) a form of magic designed as a mediator between this strange, hostile world and us, a way of seizing the power by giving form to our terrors as well as our desires.
--Pablo Picasso

The best lawyers are very much like painters. Oratory, briefs, and agreements are the canvas, palette, and brush they use to make the things we fear less frightening and the things we aspire to more attainable.
--C. Dewees Berry, IV

Introduction and Philosophy


Dear Tennessee Lawyer,

I am pleased to welcome you to the Tennessee Real Estate Law Letter ("TRELL") Internet Site.  I hope it will provide the same concise and practical real estate law advice subscribers tell me TRELL has provided over the years.   

This site includes an article I wrote for the Tennessee Bar Journal in 1983 on lease drafting.  I have included this article because I find myself referring to it and being asked about it again and again.  This site also features articles on topics of interest.  Finally, this site provides you the opportunity to submit questions. I will do my best to provide answers.

You can't help but notice that this site is not just about real property. It's also about art. That's because I believe the best and the happiest lawyers are those who view themselves as artists. They refuse to become mechanics or scriveners. They begin with an innate love of their particular field of endeavor. They proceed to acquire an intimate knowledge of that field. They then use that knowledge in creative ways to solve their clients' problems and protect their clients' interests.

The mission of TRELL and of this site is to assist and encourage those Tennessee lawyers who are or would become artists in the area of real estate law.


The works of artist Wade Lincoln are featured prominently here as symbols and reminders of that mission.  

C. Dewees Berry, IV, Editor