Attorney Intel is pleased to announce the Top 25 Attorneys of Tennessee for 2024. The legal profession has a rich history of distinction in the state of Tennessee. Notable figures such as President Andrew Jackson, a renowned attorney, have contributed to its legacy. Despite being smaller in size, Tennessee boasts a significant legal community, with over 15,000 attorneys dedicated to upholding the state’s ethical standards. These attorneys embody the breadth of legal expertise in Tennessee, spanning various areas such as corporate finance, intellectual property, cybersecurity, and healthcare regulation. With backgrounds ranging from top-tier law firms to Fortune 500 companies, they represent the state's dynamic legal landscape and commitment to excellence in the legal profession.
Among this year’s awardees is Elisa Harris, Partner at Barnes and Thornburg, whose extensive experience in healthcare law has made her a trusted advisor to startups and large healthcare entities alike. Another standout is Barbara Bennett, a Partner at Frost Brown Todd, whose expertise in AI governance and healthcare transactions has earned her recognition as a leading legal mind in the field. Additionally, we celebrate the achievements of Patrick McDowell, an Attorney at Brunini Grantham Grower and Hewes, known for his adept handling of complex litigation matters across multiple jurisdictions.
The rigor of the selection process underscores the caliber of legal excellence in Tennessee. Each nominee undergoes evaluation encompassing various criteria such as years of experience, specialized legal knowledge, notable achievements, leadership roles, and contributions to the legal community. Please join us in recognizing the accomplishments of The Top 25 Attorneys of Tennessee for 2024.
1. Kevin Tran
Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough
Kevin Tran is a Partner at Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough. He first joined the company in 2021. Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins is an Am Law 100 firm of more than 1,000 attorneys, policy advisors, and professionals with 33 offices in 17 states and Washington, D.C. Tran assists financial institutions and technology clients with financial regulatory, securities, and corporate matters. He focuses his practice on developing regulations and guidance affecting banks and bank holding companies of all sizes.
Tran represents these clients before the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and state regulators. He also represents banks, money services businesses, and payment processors before the federal banking regulators, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and state banking regulators.
Before joining Nelson Mullins, Tran served as a financial policy analyst in the Capital Policy group in the Division of Supervision and Regulation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He also served as the policy staff adviser and chief of staff to the Deputy Director for Regulatory Policy. He earned a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and an undergraduate degree in history and economics from Yale.
2. Ben Huddleston
General Counsel, Southwestern Family of Companies
Ben Huddleston is an attorney with over 30 years of experience providing legal counsel to publicly traded and privately owned companies and serving as a trusted advisor to executive leaders in business development, operations, litigation, finance, and human resources. Currently, he serves as General Counsel to Southwestern Family of Companies, a large privately held corporation having a global presence, where he is responsible for corporate transactions, legal operations, regulatory compliance, and litigation management.
Huddleston previously served as assistant general counsel to two Fortune 500 healthcare companies. He started his legal career as an associate and became a partner at a large Nashville law firm where he specialized in corporate law, securities law, and mergers and acquisitions. Huddleston earned his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from the University Of Tennessee College Of Law.
3. Vic Domen
Partner, DLA Piper
Vic Domen is a Partner at DLA Piper, a global law firm with offices throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Regarded as a top-three U.S. antitrust enforcer, Domen previously worked for the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, where he served as its senior antitrust counsel. For nearly 20 years, Domen was the lead lawyer in the investigation and prosecution of federal and state antitrust matters brought on behalf of the State of Tennessee.
As a past chair of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Multistate Antitrust Task Force, Domen organized and often led the antitrust investigation and litigation efforts of state attorneys general. He coordinated antitrust enforcement efforts with officials at the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and international antitrust enforcement agencies. Domen was also a key drafter of Tennessee's current Nonprofit Act (2015) governing the activities of nonprofit entities in the state. He graduated from Rutgers University-Camden with a J.D. and from Vanderbilt University with an undergraduate degree in economics.
4. Abbey Ruby
Partner, Holland and Knight
Abbey Ruby began her professional career 23 years ago. Today, she is a Partner at Holland and Knight. Ruby represents lenders, agents, and borrowers in finance transactions spanning a wide range of industries, with particular emphasis on healthcare including loans to owners and operators of senior living, post-acute care, and behavioral health facilities, as well as multifamily real estate loans. Her experience also includes complex cross-border and multi-currency facilities. Ruby also has extensive experience representing private equity firms and their portfolio companies on a wide variety of financing transactions.
