Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 26, 2010
Chamblis associate juggles job, family, volunteer work
David Laprad
As a member of the litigation group at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, Chattanooga attorney Theresa Light Critchfield concentrates on bankruptcy, general contract and commercial litigation, as well as family law. She’s also a devoted wife, mother and community volunteer.
- David Laprad
A widely known theory suggests the physiological differences between men and women’s brains are responsible for the unique ways in which the two sexes think. For example, the male brain is said to be capable of compartmentalizing information, while the female brain is not. Chattanooga attorney Theresa Light Critchfield is either the exception to the rule or the woman who could cause psychologists to toss the whole idea out the window.
If one were able to drop in on Critchfield at any time, one would always find her zeroed in on a single task. Whether she’s on the job at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, doing volunteer work at the Junior League, spending time with her daughters, who are 3-, 2- and 1-years-old, she’s all in. While this can be challenging, her ability to compartmentalize extends to her schedule.
“I’m grateful for the staff at the pre-school. They care about my children, which gives me the peace of mind to do my job. Then, from five-thirty to eight o’clock, Theresa is off the clock and mommy is on. We read stories and play dress up,” she says.
As a member of the litigation group at Chambliss, Critchfield concentrates on bankruptcy, general contract and commercial litigation, as well as family law. She represents regional and national creditors, including banks and student loan guaranty agencies, as well as construction companies and general contractors. She also handles multi-million dollar Chapter 11 reorganizations and defends clients in preferential transfer cases.
Critchfield devotes the biggest chunk of her time, however, to family law. She says the hours she devotes to divorces, alimony, child support and child custody give her greater appreciation for her husband, John Critchfield, also an attorney at Chambliss.
“When I see what some people go through, I’m thankful John is my husband, and I’m moved to work harder on our marriage. A lot of people get married thinking they’ve found the right partner, but for whatever reason, things go south,” she says.
Critchfield was drawn to the law at a young age. She says she admired the integrity of the attorneys she knew and saw the profession as a way of helping people.
“I was going to be a district attorney because I wanted to lock up bad guys and protect mommas and babies from whoever was trying to hurt them,” she says, laughing.
While attending classes at Mercer University School of Law in Macon, Ga., Critchfield set her sights on becoming a trial attorney, as she was attracted to the strategic nature of litigation and the ways in which it would enable her to assist people in need.
“Going to trial is like playing a game of chess. You’re up there, thinking in the moment and trying to out-strategize your opponent. I enjoy the challenge. I also like to resolve problems for people. In litigation, I can satisfy my desires to solve puzzles and help others,” she says.
At the advice of her parents, who’d moved to Chattanooga to open a wallpaper store, Critchfield secured a summer clerkship at Chambliss. She acquiesced to the idea because of the emphasis the firm places on community service and the way it encourages its attorneys to achieve a balance between work and personal endeavors.
“During the interview, I said I wasn’t afraid of hard work or late nights, and the lawyer said, ‘There will be times when that will be necessary, but we’re about balance. We care about your personal life and the things you do in the community as much as what you do when you’re here.’ And when I started working here, I realized they put their money where their mouths are,” she says.
Critchfield, a strong believer in volunteerism, puts her time where her mouth is. Although being a parent and an attorney keep her busy, she has the uncanny ability to squeeze additional projects into an already packed schedule. Critchfield is especially proud of her latest effort: an ambitious cookbook the Junior League will be publishing in the spring. She served as the assistant chair on the project, which is expected to bring in at least a half million dollars. The organization plans to pour that money into community programs such as Baby Basics, which provides prenatal health education and support for expectant mothers.
“The cookbook was time consuming. We tested about 900 recipes,” she says.
While Critchfield’s productivity can be intimidating, she says she’s a high-energy person who doesn’t like down time. In law school, she worked as an ambassador for her school, served as vice president of the student bar and competed in moot court; at Our Lady of Perpetual Hope, where she and her family attend church, she and her husband once led a support group for newlyweds; when she was active in the Young Lawyers Division of the Chattanooga Bar Association, she was in charge of memberships; and at Chambliss, she’s a part of the recruiting committee and is helping the firm to develop a mentoring program. Like the cookbook, both projects are time consuming, but her strong work ethic compels her to participate.
“I like to be in the middle of things. In law school, I wanted to help move the university forward; here, I want to help move the firm forward; when I do volunteer work, my goal is to help move that organization forward,” she says.
While Critchfield is impressively industrious, there’s more to her than work. For example, when her kids are in bed, she likes to relax with her husband.
“John will watch the History Channel and I’ll turn on my sewing machine.
We also love to watch all the stupid, terrible comedies on TV, like ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Family Guy.’ I’ll start laughing, and then I’ll wonder if I should be. It’s good down time,” she says, smiling.
Critchfield’s smile is bright and nearly perpetual. It’s the expression of a woman who’s seen people hurting, but still believes she can make a difference in their lives, who’s seen husbands and wives, and fathers and mothers, at their worst, but still believes family is important, and who faces challenges at work every day, but still believes the best way to handle them is with the integrity she saw in the lawyers that inspired her to become an attorney.
“If we’re at a hearing and I tell you I’m going to do something, then you can rest assured I’ll keep my word,” she says.
Indeed, Critchfield probably has a special compartment in her brain where she stores the promises she makes. That way, when she needs to tend to a matter, she can safely tuck away everything else, pull what she said out of storage and zero in on the task at hand.
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