For Your Rights
In The Workplace
Biography
Raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Ms. Bennett has been practicing law for over 20 years and has a diverse legal background. She is a former legal director for the ACLU of Mississippi, where she handled various civil rights cases, and practiced with an employment law firm in Tupelo, Mississippi. Over the course of her career, she has litigated numerous employment cases, resulting in successful outcomes for her clients. Many of her cases have set legal precedent.
As an employment law attorney, Ms. Bennett handles cases involving discrimination, medical leave issues, overtime law abuses, sexual harassment and other employment issues. She is qualified to practice law before the state courts of Tennessee and Mississippi, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
Ms. Bennett graduated cum laude from The University of Mississippi in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in English. She went on to earn her law degree from The University of Mississippi School of Law, graduating with honors and receiving various scholarships and an award in international law. She is an active member of the Tennessee Bar Association and The Mississippi Bar.
Education
- University of Mississippi School of Law, Oxford, Mississippi
- J.D. - 1999
- Honors: Dean’s List, fall 1997
- Honors: Outstanding Student Award — International Law, fall 1998
- Honors: Harry L. Case Memorial Scholarship
- Honors: Albert N. Hopkins Scholarship
- University of Mississippi
- B.S. - 1996
- Honors: cum laude
- Major: English
Bar Admission
- Mississippi, 1999
- Tennessee, 2011
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1999
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi, 1999
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi, 1999
- U.S. District Court Western District of Tennessee, 2011
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee, 2016
Representative Cases
- McMillen v. Itawamba County Sch. Dist., 702 F. Supp. 2d 699 (N.D. Miss. 2010)
- Phillips ex rel. Phillips v. Monroe County, Miss., 311 F.3d 369 (5th Cir. 2002)
- Brown v. Mississippi Valley State University, 311 F.3d 328 (5th Cir. 2002)
- Henley v. Edlemon, 297 F.3d 427 (5th Cir. 2002)
- Gary Dean Lambert v. State of Mississippi, 941 So.2d 804 (Miss. 2006)
- Lancaster v. Stevens, 961 So.2d 768 (Miss. App. 2007)
- Paz v Brush Engineered Materials, Inc., 445 F.3d 809 (5th Cir. 2006)
- Young v. Hoseman, 2009 WL 614912 (S.D. Miss 2009)
- Knight v. Miss. Dept. of Public Safety, 2007 WL 2219327 (S.D. Miss. 2007)
- Weinrich v. Levi Strauss & Co., 366 F.Supp.2d 439 (S.D. Miss. 2005)
- Barnes v. Saulsberry et al., 2014 WL 7335795
Honors
- Mid-South Super Lawyers
- Women to Watch
- Tennessee Supreme Court Attorney for Justice
Past Positions
- John Michael Bailey Injury Lawyers, Partner
- ACLU of Mississippi, Legal Director
- Louis H. Watson & Associates
- Waide & Associates
Professional Associations
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Mississippi Bar Association
Current Employment Position
- Founding Partner