I grew up in rural southeast Tennessee as the oldest of 5 children in a blue collar family. As a very young girl, Ronald Reagan came to our tiny town, and I sat on my dad’s shoulders in the town square to catch a glimpse. My early ambition was to become the White House Press Secretary, even though I knew very little about what that may entail. I just knew I wanted to talk to people about important things.
After finishing law school, I began as a prosecutor in Norfolk, Virginia, hoping to further my desire to try cases in front of judge and jury. Soon into my career, my husband and I started a family which necessitated some adjustments, but I was fortunate to clerk for an amazing appellate judge for nearly 5 years while raising young children at home. Mothering my 5 children is one of the greatest joys and challenges of my life, and it unquestionably sharpens my communication, analytical, investigative and persuasive skills every single day. Once the kids hit school age, I found my way back to private practice and began trying cases with my husband, Robert Byrne. We handle matters involving catastrophic injuries, taking a strong interest in birth injury/death medical negligence cases. Doing this very hard but good work and advocating for these clients allows me to do what I always wanted – talk to people about really important things.