Ruby first got her start in 2001 as a program director at the National Student Leadership Conference. From there, she went on to Millbank, before eventually rising to principal at Miles and Stockbridge P.C., her most recent position prior to joining Holland and Knight. Ruby graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School with a J.D. and from Michigan State University with an undergraduate degree in social relations.
5. Zack Atkins
Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Zack Atkins is a Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is an international law firm with a particular focus on the technology and media, energy, financial services, and real estate and construction sectors. Atkins has 14 years of experience, beginning his career in 2010.
Atkins represents clients in the technology, finance, communications, media, manufacturing, and energy sectors in all phases of multistate tax controversy, from audit to trial to appeals. He advises clients on state and local tax and federal excise tax planning, policy, compliance, and transactional matters. His tax policy experience includes drafting proposed tax legislation and other advocacy materials in support of clients’ lobbying efforts. Before joining Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Atkins was an associate at Eversheds Sutherland. Atkins graduated from New York University School of Law with an LL.M. in taxation, from Emory University School of Law with a J.D., and from UCLA with an undergraduate degree in history and German.
6. Elisa Harris
Partner, Barnes and Thornburg
Elisa Mineck Harris began her professional career 17 years ago. Today, she is a Partner at Barnes and Thornburg. With more than 800 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes and Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. Harris is an experienced attorney who has served as counsel to both startups and large healthcare companies regarding regulatory, corporate, and reimbursement matters.
As in-house counsel for Nashville healthcare and hospital systems for more than a decade, Harris advised on a wide range of matters involving regulatory compliance, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, managed care contracting, HIPAA, and fraud and abuse. She advised on contracting and regulatory compliance, risk-based initiatives, commercial, health insurance exchange, and self-funded lines of business.
Harris first got her start in 2007 as an attorney at Bass, Berry and Sims. From there, she went on to Vanguard Health Systems before eventually rising to general counsel at Wayspring, her most recent position before joining Barnes and Thornburg. Harris graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School with a J.D., from Christian Theological Seminary with a master's in divinity, and from Culver-Stockton College with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and English.
7. Cameron Norris
Partner, Consovoy McCarthy
Cameron Norris is a Partner at Consovoy McCarthy. Norris helps clients in trial and appellate courts across the country. He has represented prominent nonprofits, many states, the Republican Party, and the former President of the United States. He has argued in eight of the twelve federal circuits and twice at the U.S. Supreme Court, including the landmark case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
Norris is a former law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the Eleventh Circuit, and Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the D.C. Circuit. He attended Vanderbilt for both college and law school. He is barred in Tennessee and Virginia and is an elected member of the American Law Institute. This year, he was lead counsel for the State of Tennessee in Tennessee v. NCAA (E.D. Tenn.), where he helped secure a preliminary injunction against the NCAA's rules on NIL and recruiting.
8. John Krimmel
General Counsel, Willis Towers Watson
John Krimmel is the General Counsel, Benefits Delivery and Administration of Willis Tower Watson. He first joined the company in 2008 as vice president and assistant general counsel. WTW provides data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk, and capital. The firm’s colleagues serve in 140 countries and markets.
Previously, Krimmel was an attorney and partner at Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis LLP and before that an associate attorney at Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert and Manner. Earlier in his career, he worked with Stinson LLP as an associate attorney. Krimmel earned a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and an undergraduate degree in English and technical writing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
9. Christopher Mixon
General Counsel, Ogletree Deakins
Christopher Mixon began his professional career 27 years ago. Mixon currently serves as General Counsel for Ogletree Deakins. Ogletree Deakins is one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has offices throughout the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico.
Before his current role, Mixon was a shareholder at the firm’s Birmingham office, specializing in defending employers in various employment-related issues. He previously served as a law clerk and senior staff attorney to two Justices of the Alabama Supreme Court. Additionally, he was appointed by Alabama Governor Bob Riley as an administrative law judge for the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency.
Mixon has a strong history of community service and civic engagement. Prior to moving to Nashville in 2010, he served as vice president of a non-profit United Way agency, focusing on reading intervention for elementary students in high-needs schools. Additionally, he participated in the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, the Alabama Leadership Initiative, and co-chaired the Alabama State Bar’s Leadership Forum program. Mixon graduated from Emory University School of Law with a J.D., and from Auburn University with an undergraduate degree in history and psychology.
10. Barbara Bennett
Partner, Frost Brown Todd
Barbara Bennett, a Partner at Frost Brown Todd, is a member of the Health Care Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Privacy and Security teams. With a focus on AI Governance, healthcare transactions, strategic business advice, and privacy and data protection—particularly related to health data—she joined the firm in 2023. Frost Brown Todd is a full-service law firm with over 575 lawyers across 16 offices in eight states and Washington, D.C.
