SOURCE: Nashville Lawyers’ Association for Women

Justice Cornelia Clark has been selected for the 2017 Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey Award. Judge Clark was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2005 and was elected to a full eight-year term in August 2006. She has served longer than any other member of the current Court. In 2010, she was sworn in as Chief Justice, becoming the second woman in Tennessee history to serve in that role. She has served as the Chair of the Judicial Council and the State’s First Chair of Tennessee Judicial Evaluation Commission. Before her selection to the Supreme Court, Justice Clark served as Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts and appointed Circuit Court Judge for the 21st Judicial District in 1989 where she served as the first woman trial judge to serve in rural counties from 1989 to 1999. Also preceding her appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Clark served as a LAW Director for two years. She also was one of the first women partners in a large law firm in Nashville, Farris, Warfield & Kanaday.

Justice Clark worked tirelessly to help Middle Tennesseans of all ages and backgrounds learn about the judicial system. She has made innumerable presentations at churches, schools, women’s organizations, Rotary clubs, libraries, and other community events, such as Leadership Franklin and citizens police academies. She has served the Congressional Conference on Civics Education as a National Judge for the “We the People” High School completion, helped create the Tennessee Supreme Court’s SCALES program, has taught more than 450 schools and 25,000 students in the state about the importance of the legal system, and served as a leader in the Access to Justice faith-based initiative. Justice Clark is both a role model and an advocate for women across the state. Justice Clark has spent her career working to ensure that Tennessee’s legal system is fair for all citizens and paved the way for women to take on roles of responsibility. Her dedication to the legal community and promoting women in the legal profession demonstrates why Justice Clark is so deserving of this award.