More than 500 guests filled the ballroom at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel on Friday, June 6, 2025, for this year’s Nashville School of Law Recognition Dinner.
Colleagues, classmates, friends, and family members gathered to celebrate this year’s NSL alumna honoree, Cindy Jones ’96.
In the late 1980s, Jones worked alongside the late Kirk Scobey, a 1974 graduate of NSL, at Sovran Bank in Nashville. Scobey played a pivotal role in encouraging Jones to pursue her law degree at NSL. Their professional relationship continued when Scobey founded Equitable Trust in the 1990s, where Jones dedicated her career to assisting families with trust and estate planning.
“She is warm, connective, and she loves to make friends and make people feel comfortable. Cindy is one of the most relational people I know,” said Jones’ co-worker and friend and NSL Professor of Estate Planning Hunter Mobley.
NSL Alumna Honoree Cindy Jones ’96 and family
Since graduating from NSL, Jones has been an active alumna, attending our annual dinners, as well as encouraging others to obtain their law degree at NSL.
In the late 1980s, Jones worked alongside the late Kirk Scobey, a 1974 graduate of NSL, at Sovran Bank in Nashville. Scobey played a pivotal role in encouraging Jones to pursue her law degree at NSL. Their professional relationship continued when Scobey founded Equitable Trust in the 1990s, where Jones dedicated her career to assisting families with trust and estate planning.
“She is warm, connective, and she loves to make friends and make people feel comfortable. Cindy is one of the most relational people I know,” said Jones’ co-worker and friend and NSL Professor of Estate Planning Hunter Mobley.
Since graduating from NSL, Jones has been an active alumna, attending our annual dinners, as well as encouraging others to obtain their law degree at NSL.
NSL Alumna Honoree Cindy Jones ’96 receives award from NSL Dean William C. Koch, Jr.
“Cindy deserved this recognition because she has effectively used her legal education to advance the interests of her clients and the community and because of the many ways she has demonstrated her commitment to our School,” said NSL Dean William C. Koch Jr.
The evening also recognized Clark Spoden, the NSL Professor of Civil Procedure and Remedies, who was honored as this year’s NSL faculty recipient. Spoden, a partner at Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PPLC (GSRM) in Nashville, was surrounded by family, friends, colleagues, and even some clients, all of whom came to express their support.
“I am tremendously honored to be the Faculty Honoree at the Nashville School of Law. Sharing the evening with my family, friends, colleagues and hundreds of former students was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I am very grateful to be on the faculty at the Nashville School of Law and to be part of its mission to provide an affordable legal education. The event is a celebration of that commitment. I am grateful to Dean Koch and to the Board of Trust of the law school for this incredible honor,” said Spoden.
“Clark exemplifies our faculty’s commitment to our students, not only in his enthusiastic approach to teaching but also in the way he models professionalism and competence,” said Koch.