Penny White, a former Tennessee Supreme Court justice and currently a professor of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law, was recently named the college’s interim director of clinical programs.
White will oversee ten clinics, two practicums, and three externship programs, including the longest-running legal clinic in the United States.
In addition to her new role, White also serves UT Law as the director of the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution and the Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have leadership from Professor White, who is immensely talented and accomplished,” said Melanie D. Wilson, dean of the College of Law. “She is a proven scholar, a dedicated and gifted teacher, and a role model for any lawyer. Our clinical opportunities are among the best in the country and are sure to continue to flourish under Professor White’s leadership.”
Before beginning her teaching career, White served as a judge at every level of the court system in Tennessee, serving as the first female circuit judge in the First Judicial District and the second woman to serve on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court.
A member of the UT faculty since 2000, White teaches evidence, trial practice, pre-trial litigation, negotiations, and interviewing and counseling, and she lectures around the country at legal and judicial education programs on these areas, as well as about professionalism and capital punishment jurisprudence and ethics.