Education

After graduating from Hume Fogg Academic Magnet High School in Nashville, I attended the University of Memphis. My original plan was to complete my undergraduate studies and then immediately attend law school. Unfortunately, my then-fiancée was involved in a terrible car accident, and I withdrew from my studies for one semester to help care for her. The following fall, we married, and I completed my studies at Middle Tennessee State University. As a young married couple, we were not in a position financially for me to immediately begin law school, so I followed my proclivity for public service and joined the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department as a police officer.

I served as a Metro Nashville police officer and sergeant for seven years.  I initially served as a patrol officer; however, I could not ignore my original plan to become an attorney.  After much consideration, I elected to attend law school on a part-time basis at the Nashville School of Law, while continuing to serve as a Metro police officer. I eventually transferred to become a law instructor at the Metro Nashville Police Academy. In 2004, I graduated from the Nashville School of Law with honors, ranked third in my graduating class.

Legal Experience

Tennessee Bar Association – Member, 2005 to Present

Board of Governors

• Board Member representative from Young Lawyers Division, June 2011 to June 2013

• Elected to serve as Middle Tennessee Grand Division Governor, Position 2, from June 2014 to June 2017

• Elected to serve as District 6 Governor, June 2018 to Present

• Responsible for governing the activities of, administering the business of, and acting for the Tennessee Bar Association in all matters, subject to the direction of the membership and the provisions of the Charter and Bylaws

Executive Committee

• Member, June 2014 to June 2017 and June 2019 to Present

• Responsible for exercising the powers and duties of the Board of Governors when the Board is not in session

Operations Committee

• Chair, June 2019 to June 2020

• Responsible for making recommendations to the Board of Governors on important operational details of the association, including election procedures, personnel, and administrative policy, and for overseeing the staff evaluation process

Membership Committee

• Chair, June 2020 to Present

• Responsible for developing membership programs and for reviewing and making recommendations regarding member benefits

Criminal Justice Section

• Chair, June 2015 to June 2016

• Vice Chair, June 2014 to 2015

• Executive Committee, 2013 to Present

• Responsible for supervising and directing the affairs and policies of the section, with the purpose of facilitating better working relationships and communications between judges, prosecuting attorneys, private counsel, and public defenders, and to enhance and increase the professional skill of section members

Mentoring Committee

• Co-Chair, June 2014 to June 2015

• Coordinator, Solo In a Box Program, June 2013 through 2014

• Responsible for the development of a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to assist new lawyers with establishing and improving a law firm

Leadership Law Program – Graduate, Class of 2012

Young Lawyers Division

• President, June 2012 to June 2013

• President-Elect, June 2011 to June 2012

• Vice President, June 2010 to June 2011

• District 8 Representative, June 2006 to June 2010

• Executive Committee, June 2010 to June 2014

• Chair, Long Range Planning Committee, June 2010 to June 2011

• Chair, Wills for Heroes Committee, June 2009 to June 2011

• Responsible for assisting with the coordination of 23 Wills for Heroes events across the state, during which 365 volunteer attorneys assisted 830 first responders and spouses with estate planning documents

Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Fellows

• Inducted as Fellow, June 2014

• Liaison between the TBA YLD Fellows and the Young Lawyers Division, June 2014 to June 2015

In addition to serving in leadership with the TBA, I have served in

various legal leadership capacities with other entities, including:

Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education

• Chair of CLE Commission, appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court effective January 2022 to December 2022 and reappointed to serve from January 2023 to December 2023

• Commissioner, appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve from January 2019 through December 2024

• Secretary, January 2020 to December 2020

Tennessee Criminal Justice Investment Task Force  

• Appointed by the Governor’s Office to serve on the Violent Crime Task Force in June 2019.

Governor's Criminal Justice Review Subcommittee 

• Appointed by the Governor’s Office in July 2020.

Integrated Criminal Justice Steering Committee 

• Member, 2018 to Present

21st Judicial District Recovery Court

• Vice President, 2019 to 2023

• Board of Directors, 2017 to 2023

Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law Program

• Graduate, Class of 2012

Williamson County Bar Association

• President, 2019 

• Vice President, 2018 

• Treasurer, 2017 

• Secretary, 2016

• Member, 2012 to Present

American Bar Association

• Graduate, 2013 National ABA Tort Trial Insurance Practice Section Leadership Academy

• Coordinator, 2013 ABA Tort Trial Insurance Practice Leadership Academy service project

• Vice Chair, Tort Trial Insurance Practice Government Law Committee, 2013 to 2015

• Vice Chair, Tort Trial Insurance Practice Law in Public Service Committee, 2013 to 2014

• Vice Chair, Tort Trial Insurance Practice Business Law Committee, 2013 to 2015

• Vice Chair, Tort Trial Insurance Practice Trial Techniques Committee, 2013 to 2014

John Marshall American Inn of Court

• Barrister, August 2012 to Present

Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

• Member, 2008 to Present

• Board of Directors, 2015 to 2018

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands

• 2016 Williamson County Campaign Chair

Recognitions and Awards

• Rated as AV® Preeminent™ in Criminal Law, General Practice, and Business Law by fellow attorneys and judges through Martindale-Hubbell®.

• Recognized by Super Lawyers® as follows:

  1. Mid-South Super Lawyers, 2017-2024

  2. Mid-South Rising Stars, 2014-2016

• 2009-2010 President’s Distinguished Service Award from the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, June 4, 2010.

• 2010-2011 President’s Special Recognition Award from the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, June 17, 2011.

Interesting Facts

If you have read this far down, you are really interested!  

(Or perhaps you are sitting through an extraordinarily long docket call.)

In any event, here are some other "interesting" facts about me:

• I married when I was 20 years old, and my wife was 19.  We recently celebrated our 27th anniversary!

• I am violently allergic to neoprene.

• I once rescued a trapped, dying bat while fly fishing.

• On February 21, 2011, I made a commitment to myself to run at least 5 kilometers per day, every day, until I was no longer physically able.  (For us standard measurement folks, that is 3.13 miles.) October 1, 2023, marked twelve years and seven months of running at least 5k a day, every day, without missing. That's 4605 consecutive days and counting!