Melanie E. Davis, a native of Maryville, Tennessee, graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in French Magna Cum Laude in 1992. She was Phi Beta Kappa and a Normandy Scholar. She attended graduate school at the University of Tennessee from 1992-1993 in French Literature and went on to Law School, graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law Cum Laude in 1996. In Law School she was the President Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity, a member of the Moot Court Board, a semi-finalist in the College of Law Advocates Prize, and a member of the Labor Law Moot Court Team. She was Woman Graduate of the Year in 1996.
While attending law school, Ms. Davis clerked for the U. S. Attorney's Office in Knoxville, Tennessee and for the Honorable Leon Jordan of the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Ms. Davis joined Kizer & Black in 1995 and has been a partner since 2007. Her areas of practice include general civil and business litigation, personal injury, municipal law, land use law, property owners association law, and appellate practice. She has represented the City of Maryville since 1999 and as such represents the City Council, the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, and the City School Board. She is an active member of the Tennessee Municipal Attorneys Association and has been for many years. She has been active in drafting and enforcing numerous ordinances enacted by the City and in representing the City in its contracts and litigation. She additionally prosecutes City Court violations. She represents numerous developers and approximately 50 property associations throughout East Tennessee. She also represents several planning commissions and utility districts in the area
Ms. Davis is Board Certified in civil trial advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. She is certified as a civil trial specialist by the Tennessee Commission of Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.
Ms. Davis has been a member of the Blount County Bar Association since 1996 and was President in 2001 and 2011. She additionally served as Speakers Chair from 1999-2001 and was on the Ethics Committee. Ms. Davis participated in the Mock Trial Competition for local high school students from 1996-2004 as a Judge, a High School Advisor to Maryville High School, and as coordinator for the District in 2004.
Ms. Davis is a member of Tennessee Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section and was named a top appellate attorney in the Knoxville area by Cityview magazine.
She is additionally a member of the Knoxville Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Tennessee Municipal Attorneys Association, and Litigation Counsel of America.
Ms. Davis has served as a hearing committee member for the Board of Professional Responsibility since 2005.
She has presented CLE seminars on municipal law, property owners associations, and law on the internet.
Ms. Davis is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, limited to trial lawyers who have obtained a trial verdict, award, or settlement in the amount of one million dollars or more. She is also a 2011 Mid-South Rising Star Super Lawyer in business litigation and received the same honor in 2010. Ms. Davis is a member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, recognizing her as one of the top 40 lawyers under the age of 40 in the state of Tennessee.
Ms. Davis is a member of the Board of Directors for the Blount County Community Action Agency. She was on the Board of the Maryville City Schools Foundation from 2004 through 2009. She was a member of the Leadership Blount Class of 2001 and is a former Board member of the Blount County American Red Cross, the YWCA of Blount County, Childrens International Summer Villages, and Vocational Rehab of Blount County, Tennessee.
Ms. Davis is licensed to practice before all state courts, the United States District Court, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
She has been married to Chad, a CPA, since 1992. They live in Maryville and have three daughters.
Business & Commercial Law
Litigation & Appeals
Personal Injury -- Plaintiff
Local Government and Municipal Law
Developer and Property Owner Association representation
Tennessee, 1996
U.S. Federal Court, 1996
University of Tennessee College of Law, Knoxville, Tennessee, May, 1996
Honors: Cum Laude
Honors: Phi Beta Kappa
University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee
B.A.
Honors: High Honors
Law and the Internet, Blount County Bar Association, 1997
Municipal Law: What Every Lawyer Should Know, Blount County Bar Association, 2006
Property Owners Associations, Blount County Bar Association, 2010
American Jurisprudence Award in Constitutional Law
Woman Law Graduate of the Year, 1996
National Board of Trial Advocacy
Certification as Civil Trial Advocate
Tennessee Commission of Continuing Education and Specialization
Certification as a Civil Trial Specialist
Blount County Bar Association, 1999 - Present
Member
Blount County Bar Association, 1999 - 2001
Program Chair
Blount County Bar Association, 2001
President
Blount County Bar Association, 2006
Local Rules Committee
Blount County Bar Association, 2011
President
Knoxville Bar Association
Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, 2005 - Present
Hearing Committee Member
Tennessee Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section, 2008
Executive Committee
Tennessee Municipal Attorneys Association, 1999 - Present
Tennessee Association of School Board Attorneys
Million Dollar Advocates' Forum
Litigation Counsel of America
Mid South Superlawyer in Business Litigation, 2010 - 2011
French
English (Primary)
Phi Delta Phi
Phi Beta Kappa
