Stites & Harbison, PLLC

Joe Jensen is a Member of the firm and a member of the Real Estate & Banking Service Group. His practice focuses on representing banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions in numerous facets of their daily operations including, but not limited to: preparation of commercial and personal loan documentation; assistance with resolution of issues arising from environmental phase I and TSP assessments; participation in, and the negotiation of building and property acquisitions and leases; assisting with contract negotiations with third-parties and other business partners; assistance with development of loan workout solutions, and collection of non-performing/defaulted personal and commercial loans.

Joe's practice also includes representation of creditors in chapter 7, 11, 12 and 13 bankruptcies; Deed of Trust/Mortgage foreclosure; employee termination issues, and drafting of employee contracts; direct handling of, or oversight of handling by insurers of negligence claims; addressing fiduciary responsibility issues arising under ERISA, issues arising under the Privacy Act of 1974, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, and the Financial Modernization Act of 1999 (Gramm-Leach-Bliley), and compliance issues with the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions; researching and providing opinion letters on FDIC issues; dealing with third parties, including other financial institutions and police agencies, regarding alleged forged endorsements upon negotiable instruments; and protecting creditors' rights in Federal and State forfeiture actions against property seized in criminal investigations.

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

• "What over-drafting customers giveth, class action plaintiffs taketh away - and now they're in the mid-south," Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Client Alert, March 18, 2011
• "In banking, Main Street is not like Wall Street," The Tennessean, February 8, 2011
• "The Impact on Mortgage Lending from Title XIV (the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending provisions) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010," Banking Breakfast, October 7, 2010
• Presentation on Chapter 13 bankruptcy issues at the office of Kohler Credit Union in Sheboygan, Wisc.
• Presenter of multiple in-house commercial loan documentation seminars for commercial lenders and loan processors
• Presenter of numerous in-house banking law seminars for financial institution clients
• Speaker at CLE seminars dealing with consumer and commercial collections
• Author of multiple law updates for clients within the financial services industry

Before Stites & Harbison

After law school, Joe served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable George B. Hoffman, Jr., of the Indiana Court of Appeals. From 1986 through 2001 he practiced law in South Bend, Indiana. For the six years before joining Stites & Harbison, Joe was a sole practitioner in the Cool Springs area of Franklin/Brentwood.

More Than Stites & Harbison

Joe has served on the faculty for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) Trial Skills course, and as an Instructor of Litigation for the American Institute of Paralegal Studies.  He is a member of the "Transportation Strategy Group of Franklin Tomorrow."

Besides Stites & Harbison

Outside the office, Joe enjoys spending time with his family, competitive running, any warm beach, and all Vanderbilt athletics.