Bennett serves as a legal advisor to healthcare businesses, including multinational Fortune 50 companies. Her experience includes over a decade of in-house legal and business experience, including as general counsel, and a role as senior partner in a top-ten global law firm. In 2002, Bennett served as editor-in-chief of the 600+ page BNA treatise E-Health Business and Transactional Law. Formerly, she practiced as a solo practitioner and was a partner at Hogan Lovells. Earlier in her career, Bennett worked as an associate general counsel at Vanderbilt University. She holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Vanderbilt University.
11. Tara Aaron-Stelluto
Partner, Barton
Tara Aaron-Stelluto, a Partner at Barton LLP's Nashville office, specializes in intellectual property, business transaction, cybersecurity, and AI. With 27 years of experience since starting her career in 1997, she assists clients in optimizing and safeguarding their intellectual property, including trademark clearance, licensing, enforcement, and copyright law. She advises a diverse clientele, from fashion designers to agricultural companies, on various intellectual property and technology agreements. Aaron-Stelluto also leads negotiations for significant contracts, including having secured an exclusive deal for an e-commerce client with a major automotive parts manufacturer.
In Cybersecurity and Data Protection, she develops information security policies and incident response plans, managing responses to security breaches like ransomware attacks. Aaron-Stelluto holds certifications as a Certified Information and Privacy Professional in U.S. and EU law. Before joining Barton, Aaron-Stelluto was a partner at Lewis Brisbois and before that a partner at Aaron | Slander. Earlier in her career she worked with Sukin Rush Law Group as a paralegal. Aaron-Stelluto graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law with a J.D. and from Vanderbilt University with an undergraduate degree in English.
Tara Aaron-Stelluto's Insight
“My favorite part of lawyering is helping large and small businesses navigate and distill down the complex and ever-changing legal challenges in cybersecurity, intellectual property and global transactions to find new solutions and add value to their customers. I expect the challenges to continue, and I look forward to taking them on.”
12. Stephanie Nichols
Attorney Team Lead, Consilio Global
Stephanie Nichols began her professional career 15 years ago. Today, she is the Attorney Team Lead of Consilio Global. Consilio is a global leader in eDiscovery, document review, risk management, and legal consulting services. The company supports multinational law firms and corporations using innovative software, cost-effective managed services, and deep legal and regulatory industry expertise. Consilio has extensive experience in litigation, HSR second requests, internal and regulatory investigations, eDiscovery, document review, information governance, compliance risk assessments, cybersecurity, law department management, contracts management, legal analytics, paper discovery, and digital printing, as well as legal recruiting and placement.
Nichols' previous roles include associate attorney at Crumpler Freedman Parker & Witt, and attorney case manager at U.S. Small Business Administration, her most recent position before joining Consilio Global. Nichols graduated from Belmont University College of Law with a J.D. and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree in psychology and French.
13. Stephen Price
Managing Partner, Jackson Lewis
Stephen Price is the Nashville Managing Partner of Jackson Lewis P.C., first joining the company in 2022. Jackson Lewis specializes in labor and employment law and assisting companies in facilitating immigration. Jackson Lewis is organized into 20 practice groups and 19 industry groups.
Price focuses his practice on defending employers against claims of employment discrimination, retaliatory discharge, and wage and hour violations. Price’s labor practice involves advising and representing clients in labor arbitrations, union organizing attempts, and corporate campaigns. He also frequently handles non-compete disputes. In addition, he has extensive experience defending against RICO claims and handling other business litigation.
Previously, Price was a partner at Burr and Forman LLP and before that an attorney, partner, and Nashville office executive member at Stites and Harbison, PLLC f/k/a Farris, Warfield and Kanaday. Earlier in his career, he worked with Will Garwood, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit as a law clerk. Price earned a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and an undergraduate degree in political science from Vanderbilt University.
14. Ken Bryant
Managing Partner, Burr and Forman
Ken Bryant is a Managing Partner at Burr and Forman. The firm was founded more than a century ago, serving business and government clients. With 350 attorneys and 19 offices across Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, Burr and Forman draws from a diverse range of industry experience and practice knowledge to help clients address their legal needs. Bryant has 37 years of experience and began his career in 1987.
Currently, Bryant serves as National Coordinating Counsel to the nation's largest healthcare release-of-information company in litigation matters. In addition, he regularly represents a variety of businesses in the defense of class action litigation, non-compete and trade secret litigation, intermodal cargo damage and transportation litigation, securities litigation and arbitration, and general business litigation of all types in both state and federal court throughout the United States.
