Koch Listed Among Nation’s 500 Leading State, Federal Judges

Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge William C. Koch, Jr., is among “The 500 Leading Judges in America,” based on a months-long survey of lawyers and judges conducted by Lawdragon.com.

“Our staff of reporters and editors spent several months interviewing thousands of lawyers and judges nationwide to create this survey,” Lawdragon Publisher Katrina Dewey wrote. “We believe this guide provides a remarkable public service by highlighting those selfless professionals who inspire and guide us by their dedication to upholding our nation’s finest ideals of justice.”

The 500 judges selected for the listing included state and federal judges at every level chosen from more than 30,000 members of the judiciary nationwide. Lawdragon reported that frequent comments in the survey concerning the leading judges included “extremely bright” and, among appellate court judges, “the ability to write well-reasoned decisions that can guide attorneys in other cases.”

Lawdragon.com provides legal news and evaluations of lawyers and judges. The online publication describes Koch as a “widely respected jurist.”

Koch, 58, of Nashville is a fomer deputy attorney general; commission of the state Department of Personnel and was legal counsel to Gov. Lamar Alexander.

He was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1984 and was elected to the court later the same year. He was re-elected in 1990 and 1998.