Sewanee Employment Lawyers

Mr. Higgins is a Nashville native. He attended the University of Tennessee where he graduated with honors and returned to home to work with a large insurance defense law firm. About 17 years ago Mr. Higgins left the defense practice and created a firm that only represents injured victims and their families. To better serve his clients the firm is broken down into specific litigation groups, such as the nursing home neglect division and serious injury division.

Mr. Higgins is a member of the million dollar advocates forum, recognized by Best Lawyers and is a board...

Wayne grew up around Law Enforcement and Education. Wayne spent his formative years being active in the outdoors and sports. Wayne spent 12+ years in private sector investigations and holds advanced interview and interrogation techniques certifications.

Estes has been practicing law since 1974. He started in Memphis, TN where he worked for the best criminal and personal injury lawyers in that City. He moved to Chattanooga in 1976 where he again worked under the tutelage of one of Chattanooga's premier criminal attorneys. In 1999 he joined ERMC and eventually became the Chief Legal Officer and Sr. Vice-President of that company. In that capacity he oversaw civil personal injury litigation in over 40 states and supervised up to 100 outside top-notch personal injury lawyers around the country, attending numerous trials and mediations regarding...

Mr. Gilbert assists families in both the employment law and in special education law. He believes a wrongful termination affects an entire family. Additionally, Mr. Gilbert has long been active in upholding the rights of schoolchildren with disabilities—those who have individual education plans (IEPs) or 504 plans.

A graduate from the George Washington University Law School (GW), Kent T. Jones is the Owner and Managing Partner of Jones & Associates PC. Kent's undergraduate work at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville was in English and Honors Political Science. At GW, Kent placed first as an oralist in the Mid-Atlantic Regionals of the Phillip Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and was appointed to be a Member of the GW Moot Court Board. Additionally, he served as President of the GW International Law Society, sponsoring speaker panels on international trade law, international criminal law, international...

Todd Cole, founder of Cole Law Group, has a diverse educational, business, and legal background that affords him a unique insight into the issues confronting our clients. He is recognized in the Nashville/Brentwood area for his outstanding academic background, keen mind, skillful representation, and dogged determination to serve his clients well. He is licensed to practice law in Tennessee, Florida, Minnesota, and the United States Middle District for the State of Tennessee. Todd received his Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University, where he was recipient of the Dean's Recognition Scholarship, granted the Book Award for Torts, acted as...

Bruce E. Buchanan is a founding partner at Sebelist Buchanan Law PLLC with offices in Nashville and Atlanta, where he represents employers and individuals in immigration law, with a special emphasis on employer immigration compliance, and employers in employment/labor law matters. Additionally, he is Of Counsel to Siskind Susser concerning employer immigration compliance matters.
Mr. Buchanan received his law degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1982. He served as senior trial specialist for the NLRB for 20 years. Mr. Buchanan also served for 12 years as Adjunct Professor at William H. Bowen UALR School of Law. He...

BA University of Kentucky MS University of Memphis PhD. Indiana University JD South Texas College of Law We are a small boutique law office that builds and emphasizes client-relationships. We work smart for our clients!

Seamus received a bachelor's degree in Business and Political Science from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School here in Nashville. While at Vanderbilt, Seamus received several awards for leadership in the Nashville community, clinical work, and academic achievement. Seamus also served as Editor-in-Chief of Vanderbilt's environmental journal ELPAR and coauthored an article about environmental legal scholarship. In between Trinity and Vanderbilt, Seamus spent several years managing, launching, and closing down restaurants throughout the Greater Philadelphia area, all while writing and performing music. Prior to forming Music City Law in 2019 with David Goldman, Seamus spent...

Tom Shumate is the founder of Meridian Law, PLLC, which represents individuals and businesses across Tennessee in a variety of civil matters including business, contract, and employment litigation; disputes involving non-competition agreements and theft of trade secrets; insurance defense; personal injury and wrongful death actions; and probate cases. Mr. Shumate graduated with honors from Vanderbilt University in 1995 and from Notre Dame Law School in 1998. He has practiced in Nashville, Tennessee since that time. In 2011 and 2013, Mr. Shumate was selected as a “Rising Star” by the Mid-South edition of Super Lawyers Magazine. He...

Born and raised in Middle Tennessee, Jeff Roberts respects honesty, hard work and the dedication it takes to do a job well. Jeff grew up in Gallatin, Tennessee where he was part of a working-class family. His father spent his career either working in a factory or driving an 18 wheeler; his mother worked as a teacher’s aide in the Sumner County Schools. The hometown values and working class roots pushed Jeff to work just as hard for his future. As a result, he became the first college graduate on either side of his family after earning political science degrees from...

Curt Masker is a successful Nashville employment attorney who has represented numerous workers in employment matters throughout Tennessee. Curt is a relentless advocate for Tennessee workers and he prides himself on getting the best possible outcome in every case. He keeps his caseload as low as possible to maximize the time he can dedicate to each client. Put simply, Curt has a passion for fighting for workplace fairness. Curt is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and he proudly calls East Nashville home. He is a member of the Nashville Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Employment Lawyers Association,...

I am a Vanderbilt educated lawyer living in Nashville, Tennessee, and primarily practicing in the areas of Family and Employment Law (Plaintiff's side). I have been involved in litigation since 2007, with experience in complex litigation in federal courts. When I am not working, you can find me at a Preds game or watching the University of Louisville and Vanderbilt on tv.

