The Chattanooga Bar Foundation introduced six new fellows during its 2024 Law Day luncheon May 21 at the Hunter Museum for American Art.
The new additions to the Bar Foundation include attorneys Cathy Dorvil, Ellie Hill and Laura Ketcham, bankruptcy court trustee Kara West, career law clerk Carrie Stefaniak, and Judge Robert Philyaw.
To become a fellow, an attorney must have an outstanding record of service to both the Chattanooga Bar Association and the broader community, says Fellows Committee chairperson Tim Mickel.
In addition, a member of the foundation must nominate the attorney for inclusion.
Cathy Dorvil
Dorvil is a shareholder and member of the litigation and health care sections at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel.
She is a graduate of the the University of Puget Sound and earned a juris doctor from the University of Miami School of Law and a master’s degree in maternal and child health from Harvard University of Public Health.
Outside of her legal practice, Dorvil is involved in her community and pro bono matters. She serves on the board of directors for Skyuka Hall, the Chambliss Center for Children, and the Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti.
Dorvil is also a co-coordinator of the Chattanooga Legal Diversity Consortium. She has represented victims of human trafficking in dependency proceedings and has assisted abused women in obtaining orders of protection. Additionally, Dorvil is a foster parent and a mother of three.
Ellie Hill
Hill is a partner with Patrick, Beard, Schulman & Jacoway. She represents clients in various real estate and business matters.
Before moving to Chattanooga, Hill practiced law in Lexington, Kentucky, for two years after graduating from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Hill served on the Chattanooga Bar Association board of directors in 2021, during which she chaired the inaugural Lawyers Have Heart 5K, and has served on the board of directors of the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition since 2018.
Hill is married to Jason Hill and is the mother of two girls. She’s also an active member of St. Jude Catholic Church.
Laura Ketcham
As the chair of Miller & Martin’s commercial department, Ketcham concentrates on bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, commercial finance and leasing, and general business counsel.
A native of Athens, Ketcham earned undergraduate and law school degrees from Vanderbilt University. She has served on the boards of CHI Memorial Foundation, Junior League of Chattanooga, Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, St. Peter’s Episcopal School, and the Tennessee Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Law Section.
She is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga and a member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga.
At Miller & Martin, Ketcham has served as chair of the hiring committee, a member of the Associates and the Diversity committees, and as a leader of the Women’s Network.
Ketcham is married to Michael Ketcham, with whom she has one son.
Kara West
West serves as the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the southern division of the Eastern District of Tennessee and the Standing Chapter 12 Trustee for the entire Eastern District of Tennessee. Before her appointment, she practiced both corporate and commercial law at Husch Blackwell.
West is also a licensed certified public accountant. She worked as a senior financial auditor with Arthur Andersen and later worked as an internal auditor and manager of financial receipts for large insurance companies.
West is an active member of the Justices Brock-Cooper American Inns of Court executive committee and a past board chair and active board member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga.
Carrie Stefaniak
Stefaniak is a career law clerk for the Hon. Curtis Collier. She graduated summa cum laude from Harding University in 1995 with majors in English and math.
Stefaniak began her career teaching English and math to middle and high school students. She then served for seven years in higher education as a research assistant and executive assistant to the chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which inspired her interest in a career in law.
Stefaniak earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 2006.
Upon finishing law school, Stefaniak moved to Chattanooga to join Husch Blackwell, where she represented clients in civil and commercial litigation. She was a member of the firm’s recruiting committee from 2013 to 2015.
Stefaniak entered public service in April 2015 as a law clerk for the Hon. Susan Lee. She became Collier’s career law clerk in August 2015. She assists Collier with the full range of civil and criminal cases that appear before him.
Stefaniak is active in civics education and outreach. She is a member of the Eastern District of Tennessee’s Civics and Outreach Committee, the Southeast Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women and the S.L. Hutchins Bar Association.
Stefaniak served as the Federal Bar Association Chattanooga chapter president in 2020, as its CLE chair in 2016 and 2017, and as civics outreach chair since 2022.
Her community and legal volunteer activities have also included serving on the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and volunteering with Legal Aid of East Tennessee, the Chattanooga Leadership and Law Academy, Step-Up Chattanooga, Family Promise of Chattanooga, and Essential Documents for Essential Workers.
Robert Philyaw
Philyaw is judge of Hamilton County Juvenile Court, where he’s served since 2013.
He earned his Bachelor of Science and MBA from Christian Brothers University, which in 2022 named him one of 150 Notable Alumni in celebration of the university’s 150th anniversary. He earned his law degree at the University of Memphis.
In 2015, Legal Aid of East Tennessee awarded Philyaw the Chief Justice William M. Barker Equal Access to Justice Award. In 2019, Philyaw received the McCain-Abernathy Memorial Award from the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Law Judges. He also received a 2022 Humanitarian Award from the Alton Park Development Corporation, a youth services organization.
Gov. Bill Lee appointed Philyaw to serve on the Tennessee Commission for Children and Youth in 2019 and appointed him to serve as chair of the commission in 2021. Philyaw is also serving as president-elect of the Tennessee Juvenile Judges Conference and immediate-past president of the CBA. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga.
Philyaw is a former adjunct professor of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at The University of Memphis. He previously served as a municipal judge on the Tennessee Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee and on the boards of the Chattanooga chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the Mountain Education Foundation.
Philyaw is married to pediatrician Kathy Philyaw. They have two children.