Governor Phil Bredesen recently named attorney Philip Smith to the Bench of the Circuit Court for the 20th Judicial District in Tennessee, comprising Davidson County. Governor Bredesen will perform the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, March 30th at 2:30 p.m. in the Old Supreme Court Chambers at the Capitol. Judge Smith will succeed Judge Muriel Robinson, who is stepping down after 27 years on the bench.
"Phil Smith has developed extensive civil trial experience in his career, and I am confident he will carry out his duties on the Circuit Court in the same thoughtful and professional manner in which he has practiced law in Tennessee for more than 20 years," Bredesen said in a prepared statement.
The Circuit Court Judgeship oversees family law cases in Davidson County. Smith comes to the Bench from private practice. Before entering private practice, Smith served as an assistant district attorney for Davidson County from 1988 to 1990. He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Tennessee State University in 1984, and received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1988.
Professionally, Smith credits his two legal mentors, Jack Norman Jr. and Phillip Robinson, with helping him get where he is today, along with his wife of 25 years, Pam Smith.
"I am honored by the confidence that Governor Bredesen has shown in me in appointing me to this position," Smith said. "I have reached a point in my life where I would like to return something to the judicial system that has been so rewarding to me."