Firm, Company, or Court
Disciplinary Counsel, Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct
Presiding Judge, Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (2014-2020)

Education
Middle Tennessee State University, 1986

Juris Doctor
University of Tennessee College of Law, 1989

Bar Admissions
Tennessee Bar Association (1989)
American Bar Association (1989)
National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary (2014)

Court Admissions (and Year)
Tennessee State and Federal Courts, 1989

Professional Memberships & Activities
Editorial Board, The Bencher, American Inns of Court
Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel
Fellow, College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
Belmont University College of Law American Inn of Court, President 2021-2023
Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program, Tennessee Commission on CLE and Specialization
National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary, 2014
Tennessee Supreme Court’s Commission on Gender Fairness, 1994-1996

Civic Memberships & Activities
First Lieutenant, 401st MP/PW Camp, USAR
Captain, 101st Airborne Division, Judge Advocate General
Long Hollow Baptist Church
Room in the Inn
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer working with abused and neglected children who are the subject of neglect or abuse proceedings in juvenile court

Torts I
Torts II
Workers’ Compensation
Introduction to Law (1999-2003)
Advanced Legal Writing (2006-2009)

Accolades & Distinctions
JD with Honors
Tennessee Law Review
American Jurisprudence Award for Trial Practice
Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing
Teacher of the Year – Nashville School of Law (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002)
Distinguished Faculty Award – Nashville School of Law (2013)
Staff Attorney, Tennessee Supreme Court (1992-2014)

Publications

• “The Power of a Mentor,” 20 Journal of Appellate Practice and Process 1 (2019)
• “Oral Argument: Transformation, Troubles, and Trends,” 5 Belmont Law Review 203 (2018)
• “Oral Argument: Where the Wheels Can Fall Off an Appeal,” 53 Tennessee Bar Journal 22 (2017)
• Attracting Undue Scrutiny on Appeal: An Appellate Judge’s Perspective,” 17 Journal of Appellate Practice and Process 177 (2016)
• “Twenty Lessons From Twenty Years at the Tennessee Supreme Court,” 51 Tennessee Bar Journal 14 (2015)
• “The Retirement of Chief Justice Drowota: A Tribute to a Legal Legend and All Around Nice Guy,” 5 Nashville Bar Journal 6 (2005) and 3:1 Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy 95 (2006)
• “Drowota Contributed Greatly to the State’s Substantive Law,” 41 Tennessee Bar Journal 17 (2005)
• “Workers’ Compensation Review Panels,” Appellate Advocacy: A Handbook on Appellate Practice in Tennessee (1995)
• “Seeking Justice on Appeal,” 27 Tennessee Bar Journal 28 (1991)
• “Causation and Proximate Cause: The Potential Pitfalls of Tort Litigation in Tennessee,” 11 Tennessee Trial Lawyer 6 (1991)
• “Stealing Love in Tennessee: The Thief Goes Free,” 56 Tennessee Law Review 629 (1989) (cited in Hoye v. Hoye, 824 S.W.2d 422 (Ky. 1992), Hanover v. Ruch, 809 S.W.2d 893 (Tenn. 1991), and Norton v. Macfarlane, 818 P.2d 8 (Utah 1991)
• “Torts-Wrongful Pregnancy-Ordinary Costs of Raising Healthy Child Not Recoverable,” 55 Tennessee Law Review 153 (1987)

CLE Presentations

• “Judicial Behavior On and Off The Bench:  Ways the Wheels Fall Off,” (Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators, Colorado Springs, CO 2022)
• “Judicial Ethics: Questions New Judges Should Ask Themselves,” (TN Judicial Academy, 2022)
• “Judicial Elections:  TN Legal and Ethical Considerations,” (TN Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 2021)
• “New Statutes, New Regulations, and a New Board,” (TN Judicial Conference, 2020)
• “Judicial Ethics:  How the Disciplinary Process Works,” (TN Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 2020)
• “Writing Effective Decisions and Creating an Appellate Record: Ten Ways to Attract Undue Appellate Scrutiny.” (Workers’ Compensation Conference, 2019, Orlando, Florida)
• “Writing Effective Decisions and Creating an Appellate Record: Ten Ways the Wheels Fall Off” (New Judges College 2018, Nashville, Tennessee)
• “Appeals of Workers’ Compensation Cases:  What Adjusters Need to Know” (Adjusters, 2017, Nashville, Tennessee)
• “Navigating the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board” (2017 Annual Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Conference, Nashville, Tennessee)
• “Appeals of Workers’ Compensation Cases: A View From Tennessee” (2017 IAIABC Annual Convention, Portland, Oregon)
• “Meet the Mentors” (American Inns of Court, Belmont University School of Law, 2017)
• “Appeals From the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims: The Judges’ Perspective” (2017 Education Conference, Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
• “The Law and Legal System: How a CASA Volunteer Fits In” (2017 CASA, Nashville, Tennessee)
• “How to Avoid a Remand” (NAWCJ Judiciary College, Orlando, Florida, 2015)
• “Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board: Navigating the Appeals Process” (2015 Annual Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Conference in Nashville, Tennessee)
• “Twenty Thousand Opinions Later: What Judges Do Right and What They Do Wrong Drafting Decisions” (presentation given to trial judges Jan. 2015, Nashville, Tennessee)