Faculty and Scholarship
College of Law faculty are excellent teachers, scholars, and practitioners. Their influential and well-respected scholarship is placed in some of the most esteemed law publications in the nation.
Faculty and Scholarship
College of Law faculty are excellent teachers, scholars, and practitioners. Their influential and well-respected scholarship is placed in some of the most esteemed law publications in the nation.
Adjunct Professors
Kyle Baisley
Email: KBaisley@lrwlaw.com
Phone: 865-974-6789
Education
BA (Political Science), Furman University
JD, University of Tennessee
About
Kyle A. Baisley is an attorney with Long, Ragsdale & Waters, P.C. in Knoxville. He concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial transactions for real estate, technology, banking/finance and firearms industry clients. He provides counsel for entrepreneurial and start-up businesses, prepares securities documents and filings and assists clients with estate planning. He also leverages his past in-house experience to serve as an outsourced general counsel to small- and medium-sized businesses.
He teaches contract drafting and negotiation, and serves as an attorney-mentor for the UT Law Mentoring Program.
Email: rbarckho@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
About
Rodd Barckhoff is a staff attorney for the Tennessee Supreme Court.
He has previously served as a senior judicial clerk for Justice Riley Anderson of the Tennessee Supreme Court and as a staff attorney and judicial clerk for the Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Division.
David A. Codevilla
Email: dacodevilla@tva.gov
Phone: 865-632-7338
Education
BA (History) University of California, Berkeley
JD George Mason University School of Law
About
David Codevilla is a senior attorney at the Tennessee Valley Authority where he oversees nuclear contracts, nuclear regulatory, and corporate contracts. He has taught classes at the University of Tennessee College of Law intermittently since 2011.
Codevilla has worked in the firms of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, and Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C. He served a U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Senior Counsel, and was employed by Caterpillar, Inc. as corporate counsel.
He is currently an assistant head coach of UT’s rugby team.
Email: tconner6@utk.edu
Phone: 865-342-4902
Virginia Couch
Email: vcouch@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
About
Virginia L. Couch, a native of Corbin, Kentucky, is an associate at Holifield & Associates, PLLC.
She represents business owners in commercial, corporate, and business transactions, including new entity organization, asset and stock purchases, and real estate leases and purchases. She advises business owners on governance, litigation payroll, and employment matters.
She is a contributing author of the Age Discrimination in Employee Benefits chapter in BNA’s “Erisa Litigation.”
Couch owns the Barkside Lodge dog resort in Lenoir City, Tennessee, and as a business owner has firsthand knowledge of the legal issues business owners face.
Wade Davies
Email: wdavies@utk.edu
Phone: 865-637-0661
Education
BA (History), Pomona College, Claremont, California
JD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
About
Davies represents his clients at both trial and appellate levels in his criminal defense practice, offering legal assistance for everything from state court cases to complicated federal trials.
In his civil practice, he focuses on litigation against both federal and state government and agencies. He has provided representation for attorneys and healthcare professionals in civil, criminal, and administrative matters. He has also served as an expert witness on the standards for defense counsel in criminal cases.
Davies is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.
Education
BA, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tenn.
JD, University of Tennessee College of Law, Knoxville, Tenn.
About
Kelly Guyton Frere practices with her husband in the Lenoir City firm of Guyton & Frere, which was established in 1986. She was certified as an elder law specialist in 1998, and in 2006 was peer-inducted into the Council of Advanced Practitioners of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
Frere was a member of the Tennessee Bar Association special committee that produced the Legal Handbook for Tennessee Seniors, and was a member of the drafting committee that overhauled the Tennessee Conservatorship statutes that became effective July 1, 2013.
Email: lgiorda1@utk.edu
Phone: 865-546-4646
Education
BS (Psychology), Denison University, Granville, Ohio
JD, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
About
Lawrence F. Giordano is a shareholder and director of the firm of Lewis Thomason in Knoxville. He is the co-chair of both the firm’s education law and healthcare law practice groups.
Giordano’s 37 years of experience includes criminal and civil matters, both litigation and transactional.
Giordano also has appellate experience, having appeared before the Tennessee Supreme Court, Tennessee Court of Appeals, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
He is a former administrative law judge fro the State of Tennessee Department of Education and is the president of the Tennessee Council of School Board Attorneys.
