LEGAL BACKGROUND
Vanessa earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, graduating with honors. While in law school, she was elected by the law school student body to serve as their President. She was a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association mock trial team and the National Moot Court Team and earned the highest grade in her class for Trial Practice. Vanessa also founded the nation's first Student Bar Foundation, which now serves as a model to other law schools nationwide.
Vanessa holds two Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees, one in Psychology and another in Sociology, from Bellarmine College where she graduated with honors. While at Bellarmine, Vanessa was a four-year member of the American Mock Trial Association program. She earned top attorney in the nation honors for two years from thousands of students, an honor that has not been achieved by any other competitor in over 30 years since the program's inception. Vanessa was also a member of the National Championship Team during her senior year. On the road to a national championship, her team bested many elite programs such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, and over 300 other schools.
ASSOCIATIONS & HONORS
Vanessa was recently certified as a life member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum of the Top Trial Lawyers of America. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. The organization was founded in 1993 and there are approximately 3000 members located throughout the country. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members.
Vanessa is consistently voted by her peers as one of Louisville's top plaintiff's personal injury attorneys. This distinction is recognized in a poll conducted by Louisville Magazine. Vanessa has also been named a Kentucky Super Lawyers® every year since 2013, and is the youngest plaintiff's injury attorney to earn the recognition. Of the thousands of practicing attorneys in the Commonwealth, Vanessa has been named to the elite SuperLawyers list of “Top 50” attorneys in Kentucky for the past two years.
KNOWLEDGEABLE COUNSEL
Vanessa currently serves as President-Elect of the Kentucky Justice Association (KJA)– a statewide organization of her peers - and the Louisville Bar Foundation. She is regularly called upon by the KJA to debate the issue of tort reform in the media and other public forums. She also testifies in Kentucky House and Senate committees for or against bills that affect the civil justice system and injured individuals’ rights.
In 2017, Vanessa founded “Empathy in Action,” (EIA) a non-profit organization which will focus on community-oriented programming to unify the greater Louisville area despite residential, financial, religious, cultural, political and physical differences. Vanessa is proud to announce the opening of EIA in January 2018 at 1310 Bardstown Road in the Highlands community of Louisville, Kentucky. Please follow Empathy in Action on social media for updates!
Vanessa grew up in a small town in Indiana, where she is also licensed to practice law. She currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband and their two sons. Vanessa's greatest pride, aside from her family, is the relationship she enjoys with her clients, both current and former--many of whom have become good friends.
