The University of Tennessee College of Law welcomed five new faculty members for the 2024-2025 academic year. Their areas of specialization include health care law, environmental and energy law, legal writing and academic success, criminal law and procedure, and legal research and pedagogy.
“We are thrilled to add these five new colleagues to the ranks of our highly regarded faculty. It was a banner recruiting year for us, and we are so fortunate to have attracted these outstanding teachers and scholars to further strengthen our faculty and expand the breadth of our academic offerings and scholarly expertise,” said Lonnie T. Brown, Jr., dean and Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law.
Valarie Blake
Professor of Law
JD, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
MA, Case Western Reserve University
BS, University of Pittsburgh
Valarie Blake specializes in health law, including topics in disability, civil rights, health justice, health disparities, health care finance, poverty, reproductive care, bioethics, health care regulation, and health reform. Prior to joining the College of Law, Blake was a professor at the West Virginia University College of Law where she most recently served as the associate dean for faculty research and development. She has published more than 30 law review articles, book chapters, and peer-reviewed publications, and is the co-author of a forthcoming modern health care law casebook. Blake previously served as the Senior Research Associate at the American Medical Association (AMA) in the Ethics Division, contributing to the AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics. She previously trained as a Fellow in the Cleveland Fellowship in Advanced Bioethics, conducting bioethics consultations and research at the Cleveland Clinic. At the College of Law, Blake teaches a health care civil rights seminar, administrative law, and courses in health law.
Donna Coker
Visiting Professor of Law
JD, Stanford Law School
MSW, University of Arkansas
BSW, Harding University
Donna Coker joins the college as a visiting professor of law from University of Miami School of Law. Coker’s scholarship focuses on criminal law, gender, and race inequality. She teaches criminal law and criminal procedure (adjudicatory). At the University of Miami School of Law, she has received multiple research and teaching awards for her scholarship and dedication to students. Her interdisciplinary scholarship has appeared in law reviews and peer reviewed interdisciplinary journals and is included in eight textbooks and seven scholarly anthologies. Professor Coker regularly engages students in advocacy work and law reform. In 2023, she co-created an innovative law course in which students worked collaboratively with the members of Beyond the Bars, a community-based advocacy organization.
Brad Finney
Assistant Professor of Law
JD, University of Tennessee College of Law
BS, University of Tennessee
Brad Finney (UT Law, ’18) returns to the College of Law from private practice at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C., where his practice concentrated on environmental and energy law. Prior to this, Finney was an associate at Norton Rose Fulbright and clerked for Judge Pamela L. Reeves of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and Judge J. Daniel Breen of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. His scholarship and teaching focus on environmental law, agricultural law, energy law, and property, and his research has been published in various leading law reviews.
Harold Heck
Associate Director of Academic Success and Lecturer
JD, Mercer University School of Law
MBA, Boise State University
BA, Washington State University
Harold Heck joins the College of Law as a lecturer and associate director of academic success. Heck teaches legal writing and blends his expertise in law with business acumen to foster educational excellence. His contributions to the field of academic support include scholarship on the impact of therapy dogs in stress reduction. Prior to joining the UT College of Law, Heck was the academic success/bar preparation specialist and an adjunct professor at Mercer University School of Law. Heck is also one-half of a therapy dog team alongside his bullmastiff, Rose. Together they provide comfort and joy to students, faculty, and staff alike, embodying the belief that empathy and support are crucial components of success.
Paul McLaughlin
Research Librarian and Assistant Professor of Law
JD, Valparaiso University School of Law
MLIS, University of Alabama
BA, University of Alabama, Huntsville
Paul McLaughlin brings his expertise as a reference librarian to the Katz Law Library. As research librarian and assistant professor of law, he assists patrons with their legal research, teaches legal research, and supports the College of Law’s faculty scholarship. McLaughlin’s previous position was with Florida A&M University’s College of Law in Orlando, Florida, where he was the assistant director of public services for the school’s library. His scholarship interests include legal research pedagogy, patients’ rights, and medical law.