The American Bar Association honored Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Alex McVeagh as one of its 2021 On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers. Each year, the ABA recognizes 40 of the nation’s young lawyers who exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership and legal and community service.
“I am beyond humbled to accept an award that very few Tennessee lawyers have received,” said Judge McVeagh. “But I am even more grateful that the American Bar Association choose to recognize some of the innovative work being done by my colleagues on the bench and in bar, as well as the work being done by partner organizations like the Hamilton County Drug Recovery Court, Legal Aid of East TN, and the Chattanooga and Tennessee Bar Associations.”
Former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam appointed Mr.
McVeagh to the bench in 2017, at which time he was one of the youngest judges in Tennessee history. Still the state’s youngest judge, Mr. McVeagh is proud to have worked with his four General Sessions colleagues during the pandemic, never shutting down the Court as they continued to preside over strenuous virtual and in-person dockets. Judge McVeagh also helped found and continues to preside over Hamilton County’s misdemeanor drug recovery court. Outside of the courthouse, Mr. McVeagh serves as the president of the Chattanooga Bar Association Young Lawyer Division, as the East TN Governor of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, and as the TN young lawyer delegate to the ABA House of Delegates.
His out-of-the-box thinking and innovative leadership style is appreciated by many in Hamilton County, including Commissioner David Sharpe, who said, “I think that not only integrity and honesty and leadership, particularly as a judge, but innovative thinking with an eye on the future is something that really sets Judge McVeagh apart from many others.”
A native of Lafayette, La., Mr. McVeagh obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt University, and prior to taking the bench, he worked as a litigator at Chattanooga-based Chambliss Law Firm. “What a lot of people do not fully appreciate about Alex McVeagh is his incredible work ethic. When you combine that with his innate talent and charisma, you have a recipe for success," said attorney Jeff Granillo, a shareholder at Chambliss Law Firm.
Before moving to Chattanooga, Mr. McVeagh worked as head research analyst and law clerk for the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee and as analyst and legislative liaison for the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference. As Tennessee State Senator Bo Watson noted, “As an analyst to the TN Senate Judiciary Committee, Alex McVeagh was a key contributor to the development of public policy affecting the Judiciary. His intellect, legal insight, calm temperament and work ethic were apparent to the members of the Senate then, and, as a General Sessions Judge, they are apparent to the public today.”
In 2018 and again in 2021, the Tennessee Supreme Court appointed Judge McVeagh to serve on its Access to Justice Commission. During this time, he helped start an online dispute resolution pilot program with Erlanger Hospital and Legal Aid of East TN aimed to assist healthcare providers and patients in resolving outstanding medical debt before a lawsuit is filed. He also serves on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Technology Oversight Committee, where he helped draft standards for electronic filing in all courts throughout Tennessee, and regularly reviews applications from jurisdictions across Tennessee seeking to implement electronic filing in their courts.
Judge McVeagh’s positive impact to Hamilton County and the State of Tennessee has also been noticed by Governor Bill Lee, who appointed Mr. McVeagh to serve on his Criminal Justice Reform Task Force to study policies and possible solutions to reduce nonviolent jail populations and criminal recidivism, and to increase reentry programs for eligible offenders. Ultimately, some of the Task Force’s recommendations were adopted as law by the Tennessee legislature in 2021.
The Chattanooga Bar Association has honored Judge McVeagh in the past as both its Volunteer of the Year and Young Lawyer Volunteer of the Year for his pro bono work and past service on the board of Legal Aid of East Tennessee. He has organized Hamilton County’s local high school mock trial competition for many years, and continues to help coordinate numerous clinics, including expungement clinics and clinics that provide free estate planning documents to military veterans, police officers, firefighters and other first responders.