Board of Trust

Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr. joined the Nashville School of Law Board of Trust in 1993 and has served as chairman since 2016. He is a founding partner of Neal & Harwell, PLC and focuses his practice on commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense and crisis management. The Nashville Business Journal named Harwell its first-ever Best of the Bar Lifetime Achievement award recipient in 2017. In 2018, he was named to The Business Journals’ Influencers, one of only 100 attorneys nationwide to earn the recognition.

Harwell has been involved in many cases receiving national attention. He has been counsel for numerous public officials including judges, governors, congressmen, state senators, mayors and state attorneys general. Harwell has authored or co-authored several legal publications and is a frequent speaker at seminars and symposiums throughout the United States.

He is a member of numerous organizations and boards, and has served as leader of many of those. Harwell also has earned a variety of recognition for his work and his service.

Harwell earned his law degree at Vanderbilt University Law School, and his undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt as well.

Judge Frank G. Clement, Jr. is a 1979 graduate of Nashville School of Law and has been a member of the Board of Trust since 2006. He serves as presiding judge of the middle district of the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Judge Clement was awarded his bachelor’s degree from University of Memphis. After earning his law degree, he spent more than 15 years in private practice. In 1995, he was appointed judge of the Davidson County Circuit and Probate Court. He was elected in 1996 and 1998. He then was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2003.

Judge Clement has served as president of the Nashville Bar Association and is active in many organizations, including Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, Leadership Nashville, Tennessee and Nash

Thomas F. Cone, Sr., a 1964 graduate of the Nashville School of Law, has served on the Board of Trust since 1993, and served as the Board’s chairman from 1993-2015. He is chairman and president of Cone Oil Company Inc. and founder of Cone Solvents Inc., Tennessee Adhesives Co. and B&C Aviation.

Cone graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1960. He was elected to the Vanderbilt Board of Trust as alumni trustee in 1994 and served through spring 1996.

In 1989, Cone was appointed by Gov. Ned McWherter to the board of directors of the Tennessee-European Economic Alliance, an organization designed to increase Tennessee exports to Europe and strengthen investments in Tennessee. Cone is a Life Trustee of Battle Ground Academy in Franklin. He has been a member of Meharry Medical Board of Trustees, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Governors, and was a director of NationsBank (now Bank of America).

Judge Waverly Crenshaw joined the Nashville School Board of Trust in 2016. He is Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, a position he was appointed to in 2016.

Crenshaw earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt University. After law school, he clerked for the chancery and probate court in Nashville and then for U.S. District Court Judge John T. Nixon. He later served as an assistant Attorney General for Tennessee, handling consumer protection and antitrust issues. He then worked as an associate at Passino, Delaney & Hildebrand.

In 1990, he joined the law firm of Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis, LLP., as an associate, becoming partner in 1994 – the first African-American attorney and partner at the firm. His practice there focused on complex employment issues involving multiple plaintiffs and class action discrimination, harassment and retaliation cases.

Gary Garfield joined the Board of Trust in 2019.

Garfield, who retired from Bridgestone Americas in 2016, was part of the leadership team that moved the Bridgestone Americas headquarters to downtown Nashville in 2017, cementing the corporation’s ties to the rapidly growing city and downtown area. Garfield also served as chairman of Bridgestone Americas, a global company with over 55,000 employees operating on five continents, as well as Senior Vice President of Bridgestone Corporation.

Garfield speaks professionally on several subjects such as change management and leadership, and he has been a guest speaker at West Point, and in classes at the Yale Management School, Wharton, Vanderbilt University, and Belmont University. He also has been a strong proponent of implementing comprehensive transit and transportation solutions for Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

He is a graduate of Wittenberg University and earned his J.D. at University of Cincinnati College of Law. Garfield and his wife, Cindy, reside in Brentwood.

John T. Rochford, III is a 1974 graduate of Nashville School of Law. He joined the Board of Trust in 2016.

Rochford, of Nashville, is president and founder of Rochford Realty & Construction Company, which builds custom homes, multi-family housing, residential developments, and retirement communities as well as commercial projects.

Rochford has served on various boards such as the Regions Bank Advisory Board, Belle Meade Plantation Executive Committee, Montgomery Bell Academy Board and The Friends of Warner Park Advisory Board. He is a member of state and local bar and Realtor associations.

Rochford earned a B.S. in business administration from Youngstown University. He established the Rochford Financial Aid Fund in 2017 to assist first-year Nashville School of Law students.