During an Oct. 28 evening celebration at The Granfalloon, members of the Southeast Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women bestowed one of the Chattanooga legal community’s most meaningful honors on someone who’s spent much of her career working behind the scenes.
Carrie Brown Stefaniak, a longtime federal judicial law clerk, was named the 2025 Lioness of the Bar. The award recognizes attorneys who demonstrate exceptional skill, mentorship and service – qualities that, as speaker after speaker made clear, define Stefaniak’s 20-year career in law.
“SETLAW created this award to honor a local attorney who exemplifies legal excellence, community engagement and dedication to advancing women in law,” SETLAW President Paige Walter said in her opening remarks. “This year, we’re thrilled to recognize Carrie, the first career law clerk to receive this honor, and someone whose contributions often take place outside the spotlight.”
Caring and brilliant
The evening’s first speaker, Unum attorney Ariel Anthony, said two words come to mind when she thinks about Stefaniak – “caring” and “brilliant.”
Anthony met Stefaniak more than a decade ago as a summer associate at Husch Blackwell, where Stefaniak oversaw the firm’s summer program.
“She planned the most family friendly associate summer ever,” Anthony recalled. “I was able to bring my daughter to the events, which made me realize how caring Carrie was. She made it work for everyone.”
Stefaniak’s mentorship went deeper than logistics. Over a farewell lunch that summer, she spoke candidly with Anthony about what it would mean to join Husch Blackwell as its only minority attorney.
“She said the quiet part out loud,” Anthony said. “That conversation gave me the confidence to accept the job and, later, create programs that brought more diversity to our profession.”
Anthony also praised Stefaniak’s legal writing, recalling that her briefs were considered the benchmark for excellence at Husch Blackwell and set a high standard for every associate who followed.
Even after Stefaniak left the firm to clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Lee and later U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier, she remained a steadfast mentor and friend – always available to answer questions, lend support to projects and encourage Anthony in her own leadership roles, including her tenure as president of the Federal Bar Association.
“Carrie, you helped to shape my life,” Anthony said in closing. “And through me, the lives of others.”
A courageous voice
Public defender Eliza Williams recalled that her mother, a law professor who had taught Stefaniak in law school, urged her to look for her former student when Williams arrived in Chattanooga. When she met Stefaniak at her first networking event, she immediately understood why.
“I was grateful to find in her a warm, kind and familiar presence at the start of my own legal journey,” Williams said.
Williams had checked with her mother’s colleagues for stories from Stefaniak’s student days.
“They remembered that Carrie took Conflict of Laws and Federal Jurisdiction at the same time – an incredibly difficult course load,” she said. “And they all said the same thing: she was brilliant.”
Williams noted that Stefaniak’s brilliance extends into the community, pointing to her leadership in the 2024 Supreme Court and My Hometown program, a two-week civics camp she helped organize with Collier, the Supreme Court Historical Society and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The initiative, which brought together 20 high school students and five college mentors, exemplified Stefaniak’s deep commitment to civics education and community engagement, Williams said.
Williams also highlighted Stefaniak’s thoughtful leadership at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where both serve on the vestry. In that role, Stefaniak has earned respect for her ability to ask the difficult questions others often avoid – questions that bring clarity to complex issues and reflect both her intellect and courage, Williams continued.
“What makes Carrie a lioness? She’s brilliant, dedicated to education and mentorship and turns ideas into action.”
A brother’s pride
Stefaniak’s brother, Fearon Brown, traveled from Seattle to lighten the evening with humor and offer further reflection.
“When Carrie and I were kids, she was terrible at hide and seek,” he joked. “She was always following in my footsteps. Then she went to law school – and I followed in her footsteps.”
It was, Brown said, his sister’s encouragement that led him to law school.
“Carrie called me during her 1L year to tell me about mediation, thinking I’d be good at it,” he said. “That call changed my life. Because of her, I learned what it means to promote justice and uphold the law.”
Brown then engaged the audience in a game of Two Truths and a Lie, playfully sharing stories about his sister’s alleged early accomplishments – from appearing in Burger King ad during Super Bowl XX (true), to participating in a model UN convention at the United Nations in New York City the year the Berlin Wall came down (false), to moonlighting for Kaplan preparing students for the LSAT (true).
“To teach for Kaplan, you had to score above the 90th percentile in a model test,” he marveled.
Shifting to a more serious note, Brown then described the lessons Stefaniak continues to impart.
“Every minute you spend with Carrie, you’re experiencing the very model of a court officer with the highest ethical standards. She shows us what it means to serve justice with integrity.”
A calling, not a job
The evening’s final tribute came from Collier, who’s worked with Stefaniak for a decade. His praise was both professional and warmly personal.
“I’ve always thought the essential qualities of an outstanding law clerk include intelligence, diligence, humility, fairness, discretion and a sense of calling,” Collier said. “You might think no one person can possess all of those, but Carrie has them in abundance.”
