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Attorney Michelle Howser is no stranger to hard work and tough times. In fact, she would tell you that the practice of law picked her long before she knew she would choose it for her career. Michelle has been a part of the Rutherford/Cannon County legal community since 1990 when she began her legal career as a receptionist for a local law office focusing on employment and personal injury law. While in their employ, Michelle worked hard to move up the ranks and eventually served as a paralegal for one of the principal partners.
While employed full-time, Michelle continued to work on her undergraduate degree and in 2002 received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science/pre-law. Upon graduation, she took a break from the legal field to pursue her creative side, starting her own business and a family.
After a period of time, the legal field began to call her name once again. In 1998, Michelle returned to the legal field as a paralegal for the law firm of Wilson and Bradley serving as the paralegal in the employment, personal injury and social security disability fields. In 1999, she was called to work for the Tennessee Judiciary as a judicial assistant to Circuit Court Judge Don R. Ash. Judge Ash was/is a wonderful mentor and advisor.
Repeatedly Judge Ash encouraged Michelle to seek out a law degree to advance her career. After much encouragement from him, her family, and the legal community, Michelle decided to enter law school. In 2004, her law school career was coming to an end and she transferred her employment to yet another mentor and the newest member to the bench, Circuit Court Judge J. Mark Rogers. Michelle continued to work full time, be a single mother, and devote herself to her law degree. In June 2006, she graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the Nashville School of Law and in February 2007 became licensed to practice in the State of Tennessee and the Federal Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Also in 2007, Michelle became employed as an associate with Greg Reed and Associates where she practiced criminal defense, family, and juvenile law.
In 2010, she became a partner in the firm Reed and Howser and began to focus her practice strictly on family and juvenile law. Michelle was humbled and honored to receive the Richard LaRoche Pro Bono award from her legal peers in 2008. In January 2011, she applied and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. In 2013, Michelle found herself at a crossroads, leaving the firm of Reed & Howser to go “home” again to the firm where it all began, Wilson & Bradley. Wilson & Bradley later became Wilson, Howser, Oliver & Turner when Michelle became a partner in the firm. In January 2020, Michelle decided it was time to start her own firm Howser & Associates, PLLP.
Michelle’s areas of expertise include:
- Divorce
- Custody
- Paternity
- Child Support
- Alimony
- Dependent & Neglect
- Termination of Parental Rights
- Juvenile Justice
Brandy Arena brings her experience, both in law and in life, to help people formulate and achieve their goals. Her legal work ranges from business transactions to various forms of litigation. She regularly represents clients and practices in the areas of:
• Family law: including adoptions, child support, divorces, enforcement, modification, and paternity matters. She regularly accepts appointments as Guardian Ad Litem representing the best interest of the child. Children in the foster care system are her passion. Brandy comes from a large family and has a family of her own so she understands at a personal level the positive impact of protecting a child and having that child see that they are valued.
• Estate planning: including wills, power of attorney, and living wills; specifically estates involving animals/livestock.
• Mediation: as a trained Rule 31 mediator, Brandy works to assist individuals with resolving their issues through mediation instead of contested litigation, saving them time, money, and stress.
• Equine (horse) / animal law: including collections, contract drafting (boarding, training, breeding, sales, leases, etc.), sales negotiations, and any other legal issues that arise in the horse business. Brandy has been involved in the horse industry her entire life. She has owned and shown horses since the age of nine, and currently owns, shows, and breeds horses on her farm in Bedford County, Tennessee.
• Civil litigation / transactional work: including collections, contract drafting, entity formation, and other needs as they arise for her clients.
When not working for her clients, Brandy spends her time with her husband and son on the family farm among her horses and many other beloved animals.
Licensure: Tennessee and Federal Middle District of Tennessee
Law Degree (JD): Loyola University, New Orleans
Brandy’s areas of expertise include:
- Family Law
- Estate Planning
- Mediation
- Equine (horse) / Animal Law
- Civil Litigation
Whitney Alexander was raised primarily in Murfreesboro, attended Oakland High School and earned two degrees from Middle Tennessee State University. In 1991, Whitney started working as a caseworker in the child support division of the 16th Judicial District. She spent a short time working in the Rutherford County Chancery Court clerk & master’s office after leaving the child support office. She then made the decision to work for a major firm in the private sector. She left the corporate world after establishing a family and went back to the Child Support Office. She spent several years working as a caseworker there before being elevated to Administrator in 2002. In 2012 she accepted a position at the state level in DHS child support field operations.
While with DHS she oversaw the operations of some of the state’s biggest child support offices. Whitney spent a brief period working for another state agency before retiring from state government. In October 2022, she started working as a paralegal for Howser & Associates. She has been able to use and improve the legal knowledge she acquired through her extensive experience with child support as well as perfect the interpersonal skills she has established over the course of her lengthy career.
Whitney has two fabulous adult children, two slightly neurotic dogs and a pretty terrific husband. When she is not hard at work at Howser & Associates Whitney enjoys spending time with her family and friends, rooting for the Vols, Blue Raiders, and Titans, experimenting with new and classic recipes, and indulging in her love of great books.