Email: phelton@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-4263
Al Holifield
Email: jhollif1@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
Education
BS (Business Administration), University of Southern Mississippi
MBA, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
JD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
About
Al Holifield is the founding member of Holifield Janich & Ferrera, PLLC (HJ&F). He focuses his practice in the areas of employee benefits law, employee benefits litigation, health care compliance, employment law, employment litigation and business law. He represents local and national companies from various industries including, but not limited to, hospitals, insurance companies, restaurants, doctors’ offices, government contractors, and construction companies.
He has been an adjunct professor at the College of Law since 2008 and teaches courses on employee benefits.
Mark Jendrek
Email: mjendrek@utk.edu
Phone: 865-691-7826
Education
JD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
About
Mark Jendrek is a solo practitioner with an emphasis on real estate and other transactional matters, including negotiating, drafting, and revising general commercial contracts and transactions for individuals and for small, medium, and large businesses; planning and drafting conservation easements; wireless telecommunications issues, including infrastructure matters, siting and site acquisition issues; zoning; drafting and revising ordinances, rules, and regulations; boundary line disputes, and general real estate work.
He s a 1986 graduate of the UT College of Law, and has been an adjunct professor for 30 years, teaching legal research and writing, contract drafting, and commercial leasing.
Barbara JohnsonEmail: jjolley3@utk.edu
Phone: 865-971-4492
About
Robert Jolley, Jr., formerly and assistant district attorney general for the Sixth Judicial District, now practices in his general practice law firm in Knoxville.
Email: dlashmit@utk.edu
Phone: 865-637-2442
CJ Lewis
Email: clewis47@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
Education
JD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
About
CJ Lewis graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in May of 2015. Over the last two years he conducted legal research for the Knox County Public Defender’s Office.
He is a member of the Order of the Barristers and the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In 2013, he was named best advocate in UT’s Opening Statement competition. In 2014, he was named best advocate in the UT’s Advocate’s Prize Competition.
Email: dlooper@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-4241
Education
AB, Columbia University, New York
JD, University of California Hastings
About
Donna C. Looper is an attorney in private practice who is licensed to practice in Tennessee and California. She consults in legal matters nationwide, and is an author of several books.
Prior to her tenure in Knoxville, she practiced law in San Diego and San Francisco, Calif. She has served as a senior attorney for the California Court of Appeals and clerked for both the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of Louisiana.
Gregory McMillan
Email: gmcmill1@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
Education
BA (Biology), University of Tennessee, Knoxville
JD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
About
Gregory McMillan is the 4th Circuit Court Judge in Knox County, Tennessee. Prior to being elected to his position in 2014, he practiced law with the law firm of Lewis, Thomason, King, Krieg & Waldrop.
He is experienced in civil practice primarily concentrating in the areas of domestic relations, personal injury, corporate representation, and municipal law at the circuit, chancery, and appellate levels in state and federal courts.
Email: cpadilla@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
Email: tpanter@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
Candice Reed
Email: creed@latitudelegal.com
Phone: 615-351-9259
Education
BA, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
JD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
MAPP, University of Pennsylvania
About
Candice Reed teaches an upper-level course on Thriving as a Lawyer within the College of Law’s Institute for Professional Leadership.
She also currently serves as senior vice president and partner at Latitude, a high-end legal placement firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.
Reed served as chief ethics officer and in-house legal counsel at Ceridian Corp. and Com Data, where she oversaw operational ethics compliance worldwide. She began her legal career at the law firm of Miller & Martin PLLC, where she practiced business litigation and commercial bankruptcy law, and later ran the Nashville office of Legility (f/k/a Counsel On Call).
She has extensive experience as a consultant, trainer, and coach for lawyers and their organizations and is a frequent speaker on topics such as attorney wellness, professional development and leadership, workplace engagement and career satisfaction and transition. She previously served on the College of Law Alumni Council, is a past president of the Lawyers’ Association for Women Marion Griffith Chapter, is an emeritus member of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Attorney Wellbeing Committee, a TBA YLD Fellow and currently serves on the Advisory Board of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Nashville, after having served for six years on the board of directors.
