Zachary Atchley had no intention of ever becoming a lawyer.
Never mind that his father, Fielding Atchley, Jr., is a third-generation Chattanooga attorney with a celebrated 50-year practice. Never mind that his oldest of two brothers, Trevor Atchley, was practicing law with their father. And never mind that he’d inherited his father’s easygoing smile and charm, both of which have set clients at ease for decades.
Zachary was adamant: “I was not going to practice law.”
He recalls this while seated in the conference room at Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison, the Chattanooga law firm where he’s been an associate since August.
Zachary, 41, smiles in his genetically tailored way and says, “Life has a way of changing your mind.”
He made it to well past 30 before yielding to the call of the jurist. For Zachary, the law is a second act, a chance to redefine himself, his rebound after he bid farewell to his first love.
Before Zachary embraced the law, he made a living in the nonprofit space. For seven years, he was a vital organ at Mark Making, a Chattanooga nonprofit that enhances the city with public art and engages the public in the creation of said art.
As second in command, he wrote grants, spearheaded the hiring process and helped to create the organization’s art curriculum. For six months out of each year, he did his job with pen in hand; for the other six months, he held a paintbrush.
Zachary says working for Mark Making fulfilled his desire to make a positive impact through his work.
“Our mission involved both individual empowerment and community revitalization, so we worked with underserved teens, underprivileged schools and public housing. We also served individuals with psychiatric disabilities and the elderly. We wanted people to be proud of the work they produced and to beautify the community.”
While nonprofit work provided Zachary with meaningful employment, he’d become a father, which called for him to make a better living. At this point, the law began to tap him on the shoulder.
One can argue that the law had always been nearby, biding its time. While attending Appalachian State University in North Carolina, for example, Zachary joined an honors program focused on complex thinking, creativity and curiosity – all of which can serve as a solid foundation for law school.
“I wanted to find cohesion between science and religion,” he says. “This helped me to develop my analytical thinking, which is useful as a lawyer. In college, I studied what dead philosophers believed in their systematic thinking and, as a lawyer, I study what dead judges believed in their systematic thinking.”
Zachary’s studies in North Carolina might have lent themselves to law school, but he earned a master of public administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga instead. He laughs as he recalls his reason for continuing to sidestep law school.
“I had no interest in wearing a suit. That might sound silly, but it does encapsulate the sentiment quite well. My rebellious spirit didn’t want to conform to what might have been expected of me.”
It should be noted that Zachary’s parents consistently supported his pursuit of his passions, both in school and the workforce. But as he wrestled with the wall he’d hit professionally, he was on his own to figure out what would be next.
By this time, Zachary was in his late thirties and was feeling the pressure that time applies as it passes. Finally, a family member spoke a simple truth to him at a Thanksgiving gathering.
“I had a cousin who went to law school when he was 41. And he said, ‘Zach, what are you doing? You have the brain for more. You need to be an attorney.’”
Zachary says his cousin’s advice turned him down a path that first took him to the LSAT. While applying to schools, he received a full ride at the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law in Knoxville.
A fresh direction in life can bring renewed focus as well as uncertainties. Zachary experienced the latter as he tried to pinpoint the kind of law he wanted to practice as well as where he was going to ply his new trade.
In what sounds like a familiar refrain, he had no intention of ever working with his father. And then a local judge spoke a simple truth to him.
“I was doing a judicial internship with (now retired) Magistrate Judge Susan Lee when she said, ‘You’d be crazy not to work with your dad.’ So, I worked with dad until he retired.”
Fielding had a general civil practice, which allowed Zachary to gain experience in many different avenues of the law. One of his cases involved working with April Sawhill, a general civil and commercial litigator at Grant Konvalinka. After they’d worked together for a year, Sawhill called Zachary and asked him what he was planning to do after his father retired.
When Zachary told his father about the offer, his dad spoke a simple truth to him: “You need to get out there and spread your wings.”
The move was a good one, Zachary says, as Grant Konvalinka has provided him with a “nutrient rich” environment for learning more about the practice of law.
“This firm is very nurturing. The (senior partners) mentor the associates and place a lot of trust in them.”
Zachary serves clients in the areas of general civil and commercial litigation, financial and estate planning, probate administration, and business and corporate law. He says the diverse nature of his practice allows him to exercise his intellect in many different ways.
“The law is predominantly an analytical pursuit. I equate it to a computer algorithm, where you run a set of facts through a set of rules and the computer spits out a product that hopefully is in your favor.”
Now that Zachary has settled into the career that will likely take him the distance, he has a clear mind for relaxing and relishing the rest of life. As a single dad who shares custody of his two daughters with their mother, he feels blessed to be able to spend a generous portion of time with them. In addition, he serves on the board of Barking Legs Theater and the Chattanooga Beer Board.
Although Zachary says he never resolved the existence of both science and faith, he’s at peace with each internally and, as such, has become a devout member of First Christian Church, where he serves as an elder and facilitates an open discussion class.
When it’s just him and no one else for a couple of hours, Zachary sometimes runs the trails at Raccoon Mountain, which is located near his home.
While Zachary once dreaded the thought of someday having to don a suit to work at a law firm, he now sees his practice as an opportunity to continue to pursue a better world through his work, he says. He might not have the opportunity to pick up a paintbrush at his firm, but he still feels like he’s making his mark.
“I feel like there’s a justice bent to third-borns – a resolve to hopefully improve the world. That’s what led me to the law. And it feels good to work in a career that lines up with my values.”