Attorney

EDUCATION

Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law, Macon, GA

Juris Doctor, May 2012

Honors & Activities:

ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law and Bloomberg BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Labor and Employment Law

Wagner Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Team Member

Legal Writing Certificate Program

CALI Award for Excellence for the Future Award in Advanced Legal Writing

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Eric Buchanan & Associates, PLLC, Chattanooga, TN February 2013 – April 21, 2016

Associate

Represented claimants pursuing disability benefits pursuant to policies governed by ERISA at both the administrative level and in federal court; at the administrative level – drafted appeal letters to the insurance company in order to obtain monthly long-term disability benefits for claimants; at the federal court level – drafted pleadings, discovery requests and responses, substantive briefs in federal district court, and presented oral arguments in federal district court. Drafted demand letters and led several settlement negotiations between claimants and insurance companies. Represented claimants pursuing disability benefits from the Social Security Administration at the administrative level and in federal court – drafted pre-hearing memorandums, represented clients at hearings in front of Administrative Law Judges, briefs to the Social Security Appeals Council, and substantive briefs in federal district court. Managed over 70 cases in which clients were currently receiving long-term disability benefits under ERISA-governed policies.

Representative Cases: Drafted substantive legal briefs and presented oral arguments in federal district court in Holt v. Life Insurance Company of North America, 2015 WL 1243529 (E.D. Tenn. 2015).

Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, Forsyth, GA June 2011 – May 2012

Legal Intern

Sworn in to practice law under the Third Year Practice Act (O.C.G.A. §15-18-22). Prepared accusations and indictments, presented cases to grand jury, prepared cases for trial, assisted in trials, and legal research.

Hamilton County Sessions Civil Court Clerk’s Office, Chattanooga, TN

File clerk Summer 2007 and 2008

Filed, retrieved, copied, and mailed court documents and input data for individual cases into the computer system. Coordinated with Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.

BAR ADMISSIONS/PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Admitted, State Bar of Tennessee, 2012

Admitted, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 2013

Admitted, United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, 2013

Admitted, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, 2013

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