The Chattanooga Bar Foundation Fellows held its annual meeting to select the Fellows Class of 2024 from several nominations.
Here are their bios:
CATHY DORVIL
Cathy Dorvil is a shareholder and member of the litigation and health care sections at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel. She is a versatile litigator known for her fearless advocacy in health care and commercial law throughout the U.S. With a background in occupational therapy and health program management, Ms. Dorvil brings a unique perspective to her practice, adeptly communicating with a diverse range of clients, including medical providers, billing companies, and insurance entities. Specializing in fraud and abuse disputes, Medicaid and Medicare, contractual matters, and other health care-related issues, Ms. Dorvil is sought after for her strategic counsel and extensive courtroom experience across administrative, state, and federal jurisdictions. She is committed to delivering honest assessments and tailored solutions, ensuring her clients' best interests are always prioritized.
Ms. Dorvil holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law (2009), an M.S. in Maternal and Child Health from Harvard University of Public Health (2001), and a B.S., cum laude and honors, from the University of Puget Sound (1996). She is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Sixth Circuit, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, and Southern District of Florida.
Outside of her legal practice, Ms. Dorvil is deeply involved in her community and pro bono matters. She serves on the Board of Directors for Skyuka Hall, the Chambliss Center for Children, and the Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti. She also actively participates in various community organizations, such as the Chattanooga Community Kitchen and the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. Cathy is a co-coordinator of the Chattanooga Legal Diversity Consortium, with a mission of improving diversity in the Chattanooga Bar. She has represented victims of human trafficking in dependency proceedings and has assisted abused women in obtaining orders of protection. Additionally, Mr. Dorvil is a dedicated foster parent and a mother of three.
ELLIE HILL
Ellie is a partner with Patrick, Beard, Schulman & Jacoway, P.C. She has been practicing law for 20 years. She represents clients throughout Tennessee in various real estate and business matters. Ms. Hill also litigates contractor lien rights, business disputes and construction disputes. She also represents clients in homeowners’ association matters and foreclosures.
Prior to moving to Chattanooga, Ms. Hill practiced law in Lexington, Ky. for two years after graduating from the University of Kentucky College of Law. As a Wildcat fan, she served as the president of the Chattanooga University of Kentucky Alumni Club. Ms. Hill served on the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division from 2011-2014 as the public service committee chair while also being active with the local Chattanooga Bar Association Young Lawyers Division from 2009-2014. Ms. Hill was the president of the Chattanooga Bar Association Young Lawyer Division in 2013. She served on the Chattanooga Bar Association Board of Directors in 2021 where she chaired the inaugural Lawyers Have Heart 5K and Fun Walk. Ms. Hill has been a member of the Brock-Cooper American Inns of Court from 2009-2023 and has served on the Board of Directors of the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition since 2018.
Ms. Hill is married to Jason Hill, and they have two girls, Cori (11) and Luci (9). Ms. Hill is an active member of St. Jude Catholic Church where her children attend school.
LAURA KETCHAM
Laura Ketcham, chair of Miller & Martin’s Commercial Department, focuses her practice in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors' rights, commercial finance and leasing, and providing general business counsel. She has represented various stakeholders in commercial bankruptcy cases across the country. She has also represented parties in a variety of finance transactions, office and medical office leases, loan workouts, foreclosures, receiverships, lien priority disputes, judgment enforcement actions, lawsuits asserting the breach of loan documents, distressed asset sales and preferential transfer cases.
Ms. Ketcham is a native of Athens, Tn. and received her undergraduate and law school degrees from Vanderbilt University.
Ms. Ketcham is a member of the Chattanooga Bar Association and its bankruptcy section. She has served on the boards of CHI Memorial Foundation (Executive Committee; Past River City Ribbon Run chair; Past Pink! Auction chair), Junior League of Chattanooga (past president), Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, St. Peter’s Episcopal School (past chair), and the Tennessee Bar Association Bankruptcy Law Section (past chair). She is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga and a member of Rotary Club. At Miller & Martin, Ms. Ketcham has served as chair of the Hiring Committee, a member of the Associates Committee and the Diversity Committee, and as a leader in the Women’s Network.
Ms. Ketcham is married to Michael Ketcham, and they have one son. Outside of the office, you can find Ms. Ketcham playing competitive tennis across the southeast, cheering on her son in his many activities (and helping coach him and his teammates in tennis), and volunteering at Baylor School.
HONORABLE ROB PHILYAW
Rob Philyaw is judge of the Hamilton County Juvenile Court where he has served since 2013. Judge Philyaw obtained his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Christian Brothers University where in 2022 he was named one of 150 Notable Alumni in celebration of the University’s 150th Anniversary. His law degree is from the University of Memphis where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Tennessee Journal of Practice & Procedure and where he received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence and the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award.
