Two Nashville School of Law alumnae received honors from the Tennessee Council of Juvenile Judges/Tennessee Juvenile Court Services Association Conference in Franklin recently.

Retired Bridgestone Americas CEO and President Gary Garfield has joined Nashville School of Law’s Board of Trust.

 “Gary brings an exceptional combination of international business experience and legal knowledge to the School,” said President and Dean William C. Koch, Jr. “As Nashville grows and the needs of our students and the legal community mature, we are grateful to have a professional such as Gary to help guide our future.”

Longtime City of Clarksville Municipal Court Judge Charles W. Smith was named the 2019 recipient of the Sharon G. Lee Award of Excellence at the most recent meeting of the Tennessee Municipal Court Judges Conference.

Former Justice Honored for Contributions to Access to Justice, Indigent Representation Reform, Integrity of Judicial System

Nashville School of Law President and Dean and former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William C. Koch, Jr. will be honored in June with the Tennessee Bar Association’s prestigious Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award.

Named in honor of former Tennessee Chief Justice Frank Drowota, the award is the TBA’s highest honor given for service to the judiciary and has been presented annually for more than a decade. Koch was chosen for his decades of service to the legal profession in Tennessee, including his local and national leadership of the American Inns of Court, as well as his work as chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Indigent Representation Task Force.

In that role, he led an extensive listening tour that included nine public meetings and resulted in a comprehensive report with recommendations that led to additional funding for lasting and important changes around the state.

Koch earned his bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School.  He received his LL.M. in Judicial Process from University of Virginia School of Law.