For the fourth consecutive year, Knoxville attorney J.D. lee has contributed $5,000 to The Arts Council of Greater Knoxville, making up for the withdrawn donation of a major cigarette manufacturer.

Lee, who has filed more lawsuits against cigarette makers than any other attorney, first contributed to the Council in 1993 when Philip Morris withdrew their previously annual donation in protest of a new, city-wide anti-smoking ordinance.

Lee is one of 60 law firms seeking class action status for everyone who has ever become addicted to cigarettes. This lawsuit, filed against every major cigarette maker, would be the largest such suit in history, affecting an estimated 45 million people. It contends that cigarette makers hid facts concerning the dangers of smoking for more than 40 years. The Liggett Group recently settled claims in the suit, marking the first time in history any cigarette maker has accepted responsibility for contentions its products harm people.

Lee is the only attorney in the nation to have served as president of three prominent legal associations: The National Board of Trial Advocates, the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the country's largest trial lawyers group. For the past 20 years, Lee has also been a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, a group of highly successful attorneys who limit their membership to 100.

The Arts Council depends on such community-minded citizens as Lee to help fund its community services and programs. Lee's gift represents the largest personal donation received by the Council.