Attorneys

The Firm's History

The firm was founded in 1973 with the formation of a partnership of Kenneth L. Wildes, Bradley L. Wisler, and Daniel S. Murrell, a professor of law at Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis. Although the firm's practice was of a general nature, the primary areas of practice were the legal disciplines of family law and property law.

In 1976 the partnership moved its office to the firm's present location of 474 Perkins Extended, Memphis, Tennessee. After the move was completed, the firm reorganized under the corporate name of Bradley L. Wisler, P.C. About this same time Harold W. Horne joined the practice followed by Howard R. Peppel in December 1977. The focus of the firm began to change with family law remaining the predominant area of practice. However, a practice in the legal disciplines of contract litigation, creditors rights, and collections began to develop. The following year the firm's name was changed twice, first to Harold W. Horne, P.C. in January 1978 and then to Horne & Peppel, P.C. in October 1978.

Kathleen N. Gomes and Tom P. Mitchell merged their practices of probate, estate, and family law with the firm in January 1985. This merger not only added a new discipline of probate and estate practice, but also stengthened the practice in the family law arena. In 1986 the firm's name was changed to Horne, Peppel & Gomes, P.C.

Barbara D. MacIntosh joined the firm in 1988 with her bringing additional skill and experience in the areas of family law and contract litigation. In 1995, the firm was renamed to Peppel, Gomes & MacIntosh, P.C. Ms. MacIntosh retired from the private practice of law in 2001.

In 2013, Kathleen N. Gomes was appointed to the bench in Probate Court, Division 1, in Shelby County, Tennessee. In August of 2014, Gomes was elected to that same seat and remains the Probate Court judge of that division to date.

In 2016, the firm changed its name to Peppel, Grice & Palazzolo, P.C. to represent its current shareholders: Howard Rex Peppel, Paola Palazzolo, and Chasity Sharp Grice.

Howard Rex Peppel: A native of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, Mr. Peppel received his degrees, both undergraduate (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1970) and law (Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1973) from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. While in law school he worked for the Knoxville law firm of Finkelstein, Kern, Steinberg & Cunningham, P.C. and also received his commission as a second lieutenant of the United States Air Force through the University of Tennessee R.O.T.C. program.

After being admitted to practice law in Tennessee in October 1973, Mr. Peppel began a four year tour of active duty with the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate (JAG) assigned to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The first two and one-half years were served in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at Keesler Air Force Base where he was a prosecutor for military courts-martial and administrative law proceedings as well as an administrative law judge. For the remainder of his active duty tour he was reassigned to Headquarters, United States Air Force Trial Judiciary, where he served as a public defender for military courts-martial of both Air Force personnel at Keesler Air Force Base and Navy personnel who were assigned to the United States Navy Construction Battalion installation at Gulfport, Mississippi. On November 30, 1977, Mr. Peppel was released from active military service and moved to Memphis, Tennessee to begin the private practice of law with the firm that is now known as Peppel, Grice & Palazzolo, P.C.

Initially, he began a general practice of law handling both civil and criminal matters. However, he quickly limited the focus of his practice to cases of contract litigation and creditor’s rights, such being the only legal disciplines in which he now practices. Representative clients include building and maintenance supply companies, clothing manufacturers, commercial and residential property management companies, commercial equipment leasing companies, construction companies, financial institutions, freight carriers, insurance companies, international air carriers, law firms, medical service providers, medical supply and distribution companies, print media publication companies, telecommunications service companies, and television and radio broadcast media.

Since January 1984, Mr. Peppel has served as an adjunct instructor in the Legal Studies Department at the University of Memphis where he has taught several courses, among them being Introduction to Law, Torts, Family Law, Civil Procedure and Contracts and Commercial Law.

In addition to being engaged in the private practice of law and an adjunct instructor at the University of Memphis, Mr. Peppel continued his association with the United States Air Force as a Reserve Judge Advocate. While in the reserves, he was first attached to the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate of the 97th Bombardment Wing (Strategic Air Command) at Eaker Air Force Base, Arkansas. Upon the closure of that installation in 1992 he was reattached for duty to the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at the Air Force Armament Center (Air Force Material Command) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where he served until his retirement from the Air Force in 2002 as a lieutenant colonel.

Mr. Peppel is a member of both the Tennessee Bar Association and the Memphis Bar Association.

PAOLA PALAZZOLO WEST: In September 2005, Paola Palazzolo-West joined the firm and added the discipline of immigration law to the firm's practice. First licensed as a lawyer in Israel in 2001 and having worked for one of the largest immigration law firms in North America upon moving to the United States in 2003, her skills and fluency in Hebrew, Arabic, Italian and English have added a multi-cultural facet to the firm's practice.

Since then, Ms. Palazzolo-West changed her practice to the areas of general civil matters and family law, focusing on litigation of collection cases, evictions, divorces, child support, alimony, child custody, protective orders, legitimation, paternity, child relocation, grandparents’ visitation, and post-divorce modifications. Ms. Palazzolo-West also assists clients in preparation of pre-nuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements, drafting simple wills, and powers of attorney.

CHASITY SHARP GRICE: On January 1, 2015, Chasity Sharp Grice joined the firm with a discipline in probate, estates, and trusts. She added to the firm an extensive background of probate and estate planning and remains active in the discipline through her involvement with the American Bar Association as a fellow and member of the Real Property, Trusts, and Estates section. She is a current Young Leader with the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel and is active in both the Tennessee Bar Association and Memphis Bar Association. She is also the former Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Young Lawyer Division Real Property, Trusts and Estates Committee.

Chasity Sharp Grice graduated from University of Tennessee College of Law, where she focused on transactional tax planning. Additionally, she attended University of Texas at Dallas, where she received education in the Accounting and Tax areas. Prior to opening up her own law office, Ms. Grice worked for Certified Public Accounting firms where she focused primarily on estate planning and taxation for trusts, estates, and gifts.

ATTORNEYS

Howard Rex Peppel

Admitted to the practice of law in Tennessee – 1973

United States Court of Military Appeals – 1974

United States Federal District Court for the Western District of Tennessee – 1978

United States Supreme Court - 1981

Paola Palazzolo West

Admitted to the practice of law in Israel - 2001

Admitted to the practice of law in Tennessee - 2005

Chasity Sharp Grice

Admitted to the practice of law in Texas - 2007

Admitted to the practice of law in Tennessee - 2009