The University of Tennessee College of Law has selected four alumni to receive financial awards through the Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, & Berkowitz, PC Loan Repayment Assistance Program.
This program, now in its third year, annually provides financial assistance to College of Law graduates who work in public interest law. This year each recipient will receive $4,000 to help them repay student debt. The recipients include:
Casey Elliott, a 2016 graduate who works as a Davidson County Public Defender in Nashville, Tennessee. At the public defender’s office, she defends indigent individuals accused of criminal charges. Her job also entails working with clients and the community on collateral consequences of these charges and working to create a more just legal system.
Robert Huddleston, a 2003 College of Law alumnus, who owns the Huddleston Law Firm in Maryville, Tennessee and has represented Tennessee’s poor for the last 15 years. He often represents dependent and neglected children through court appointment as a guardian ad litem in cases that involve abuse and in which where parental rights can be terminated.
Tami Peavy-Owen, a 2011 College of Law alumna, who works in the Office of the District Attorney for the Southwestern Judicial Circuit for the state of Georgia. She prosecutes felonies in a rural six-county circuit which includes some of the most impoverished counties in Georgia. She was recently sworn in as the chief assistant district attorney and performs human resources and collaborates with law enforcement and service agencies within the circuit.
Leslie Sneeringer a 2017 alumna of the College of Law. She works with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. as an associate attorney, specifically working for the Board of Veterans Appeals. She assists a Veterans Law Judge in reviewing veteran’s benefits claims and executing orders to ensure that veterans begin receiving their benefits as quickly as possible to ensure their quality of life.