AP BIG story: Friends dismiss doubts about 'Mockingbird' author's lawyer

[Omaha Steve]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cde28ebbdc524121934d0eefdb5a2a16/friends-dismiss-doubts-about-mockingbird-authors-lawyer



Aug. 20, 2007 file photo

By JAY REEVES Feb. 8, 2015 11:32 AM EST

MONROEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Retrace the suddenly tangled legal saga of Harper Lee and her legacy, "To Kill A Mockingbird," and a pivotal moment emerges.

As her longtime protector, older sister and attorney Alice Finch Lee turned 100 and stopped practicing law a couple years ago, another lawyer in Alice's small firm became the point person for the "Mockingbird" brand.

Tonja Carter had worked in Alice Lee's office before graduating from the University of Alabama law school in 2006 and becoming Alice Lee's partner. Her ascendance brought more aggressive legal tactics: A lawsuit over the rights to "Mockingbird." Another to stop the town museum from selling "Mockingbird" souvenirs. A note telling a longtime friend of Harper Lee to keep his distance.

Carter, 49, soon became known around the sisters' home county, where she too grew up, for jealously protecting the writer from visitors and perceived threats to her business interests.

FULL story at link.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. FWIW....the Carters are related to Truman Capote's family.

The lawyer married into the Carter family.

It is known that Alice Lee had a lot of Harper Lee's papers, and I would imagine any manuscripts would have been among them.
Carter handled the probate for Alice Lee.