Before joining Burr and Forman, Bryant was a partner at Miller and Martin PLLC. Earlier in his career, he worked with Dearborn and Ewing as an associate. Bryant graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law with a J.D. and from Vanderbilt University with an undergraduate degree in English.
15. Steven Barrett
Partner, Husch Blackwell
Steven Barrett is a Partner at Husch Blackwell. Husch Blackwell is a law firm structured to align with client industries. The firm has more than 20 offices across the United States, including its virtual office, The Link. It serves numerous sectors including energy and natural resources, education, manufacturing, and technology.
Barrett has more than 30 years of experience helping public and private companies structure complex financing, acquisition, business formation, and other transactions and comply with related governmental requirements. His public company practice involves counseling both large and small issuers regarding the ongoing evolution of disclosure, executive compensation, and corporate governance requirements under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and stock market rules. Barrett graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law with a J.D. and from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a master’s degree in finance and an undergraduate degree in statistics and management science.
16. Richard Johnson
General Counsel, Silicon Ranch
Richard Johnson is the General Counsel of Silicon Ranch Corporation. He first joined the company in 2015 as senior legal counsel. Founded in 2011, Silicon Ranch is a provider of customized renewable energy, carbon, and battery storage solutions for a diverse set of partners across North America. The company is one of the largest independent power producers in the country, with a portfolio that includes more than five gigawatts of solar and battery storage systems that are contracted, under construction, or operating across the U.S. and Canada.
Johnson is responsible for managing all legal functions for Silicon Ranch Corporation and its solar energy projects, including corporate governance matters, regulatory matters, financing and development transactions, construction and procurement, acquisitions, and project management affairs. Before joining Silicon Ranch, Johnson was an attorney in the corporate transactional group at Venable LLP in Washington, D.C., where he represented clients in connection with M&A and financing transactions as well as general corporate governance matters. Previously, Johnson was a corporate associate at Venable. He earned a J.D. in law from Boston College Law School.
17. Justin McNaughton
Partner, Cruz-Abrams Seigel
Justin McNaughton is a Partner at Cruz-Abrams Seigel. Cruz-Abrams Seigel represents companies, financial institutions, investors, entrepreneurs, and individuals on a variety of legal matters at every stage of business from growth strategy through financings and exits. McNaughton has 20 years of experience, beginning his career in 2004.
McNaughton's practice revolves around the intellectual property lifecycle of businesses, assisting clients in securing trademarks, negotiating software licenses, filing patent applications, and drafting technology agreements. Prior to CAS, McNaughton was a partner and founding member of the intellectual property practice at Greenspoon Marder LLP. He was previously a partner at Louisville-based Stites and Harbison PLLC and began his practice at Nashville-based Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis, LLP. Before beginning private practice, McNaughton clerked for The Honorable William Ray Price, Jr., at the Supreme Court of Missouri. McNaughton graduated from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law with a J.D. and from Brigham Young University with an undergraduate degree in microbiology.
Justin McNaughton's Insight
"Starting a business brings challenges—beyond what most founders expect. These talented individuals, skilled in invention, creativity, or business, often face legal structures and complexities that distract from their goals. I find great fulfillment in my work, bridging the gap between rigid legal requirements and the innovative spirit of entrepreneurs. My role is to help them navigate this tension without stifling their creative vision."
18. Tracy Hancock
General Counsel, Medacta USA
Tracy Hancock is the General Counsel of Medacta, a subsidiary of Medacta International, a company specializing in the design, production, and distribution of innovative orthopedic products, as well as in the development of accompanying surgical techniques. Established in 1999 in Switzerland, Medacta is active in joint replacement, spine surgery, and sports medicine.
Before joining Medacta, Hancock was an associate general counsel at Permobil and an associate at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. Hancock graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School with a J.D. and from Vanderbilt University with an undergraduate degree in computer science and political science.
19. Grant Mitchell
Partner, Butler Vines and Babb
Grant Mitchell is a Partner at Butler, Vines and Babb. Butler Vines and Babb is a private law practice in Knoxville, Tennessee, with a satellite office in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He litigates a variety of civil matters for the firm’s clients, including on behalf of businesses and individuals, covering areas such as medical malpractice, personal injury, construction law, commercial law, consumer protection claims, product liability, and appellate litigation.
As a licensed student-attorney, Mitchell briefed and argued cases on behalf of clients, including successfully winning an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Before graduating, he worked at several local firms where he assisted with legal research, pre-trial practice, and trials in federal and state cases. Previously, Mitchell was a runner at Egerton, McAfee, Armistead and Davis, P.C. Mitchell attended the University of Illinois for his first year of law school before transferring to the University of Tennessee, where he graduated in 2018.
