Originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, I graduated from Harvard College and the University of Tennessee College of Law. I am a member of the Order of the Coif, and I was inducted into Phi Delta Phi.

After graduating from law school in 1992, I clerked for Hon. Boyce F. Martin, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. I have been lead counsel in over 100 federal and State appeals.

Before law school, I was a paralegal at Hunton & Williams in Knoxville. I have been an associate attorney at Harwell, Howard in Nashville, and at Kirkland & Ellis in New York. I was a partner at Waller, Lansden in Nashville from 2005-2010. For most of my career, I have been principal attorney in a small law firm  (either on my own or with a couple of associates) in Nashville, primarily engaged in appellate practice and commercial litigation.

Since 2003, I have been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School, where I have taught Federal Courts, Professional Responsibility, and Substantive Appellate Law. I also led the Vanderbilt Appellate Clinic on a one-year interim basis, and I have coached the Vanderbilt National Moot Court Team, either as an assistant coach or the primary coach, since 2003.

In addition to my appellate practice, I am currently the General Counsel & Chief Administrative Officer of Virtuoso Surgical, Inc., a medical-device startup based in Nashville. I am also President of another startup, Albireo Scientific Corporation, that is in its formative stages.