Christopher Eads, a lifelong Tennesseean from Bluff City, has been a licensed attorney since 2015. After graduating from Sullivan East high school, Chris earned a football scholarship to Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business. He then returned to East Tennessee with the intention of pursuing a career job until friends suggested he apply to law school. Chris graduated in the top 10 of his law school class and started working as an insurance defense attorney in Brentwood, Tennessee, after graduation. He was recognized by Best Lawyers in America in 2020 as...

Michelle Blaylock-Howser has been involved in the judicial system for over 12 years. She began her legal career with the law firm of Agee, Allen, Godwin, Morris and Laurenzi where she was paralegal to partner Lynn Agee and Susan Bradley. In 1998, she became employed as paralegal with the law office of Wilson and Bradley in the area of employment and personal injury law. In 1999, She accepted employment as a Judicial Assistant for the State of Tennessee under the Honorable Judge Don R. Ash and Honorable Judge J. Mark Rogers for 8 years. She worked full-time...

Robb Bigelow is a trial lawyer with over 15 years of experience in the legal community. Bigelow began his career working for the Honorable Juliet Griffin in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. After gaining three years of invaluable insight into the judicial process, Bigelow began working as an employment lawyer at Stewart, Estes & Donnell. When that firm merged with Dickinson Wright PLLC, Bigelow continued his employment practice, ultimately becoming a partner in the firm. In 2015, Bigelow left Dickinson Wright to form his own firm. Since 2015, Bigeow has focused on workers rights...

Charles K. Grant's experience includes defending clients in complex employment litigation, including class actions and collective actions (wage and hour litigation); litigation concerning claims under Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); wrongful discharge; sexual, racial, age, national-origin, disability, and religious discrimination and harassment under state and federal laws; Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA); retaliatory discharge; defamation; intentional infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference with contract; employment and non-compete agreements; protection of trade secrets; drug-testing; conspiracy; reductions in force; and the Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act (WARN). His clients also include licensed professionals such as lawyers, physicians and dentists, whom...

With more than fifteen years' experience as a labor and employment attorney, I have a pragmatic business acumen developed through strategic partnership with clients, both as an outside counsel and in-house counsel at a Fortune 500 manufacturing and automotive services company. In addition to providing general employment advice and counsel to clients, I also have spearheaded employment compliance projects to ensure company policies and platforms match employment laws across all fifty states. I also have significant experience representing employers in claims brought through alternative dispute resolution programs. As such, I recognize the importance to both sides of getting...

*Licensed in New York and Tennessee **Serving clients in New York and Tennessee Alyssa gained valuable insights while working at a renowned intellectual property management company protecting deceased celebrities’ brands. While pursuing her M.B.A., Alyssa demonstrated her business acumen by creating a commercialization strategy from scratch for innovative healthcare software developed by university researchers. Utilizing her collective experience, Alyssa provides value to clients by analyzing issues from multiple perspectives. Alyssa strives to resolve problems for her clients, from the simplest to the most complex. Her experience allows her to view problems from multiple perspectives and create personalized solutions. Alyssa utilizes her collective knowledge...

If you’re looking for distinction among attorneys in Franklin, TN, and surrounding areas, you’ll find it in John D. Schwalb, PLLC. Recognized as a Mid-South Super Lawyer by the Law and Politics Magazine, John D. Schwalb ranks among the top five percent of lawyers. His firm received and maintains an AV®-rating for providing exceptional legal services. After 30 years of experience in all aspects of the law, John D. Schwalb, PLLC, is qualified to supply superior legal knowledge and litigation skills to all in the Franklin, TN, area. We are prepared to assist you with family law cases, bullying...

George Phillips concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate and business law, communications law, labor and employment law and commercial and business litigation. He has extensive experience in negotiating and facilitating significant business acquisitions and complicated commercial transactions and agreements, including international contract negotiations. He serves as the general counsel for several companies that do not have an in-house counsel. He is the utility infielder for legal issues for a national pet supply company, regional mortgage company, solar equipment manufacturer and a remediation company, managing their contracts, compliance issues, regulatory issues, liability claims and litigation matters. Practicing in...

Nanette is an attorney with ten years of experience practicing civil rights law in the Nashville area. Having represented students, employees, and employers, Nanette is well acquainted with both sides of virtually all Title IX and employer/employee disputes.

Students accused of Title IX violations on today’s colleges and universities are afforded few, if any, rights. Students who do the accusing are almost always presumed to be telling the truth, but there are some false accusations. If your son, or daughter, is accused of sexual harassment or worse, he needs to know that the very first thing he should do is call...

Mr. Boiano graduated from the University of Rhode Island with his B.A in English and continued on his education at Mississippi College School of Law. He is a member of the Nashville Bar Associations, Sumner County Bar Association, Tennessee Affiliation of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyer Association.

Michael L. Russell is an employee rights lawyer and a mediator. He represents victims of employment discrimination, workplace harassment, and wage and hour violations.

Eric Stevens is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 listed civil mediator with 40 years of employment and general civil litigation experience including: • Single-plaintiff and class-action litigation • Collective litigation involving federal and state wage and hour laws • Contract disputes • Discrimination and harassment disputes under state and federal laws • Whistleblower and retaliation claims • Disability and religious accommodation disputes • General civil litigation Eric offers a common-sense approach, to mediation, allowing participants to work collaboratively to resolve their disputes, whether in person or virtually (Teams or Zoom). Eric has offices in Nashville to accommodate in-person mediation or will travel within 250 miles of Nashville to accommodate participants' preferences...