In 2015, Judge Philyaw was awarded the Chief Justice William M. Barker Equal Access to Justice Award by Legal Aid of East Tennessee. In 2019, he received the prestigious McCain-Abernathy Memorial Award from the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Law Judges. He most recently received a 2022 Humanitarian Award from the Alton Park Development Corporation, an inner-city youth-services organization.
Governor Lee appointed him to serve on the Tennessee Commission for Children and Youth in 2019 and appointed him to serve as chair of the Commission in 2021. Judge Philyaw serves as vice-president/president-elect of the Tennessee Juvenile Judges Conference, is currently the Immediate-past president of the Chattanooga Bar Association and is a member of the Chattanooga Rotary Club.
Judge Philyaw is a former Adjunct Professor of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at The University of Memphis. He is often a guest lecturer at high schools and local colleges and universities and loves to read to younger students and answer questions about the judiciary. He formerly served as a municipal judge, on the Tennessee Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee, and on the boards of the Chattanooga Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the Mountain Education Foundation.
He has been married to pediatrician Kathy Philyaw for 35 years. They have two children, Ben who is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, a Marine, and Chattanooga Police officer and Katie who is a recent graduate of the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.
CARRIE STEFANIAK
Caroline (“Carrie”) Brown Stefaniak is a career law clerk for the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. She graduated summa cum laude from Harding University in 1995 with majors in English and math. She began her career teaching English and math to middle and high school students. She then served for seven years in higher education as a research assistant and executive assistant to the chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which inspired her interest in a career in law. She earned her juris doctor with high honors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 2006. She was a William H. Bowen Scholar, a peer mentor for first-year law students, and a 2006 regional finalist in the Texas Young Lawyers Association Trial Team Competition.
Upon finishing law school, Ms. Stefaniak moved to Chattanooga to join Husch Blackwell LLP as an associate attorney, representing clients in civil and commercial litigation. Her practice included complex commercial disputes; employment discrimination disputes; ERISA, disability, and other insurance litigation; trust and estate disputes; and property foreclosure and deficiency actions. She practiced in state court in Tennessee and Georgia and in federal courts in Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas. She appeared before the Courts of Appeals of Tennessee and Georgia. She was a member of her firm’s recruiting committee from 2013 to 2015.
Ms. Stefaniak entered public service in April 2015 as a law clerk for the Honorable Susan K. Lee, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. She became Judge Collier’s career law clerk in August 2015. She assists Judge Collier with the full range of civil and criminal cases that appear before him, from inception to post-judgment motions, including jury trials and multi-district litigation. She also supports Judge Collier’s non-cases-related work, including law-clerk training, public speaking, civics outreach, and Judge Collier’s annual summer program for judicial interns.
Carrie is active in civics education and outreach. She is a member of the Eastern District of Tennessee’s Civics and Outreach Committee, serving both on the Chattanooga Division Subcommittee and the Website Subcommittee. She has assisted in the organization and presentation of multiple civics outreach activities, including Teachers Law Schools, public readings of the U.S. Constitution, Civics Bowls, essay contests, school visits to court, and an outreach program for media professionals. She has co-authored monthly letters-to-the-editor on civics and court-related topics with Judge Collier since 2020.
Ms. Stefaniak is a member of the Chattanooga Bar Association, the Brock Cooper Chapter of the American Inns of Court, the Federal Bar Association, the Southeast Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women, and the S.L. Hutchins Bar Association. She served as the Federal Bar Association Chattanooga Chapter president in 2020, as its CLE chair in 2016 and 2017, and as civics outreach chair since 2022. Her community and legal volunteer activities have included serving on the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and volunteering with Legal Aid of East Tennessee, the Chattanooga Leadership and Law Academy, Step-Up Chattanooga, Family Promise of Chattanooga, and Essential Documents for Essential Workers.
KARA WEST
Kara West serves as the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Southern Division of the Eastern District of Tennessee and the Standing Chapter 12 Trustee for the entire Eastern District of Tennessee. Prior to her appointment, she practiced both corporate and commercial law at Husch Blackwell LLP. She is also an actively licensed certified public accountant. She worked as a senior financial auditor with Arthur Andersen, LLP and later went on to work as an internal auditor and manager of financial receipts for large insurance companies. Ms. West is a member of the Chattanooga Bar, Tennessee Bar, Tennessee Society of CPAs, American Bankruptcy Institute, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, Secretary of the Association of Chapter 12 Trustees, Former Treasurer and active Executive Committee Member of The Justices Brock-Cooper American Inns of Court and Past Board Chair and active Board Member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga, Inc.