Attorney B.J. Wade, one of the lead attorneys in a class action suit filed in Shelby County Circuit Court involving an antitrust price fixing case, is a champion of the little known cy pres doctrine to benefit Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc. and, more recently, his law school alma mater, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, University of Memphis.  While cy pres awards have largely been unnoticed and little used throughout the United States, most especially in Tennessee, that is changing as familiarity with the doctrine grows.  In 2002, GEW&W successfully advocated as a part of a settlement, a $50,000 award for the National Civil Rights Museum.  In 2005, B.J. Wade was instrumental in Memphis Area Legal Services receiving a $25,000 award in the Shelby County Circuit Court.  According to Dean Smoot, the GEW&W "contribution is part of the on-going support of B.J. and his law firm for the efforts of the law school to move into its magnificent new home in the old Custom House at Front and Madison.  His firm has been among the leaders of the Memphis bar to bring this dream to fruition."

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