Growing up, Will Hitchcock often found himself at odds with his brothers, who were close to his age. Like all siblings, they had to figure a way to live together peacefully instead of existing in constant conflict.
A Cookeville native, Hitchcock found himself in a similar situation when he boarded at Baylor School in Chattanooga during high school.
“I lived in a dorm with 60 other guys, and we had to figure out how to get along,” recalls Hitchcock, 27.
Hitchcock encountered the same living dynamic at Chapman University in Orange, California.
While at Chapman, Hitchcock interned with Orange County Human Relations, where the peacemaking skills he’d acquired helped him to perform small claims mediations.
He also realized the law would allow him to do similar work professionally. Although he never pictured himself going toe-to-toe against other attorneys in court, he says the transactional side of the law did appeal to him.
As a new associate with Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon in Chattanooga, where he’s focusing on commercial leases, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, business organization, and estate planning and administration, Hitchcock says the side of the law in which he’s chosen to practice suits him well.
“I liked helping people think about the things they could live with or without in a transaction and guiding them toward a compromise. This is the kind of thing I had in mind when I decided to go to law school.”
Hitchcock says he also enjoys the way his practice facilitates relationships.
“I’m working closely with a couple of the attorneys here and their clients, and I like getting to know everyone on a personal level.”
Hitchcock connected with Gearhiser through a job post at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville College of Law. During his first interview with the firm, he was able to present attorneys Lee Ann Adams and Eleanor LaPorte with a resume that demonstrated his eagerness to take advantage of opportunities that further his experience.
While at UT, Hitchcock received two Academic Excellence Awards for earning the highest grade in his Legal Process and Contract Drafting classes, for example.
He was also a member of the Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender and Social Justice and served as a student attorney in the University of Tennessee Wills Clinic, where he drafted and executed a variety of estate planning documents.
In addition, Hitchcock worked as a research assistant under professor Alex Long and for the UT Institute of Agriculture.
Before attending law school, Hitchcock availed himself of another unique opportunity when he worked as a seasonal farmer in New Zealand after completing his undergraduate degree.
“I wanted to take a break before jumping into law school,” he laughs. “So, I worked for a while to save money to travel to New Zealand and then spent six months hopping around various apple and kiwi orchards with a friend. It was fun.”
Hitchcock says he was thrilled to return to Chattanooga after law school to begin working and living the life for which school had prepared him.
He and his girlfriend, Katy, live in a house in the Ridgedale neighborhood. The residence serves as a haven at the end of each workday and a base of operations from which he embarks on bicycle rides and travels to play adult kickball in a league he joined.
Moving forward, Hitchcock says he’s looking forward to deepening his ties at Gearhiser and expanding his practice as he learns more about the law.
“I’m going to follow the lead of the people at my firm and trust them to train me and get me to where I need to be.”