John Towers Rice
Email: jrice@esc-law.com
Phone: 865-766-0056
Education
BS, Clemson University
JD, University of Tennessee
About
John Towers Rice is an attorney at Elmore, Stone and Caffey, PLLC, where he focuses his practice in the area of complex litigation and appeals and handles a variety of medical malpractice, probate, and commercial matters. He is admitted to the Tennessee and South Carolina Bars, as well as the bars for the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Rice is a native of Greenville, S.C. and graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science from Clemson University in 2008. He came to Knoxville to attend the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he graduated cum laude in 2012 with a concentration in advocacy and dispute resolution. He was one of ten law graduates nominated to the Order of the Barristers and was awarded the ALI-ABA Scholarship and Leadership by the College of Law faculty.
He served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Sharon G. Lee of the Supreme Court of Tennessee and practiced in a regional law firm.
Amanda Swenty
Email: aswenty@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
Education
LL.M.(International Telecommunications and Information Technology Law), University of Oslo
JD, Tulane University School of Law
About
Amanda Swenty has served over two decades in various positions throughout the federal government, advising the law enforcement, military, and intelligence communities in addition to serving two administrations as a deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council. She has provided legal guidance on cybersecurity, cybercrime, covert action, intelligence collection, military operations, and information sharing. During the Obama Administration, she led the interagency legal review team during the President’s 60 Day Cyber Policy Review. During the Bush Administration, she helped lead the interagency efforts to amend Executive Order 12333 and Executive Order 12958.
Swenty holds an LL.M. in International Telecommunications and Information Technology Law, specializing in data privacy and electronic commerce from the Norwegian Research Institute for Computers and Law of the University of Oslo. She earned her Juris Doctor from Tulane University School of Law. She currently serves as an associate general counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency and as a senior fellow for the National Security Institute at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law.
D. Taylor Tipton
Email: ttipton@bakerdonelson.com
Phone: 865-549-7128
Education
BA, University of Tennessee
JD, Georgetown University
About
Taylor Tipton represents banks, bank holding companies, nonbank lenders, other financial services providers, and their investors in merger and acquisition, restructuring and recapitalization, and securities transactions.
He also advises depository and non-depository financial services providers on financial regulatory laws, including the Bank Holding Company Act, Change in Bank Control Act, Bank Secrecy Act, Dodd-Frank Act, and various state licensing and compliance laws throughout the nation.
He has represented clients in investigations and enforcement actions brought by the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, CFPB, OFAC, Department of Justice, state banking departments, and state attorneys general.
Paul Wehmeier
Email: pwehmeie@vols.utk.edu
Phone: 865-546-7000
Education
BA, Ball State University
JD, University of Tennessee
About
Paul Wehmeier was raised in Muncie, Indiana, where he attained his undergraduate degree at Ball State University, While living in Indiana, he raised angus cattle until he graduated. His interests include politics and government, and he exercised these interests through internships with the Indiana State House of Representatives and the White House Office of Public Liaison. Following graduation from Ball State, Paul worked in Indiana government with the Indiana Department of Labor and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
Wehmeier moved to Knoxville to study law at the University of Tennessee College of Law. He graduated magna cum laude and was vice president of the University of Tennessee Chapter of the Federalist Society. He was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 2011.
After graduation, Wehmeier joined Arnett, Draper & Hagood, LLP where he focuses his practice on labor and employment issues. Paul is admitted to practice in Tennessee and is a member of the Knoxville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations.
Carlos A. Yunsan
Email: cyunsan@vols.utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-6789
Education
BS (Nutrition), University of Tennessee, Knoxville
MS-MPH (Nutrition-Public Health), University. of Tennessee, Knoxville
JD (Advocacy & Dispute Resolution), University of Tennessee, Knoxville
About
Carlos A. Yunsan, a native of Panama City, Panama, serves as judicial law clerk for Justice Sharon G. Lee of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
His previous civil litigation practice with regional and local law firms focused on contractual disputes, construction law, landlord-tenant issues, personal injury, and appeals. Before pursuing a career in law, he worked for eight years in public health, assisting local and state health departments with community development, health promotion, and strategic planning.
Yunsan was a two-year member of the National Moot Court Team at the UT College of Law, winning the regional competition in 2012. He was a founding member and vice president of Enlace (the Latino law student association), student coordinator of the Oak Ridge Evening Bar free legal advice clinic, and president of the Health Law Society.