With the Heat Comes Help

It is once again summer in Memphis, which means that for the next few months we will all be oppressed by the insufferable heat and humidity that Memphis is so well known for. However, at Rice Law, summer also brings about clerks from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law located in downtown Memphis. This year we are fortunate to have three outstanding clerks join our team: Tracy Bradshaw, Sam Byrd and Erin O'Dea. For the duration of the summer months, these clerks will both assist and learn from the paralegals and lawyers at Rice Law, and they will (hopefully) return to school in the fall with a newfound appreciation for Family Law.

Tracy Bradshaw

Tracy just finished her second year of law school at Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Tracy received her Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Alabama in 2006, after studying abroad for a semester at the Universidad de Granada in Spain. Tracy served as a staff member of The University of Memphis Law Review in the 2009-2010 school year, and will be a Notes Editor of The University of Memphis Law Review for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year. Tracy has participated in many intraschool and interschool Moot Court competitions. Tracy’s team placed as the Champion team for the Cecil C. Humphreys Advanced Moot Court Competition in Fall 2009. Tracy then went on to be a team member in the American Bar Association National-Appellate Advocacy Competition in Spring 2010. Tracy’s team placed as Regional Champion when they competed in San Francisco, and then went on to argue at the National level in Chicago. Tracy serves as a Graduate Assistant to a Professor of International Law at Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, and she is an active member of the Student Bar Association. In her free time, Tracy enjoys traveling, running, and photography.

Sam Byrd

Sam Byrd is currently attending Cecil C. Humphrey School of Law where he is a candidate for graduation in 2012. Upon graduation, Mr. Byrd intends to practice family law in Chattanooga, Tennessee with his father, Mitchell A. Byrd, who is a Certified Family Law Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Byrd began working as a paralegal at his father’s firm in 2002. Mr. Byrd graduated Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2009 with bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in Legal Studies.

Erin O’Dea

Erin O’Dea just completed her second year at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Last year, Erin was elected to represent her class as a member of the Student Bar Association. Erin used her position on the SBA to co-chair the 2nd Annual Race Judicata, a 5K race, which raised over $6,000 for Memphis Area Legal Services. This year’s race doubled in size from the previous year, and also doubled the amount of money raised for MALS. Erin will serve as the Treasurer of the SBA next year, and hopes to double Race Judicata’s profits again.

Erin is originally from Memphis. She graduated from White Station High School in 2001, and went on to attend the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she learned to love the color orange, and appreciate the environment. She majored in Environmental Studies, with a minor in Sociology. She lived and worked in Nashville for almost two years before returning to Memphis to attend law school. Erin is looking forward to spending the next year with the Rice Team, learning about Family Law and developing the skills needed to become a successful trial lawyer from a couple of the most sought after and well respected attorneys around.