Collier described her as his “wise counsel,” someone whose judgment and discretion he’s come to rely upon. But her influence, he emphasized, reaches many others.
“She’s a mentor, a teacher and a unifier,” he said. “She trains every incoming clerk and summer intern, organizes courthouse events and even arranges movie lunches.”
Collier spoke most passionately about Stefaniak’s leadership in civics education.
“I had a vision for a new civics initiative,” he said. “When I shared it with Carrie, I couldn’t believe it – she understood exactly what I hoped to accomplish, embraced the vision completely and took the ball and ran with it. She brought to life everything I’d imagined for that program.
“Thanks to her, we have the most active and consequential civics education program of any district court in the United States. Out of 94 district courts, ours is the best – because of Carrie.”
Her impact, Collier added, extends beyond legal circles.
“She’s shown young people that judges are not remote figures but guardians of the Constitution. Through her work, she’s helped them see that democracy is not abstract – it’s lived daily in our courts, institutions and communities. Tonight’s award is not just recognition, it’s a challenge to all of us to rise to her level of care.”
The honoree steps forward
Stefaniak began her remarks with a touch of self-deprecating humor.
“I’m tempted to say nothing except ‘thank you,’” she admitted. “After hearing all of those wonderful things, I’m afraid I’ll mess it up. But I did bring props.”
From a small bag, Stefaniak produced five items that represented her journey: a pocket Constitution, a copy of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a well-worn Black’s Law Dictionary, a book her husband purchased for her at the U.S. Supreme Court and a handmade coaster from a child she once mentored. Each came with an expression of gratitude.
The Constitution, she said, sits on her desk as a daily reminder of the purpose of her work.
“I have the privilege of serving in an Article III court that administers civil and criminal justice,” she said. “I’m grateful to Judge Collier for giving me this opportunity, and to Judge Susan Lee for her mentorship. Together, they’ve shown me what it means to serve the law and the public with humility.”
The Rules of Civil Procedure, she explained, represent her early years at Husch Blackwell and the colleagues who taught her rigor and precision.
“When I’d ask a question, one senior associate would immediately reach for the rule book,” she laughed. “It used to annoy me – but it taught me to start with the text. Two decades later, I do the same thing. So to those I’ve annoyed with that habit, I apologize.”
Her Black’s Law Dictionary was a gift from the late Dr. Charles Hathaway, the university chancellor she worked for before law school.
“He never stopped pushing me to reach higher,” she said. “He’s the one who encouraged me to go to law school.”
Her next item was the book, “The Supreme Court and its Justices.” Purchased by her husband, Greg, at the Supreme Court gift shop, it symbolizes his unwavering support.
“He’s been with me through three years of law school, nine years of private practice and 10 years in public service,” she said. “I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Finally, she held up the coaster made by a young boy she mentored in Arkansas.
“It says, ‘I love you,’” she said. “When I wonder if I’m making a difference, I look at it and remember him – and all of you. I think of the many ways you touch my life, the many ways you make me better, the people we serve and the critical missions we’re all striving to fulfill in our different callings.”
A life in service
Stefaniak’s path to the federal courthouse was not direct. Before earning her law degree in 2006 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law, she spent years as a teacher and university administrator.
“Law was a second career,” she explained in an earlier interview. “I never thought I’d go that route until [Dr. Hathaway] encouraged me to think beyond my role.”
Her first semester of law school changed everything.
“We had a small advocacy competition – and I loved it,” she said. “From that moment, I was hooked. Reading, writing and arguing – it was a good fit.”
After nearly a decade in private practice, Stefaniak moved into public service, first clerking for Magistrate Judge Susan Lee and later joining Collier’s chambers as a career law clerk. The transition, she said, allowed her to focus on what she loved most: research, writing and the pursuit of justice.
“There are days I miss standing in the courtroom, making arguments,” she said. “But now I get to be in court more often than I ever was in private practice. I don’t have a speaking role, but I do have a voice. Supporting the administration of justice every day is an incredible privilege.”
The lioness behind the curtain
For those who know her best, Stefaniak’s influence lies in the steadiness of her leadership, her mentorship of clerks and interns and her devotion to the principles of fairness and learning.
“She’s not the kind of person who seeks attention,” Walter said in closing. “But she’s exactly the kind of person who deserves it.”
The room rose in a standing ovation as Stefaniak accepted the Lioness of the Bar award – an engraved glass sculpture that caught the golden light that illuminates The Granfalloon.
In her final words, Stefaniak turned the spotlight back to others.
“When I wonder if what I do makes a difference, I think of the people I’ve been privileged to work with – my colleagues, mentors, family and friends,” she said. “And I’m reminded that each of us has the power to make this profession, and this world, better.”
As the applause filled the room, it was clear that in honoring Stefaniak, SETLAW had also honored the enduring spirit of service that sustains the law itself – the lioness at the heart of the pride.