ACHS grad makes ‘40 under 40’ list
Adam Bullock
Bullock runs Bullock Law Firm in LaFollette.
“My parents grew up in the very south end of Campbell County,” Bullock said. “I went to Lake City Elementary and Lake City Middle, then Anderson County High, where I graduated in 2005. So I feel like I have roots in both counties.”
He attended East Tennessee State University, then law school at Lincoln Memorial University in Knoxville.
“Law school is very challenging,” he said. “Some of my friends that are doctors or pharmacists talk about how the professors at school encouraged them and told them how they would make a difference in people’s lives. In law school, they say, ‘Look to your left and right; one of you won’t be here at the end of the semester.’”
Not everybody makes it through law school, according to Bullock. It’s a lot of stressful, long nights and a lot of memorization.
“You figure out that you don’t need to know everything,” he said. “Just where to find it.”
He was president of the student bar association when he was at LMU and part of the moot court team. He clerked for Judge Elizabeth Asbury in Campbell County.
His recognition is in the category of wills, trusts and estates law. The selection is limited to only 40 attorneys in all of Tennessee who have “demonstrated their extraordinary abilities with superior results, a high level of peer respect, and client satisfaction,” according to National Advocates.
While Bullock focuses on wills, trusts and estates, he can do a little bit of everything. Still, he enjoys the category he focuses on most.
“You help somebody draft a will, and you help their final wishes be known,” he explained. “That’s always been intriguing to me. You can say where you want your assets to go when you pass. I’m seeing that their desires are done.”
He encourages people his own age to create a will for the sake of their children. Custody battles can get ugly.
“It’s not worth the risk,” he said. “It could potentially be an absolute nightmare.”
When it comes to trusts, he said he has been creating more of those for families who want to leave their assets to their adult children, but those children have substance abuse problems.
“I see that more than I would like,” he said. “In that case, if you have a will, you need a trust inside of it.”
That allows someone else to handle the money, but allows the children access to it.
Bullock practices in both Campbell and Anderson counties. For more information, visit bullocklawfirm.com.