Many children follow in their parents’ footsteps. Inspired by their mother or father’s accomplishments, they walk the same path in the hopes of having a similar impact on the world.
In a way, attorney Tracy Cox, daughter of Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox, could be said to be retracing her father’s considerable legacy. However, a more accurate assessment of her pursuits would show her to have followed him for a time, and then to have deviated from his passage to forge her own path.
Still, her father was there in the beginning, standing beside Tracy as she contemplated the journey that lie ahead of her.
“My father is my greatest hero,” she says of the former police officer and Vietnam Vet. “He risked his life and made many sacrifices to protect the people of Hamilton County. I grew up watching him be a civil servant.”
Public service, then, was in Tracy’s blood as she earned her law degree at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and then became a prosecutor in Asheville, N.C. Later, she returned to Chattanooga and took a position with Legal Aid of East Tennessee (Legal Aid), where she’s spent the last five years providing civil advocacy to victims of domestic violence.
To Tracy, the practice of law is about ensuring everyone, regardless of their position in society, receives equal access to justice under the law. “Every litigant must be given a full, fair, and impartial day in court,” she says.
Her conviction has made her a good fit for Legal Aid. “Attorneys practice law because it’s meaningful work,” she says. “Legal Aid of East Tennessee has taken this meaningfulness to an intense level of reward.”
Family law, in turn, is a good fit for Tracy. As a mother, she understands the importance of children to their parents, and of loving, stable parents to the children. “I do this because I can relate to my clients,” she says. “I care about my children and my family, and they care about those things, too.”
Tracy also admits to enjoying the gratitude of her clients, most of whom cannot pay for the quality legal services they need. “I once had a client tell me I was an angel,” Tracy says, laughing. “That was kind of girly, but it made me feel good.”
Tracy says she cannot overstate the value of her time at Legal Aid, where she’s represented victims in ten counties. The fortitude of her clients in the face of seemingly insurmountable legal problems has inspired her, she says, and her colleagues at Legal Aid have mentored her well. She’s also greatly benefitted from the amount of trial work she’s done. “I’ve compressed an incredible amount of trial work into five years, simply because of the number of counties I’ve covered and the volume of cases,” she says. “You won’t find anyone with as much trial experience as the attorneys at Legal Aid unless they’ve been practicing for a long time.”
While Tracy has grown in experience and skill at Legal Aid, she’s come to realize she can learn something from every attorney she faces. “I’ve had the privilege of trying cases against some of the most prominent attorneys in Chattanooga,” she says, “and I’ve loved the exposure to the broader practice of law. Whenever I realize I’m facing a prominent attorney, I get excited about what I’m going to learn.”
Through the impassioned work of her opponents, Tracy has also learned all attorneys care deeply about their clients. “The attorneys in the private sector are doing the same things we are, especially through their pro bono work,” she says. “I’m very impressed with our bar. I have a great deal of respect for our attorneys.”
For that reason, Tracy was willing to moving into the private sector when Chattanooga-based Markel & Major offered her a chance to launch a full service family law practice at the firm. “I love my job [at Legal Aid],” she says, “but moving into private practice feels like a natural progression for me. It’s a wonderful opportunity.”
Tracy’s first day at Markel & Major will be Friday, Aug. 1, making Thursday, July 31 her last day at Legal Aid. Her colleagues at the latter are going to miss her, says Russell Fowler, associate director of Legal Aid. “Tracy has been a tireless advocate for domestic abuse victims in Chattanooga and across Tennessee,” he says. “She has championed the cause of the powerless and abused with zeal, creativity, compassion, and grace. We will greatly miss her infectious joy and enthusiasm. She’s like a ray of sunshine at the office.”
That said, Fowler doesn’t believe Legal Aid has seen the last of Tracy. “I’m confident she’ll remain a strong supporter of Legal Aid and will be an active pro bono lawyer,” he says. “I believe her commitment to equal access to justice will remain wherever she’s employed.”
Tracy will certainly be doing the same things she’s been doing at Legal Aid, including mediation. While the environment will be different from what she’s grown accustomed to over the last five years, she’s ready for whatever rigors she’ll face. “The practice of law is a 24-hour a day job,” she says. “Family crises do not limit themselves to the hours between nine a.m. and five p.m. And that’s the kind of lawyer I am. I don’t stop caring about my clients at the end of the work day.”
While the demands of the law can make balancing one’s personal and professional lives difficult, Tracy, who grew up watching her father do what he loves, says she’s glad her children can do the same with her. “I can’t turn off the law and stop thinking about it,” she says, “but my kids are seeing me do something I’m passionate about, and that’s important.”
Tracy is the mother of two children with attorney James T. Brooks: son Jake, 17; and daughter Sara, 14.
While Tracy’s fervent approach to the practice of law doesn’t leave her much personal time, she and her family did go to the beach this month. Still, even with boundless water set before her, she couldn’t completely turn off work. “This went with me,” she says, holding up her smart phone.
As retirement looms for District Attorney Cox, who’s approaching the end of 40-plus years of work in the criminal justice system, Tracy’s path is deviating a little more from his. But she feels his presence as strongly as she did as when they stood together in the beginning. He inspired her then, and he continues to inspire her now – to the benefit of those she zealously serves.