20. Frank Xue
Attorney At Law, Womble Bond Dickinson
Frank Xue began his professional career 11 years ago. Today, he is an Attorney at Womble Bond Dickinson. Womble Bond Dickinson is a transatlantic law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers based in 32 U.K. and U.S. office locations. The firm provides core legal services including commercial, corporate, employment, pensions, dispute resolution, litigation, finance, banking, restructuring, insolvency, technology and data, private wealth, projects, construction and infrastructure, real estate, and regulatory law.
Xue is licensed to practice law in Washington, DC and Tennessee. Xue focuses his practice on cross-border transactions and corporate matters. He assists Chinese clients in connection with foreign direct investments, mergers and acquisitions, private equity/venture capital, corporate structuring and governance, commercial contracts, labor and employment, and immigration matters in the United States.
Xue has experience working with a variety of US-based companies in connection with their business activities in China. He also assists with anti-corruption investigations and compliance. Xue previously worked in a law firm in Shanghai, China. He graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School with a J.D. and from East China Normal University with an undergraduate degree in business/managerial economics and international law and legal Studies.
21. Frankie Merrill
Attorney, BAE
Frankie Merrill is an Attorney at BAE Systems. She first joined the company in 2018 as a legal specialist. BAE Systems provides advanced technology-led defense, aerospace, and security solutions and employs a workforce of 85,800 people in more than 40 countries. It also works closely with local partners to support economic development.
Merrill joined BAE as a legal specialist before assuming her current position. She earned an MBA from the University of Memphis and an undergraduate degree in kinesiology and exercise science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her J.D. from The University of Memphis—Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
22. Ben Harper
Senior Real Estate Counsel, Hutton
Ben Harper joined Hutton as Senior Real Estate Counsel in 2015 and was promoted to General Counsel in 2016. Harper has more than a decade of experience in commercial real estate development. HUTTON is a Chattanooga-based, fully integrated commercial real estate, development, and investment company primarily focused on developing, acquiring, managing and constructing single-tenant, shopping center, multi-family and self-storage properties across the United States.
Prior to joining Hutton, Harper was an attorney with Husch Blackwell LLP. Harper leads a busy legal team of 4 attorneys and 5 paralegals that closes hundreds of acquisitions, loans and sales transactions. The legal team also handles leases, REAs, development agreements and entitlement use issues for Hutton’s projects across the country. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law and Covenant College.
23. Patrick McDowell
Attorney, Brunini Grantham Grower and Hewes
Patrick McDowell is an Attorney at Brunini, Grantham, Grower and Hewes, having joined the firm in 1993. Brunini, Grantham, Grower and Hewes, PLLC, primarily serves business clients, including a number of Fortune 500 companies and other significant Mississippi companies, including the nation's largest privately held wireless company, Mississippi's largest health insurer, and one of the state's largest banks and largest healthcare systems. The practice is organized into three major areas of concentration: commercial, litigation, and regulatory law.
Based in Nashville, McDowell is licensed to practice in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. His practice focuses on complex litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts, including antitrust, contract, business tort, unfair competition, RICO, trademark, securities, product liability, drug and medical device, toxic exposure, and environmental litigation. McDowell concentrates much of his practice on the defense of multi-state and federal multidistrict litigation, class actions, mass torts, and attorney general civil litigation. McDowell earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi.
24. Matthew Willaert
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, ConcertAI
Matthew Willaert is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of ConcertAl. ConcertAI provides Real-World Evidence (RWE) and AI technology solutions for life sciences and healthcare, to accelerate insights and outcomes for patients through real-world data, AI technologies, and scientific expertise. Willaert has 31 years of experience, and began his career in 1993.
Before joining ConcertAI, Willaert was an attorney at Willaert Law and before that, senior counsel at Cardinal Health. Earlier in his career, he worked with Rabbitt, Pitzer and Snodgrass as a litigation associate. Willaert graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law with a J.D. and from the University of Iowa with an undergraduate degree in finance.
25. Tabitha Robinson
Attorney, Nashville Electric Service
Tabitha Robinson began her professional career 11 years ago. Today, she is an Attorney at Nashville Electric Service. Nashville Electric Service (NES), founded in 1939, is one of the 11 largest public electric utilities in the nation, distributing energy to more than 430,000 customers over a 700-square-mile area in Middle Tennessee.
Robinson is a Tennessee-licensed attorney specializing in utility law with a focus on workers' compensation, bankruptcy, probate, torts, contracts, policy drafting, in-house advising, and internal affairs. She graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a J.D. and from Clemson University with an undergraduate degree in political science.
