(L-R) Jack B. Draper, Foster D. Arnett, Lewis R. Hagood
Foster Arnett was a Knoxville native and a decorated veteran of the Pacific Theatre in World War II, serving as an officer in the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment. For his heroism in combat in the Battle of Leyte, he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry as well as a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
After the war, Mr. Arnett secured his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee. He then attended law school at the University of Virginia (always “Mr. Jefferson’s University” to Foster), graduating in 1948.
Mr. Arnett began the practice of law in Knoxville with the law firm of Fowler and Roundtree. In February 1954, he started his own firm and soon was recognized as an outstanding lawyer in state, federal, and international bars. Among his numerous accomplishments and honors, Mr. Arnett was president of the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association and the University of Virginia Law School Alumni Association. He also served as president of the Knoxville Bar Foundation and the Knoxville and Tennessee Bar Associations.
National and international legal organizations recognized Foster’s preeminence by honoring him as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and as Dean and President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Arnett was also a founding member of the Tennessee chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and in 1987 served as its first president.
Foster Arnett enjoyed a richly-deserved reputation as a highly skilled lawyer who embodied courtesy and professionalism. He passed away in December 2002.
Jack Draper, also a Knoxville native, graduated from the University of Tennessee with both undergraduate and law degrees. In 1958, he accepted an offer from Mr. Arnett and has spent his entire career with the firm.
Mr. Draper has served as President of the Knoxville Bar Association and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Tennessee Bar Association. He was a founding member of the Knoxville Bar Foundation and is a member of the American Bar Association and the International Association of Defense Counsel. Like Mr. Arnett, Jack is a Fellow in both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
After trying hundreds of civil cases over more than forty years and representing clients in many different areas of practice, Mr. Draper has assumed “of counsel” status in the firm.
Lewis Hagood was born in Persia, Tennessee and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee. He later attended law school at UT, graduating first in his class and posting what was for many years the highest GPA ever achieved at the school. He was also editor-in-chief of the Tennessee Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
After joining Mr. Arnett and Mr. Draper in 1965 as the third founding member of Arnett, Draper & Hagood, Lewis focused his practice in labor and employment law and achieved national recognition in the field. The Tennessee Supreme Court appointed Mr. Hagood to the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, where he served as secretary from 1994-2001 and as president in 2002.
For many years Lewis was a contributing editor to the American Bar Association’s publication, “The Developing Labor Law,” and he authored a number of articles, including “Claims of Mental and Emotional Damages in Employment Discrimination Cases,” “Employer’s Duty to Bargain on the National Labor Relationship Act,” “The Role of the Judiciary in Labor Arbitrations,” and “A Brief History of the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners and the Standards for Bar Admission in Tennessee.”
Mr. Hagood passed away in October 2019.