Kathleen (Katie) Williams came to Tennessee from New York as a transplant. She holds a BA from New York University and attended NYU School of Law. In New York, she focused on criminal justice reform, particularly with respect to both accused and adult juveniles. She has spoken at conferences and participated in panels to present and discuss juvenile justice. Katie has a keen interest in the issues faced by people previously incarcerated as they become accustomed to life «outside the walls». It presents affordable and habitable housing as the most important need for these people. Since moving to Tennessee, Katie has worked as a paralegal for law firms focused on wills and estates, estates, and property issues. She is a member of the National Juvenile Defenders, the ACLU and Amnesty International. In the areas of volunteerism and public interest, Jordan has advised homeless people in civil administrative and court proceedings, litigated civil rights cases on behalf of marginalized people, and advised impoverished clients facing eviction. Jordan also worked on habeas petitions for inmates and was part of a legal team that secured the release of an unjustly convicted client who had served 17 years in prison. Chay Sengkhounmany is the Senior Immigration Advocate at the Legal Aid Society of Middle TN and the Cumberlands. At Legal Services, Chay leads the Survivors Immigration Legal (SIL) project, which provides legal advice to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault or harassment.
Prior to returning to Legal Services in May 2019, she practiced in private practice in Murfreesboro. Chay has been practicing law since 2003 and handles various immigration matters, but has extensive experience in humanitarian immigration assistance, such as VAWA, T and U visas. Prior to entering private practice, Chay worked in the not-for-profit sector for ten years. She led the Middle Tennessee Medical-Legal Partnership (MTMLP) at the Legal Aid Society for approximately seven years. Through the MTMLP, Chay handled general civil law issues for patients in medical clinics and provided training and education to medical staff and students. Prior to joining the Legal Aid Society in 2007, Chay worked as an attorney for the Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence`s Immigrant Legal Clinic, where she represented immigrant women who were victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and harassment. Chay frequently presents and writes about immigration laws, particularly issues related to victims of abuse or crime. Iska Hoole graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Law in 1997. She studied at the University of the South in Sewanee, where she was a member of the Order of the Crown. During law school, she was active in the Tennessee Association for Public Interest Law.
She has worked as a summer intern at North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services and as a volunteer accountant. From 1998 to 2003, she worked as an associate with the Legal Aid Society in the Tullahoma office. From 2006 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2013, she worked in her own firm. From 2008 to 2010, she was a public school teacher in Winchester, Tennessee. She is a general civil and family mediator listed in Rule 31. Tanner Beck joined Legal Services in October 2020 as an elder lawyer in the Columbia office. He is originally from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and received his bachelor`s and law degrees from the University of Tennessee. While in law school, Tanner was a student attorney at the University of Tennessee Domestic Violence Clinic, and during and after law school, he was a legal assistant for lawyers in private practice. Upon licensure, Tanner joined a private law firm where he represented clients in criminal and civil matters. He then took a job at Legal Aid of East Tennessee.
At Legal Aid of East Tennessee, where he represented survivors of domestic violence in lawsuits against their abusers and assisted seniors with various legal matters. After two years with Legal Aid of East Tennessee, he returned to Middle Tennessee and began working at the Legal Aid Society. Here, he wants to pursue his goal of helping as many seniors as possible deal with their civil law problems. Tanner strongly believes in the power of organizations like Legal Services to make an impact and transform lives in authentic, meaningful and fundamental ways, and is honoured to have the opportunity to be a part of it. Nicole has 10 years of experience in customer service and is studying paralegal sciences at NSCC. She has volunteered for the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition and other local organizations. Her experience will help us tremendously as she will be making family law registrations, working closely with the Office of Family Safety and supporting the Nashville Family Law team. Kelly Cannon joined Legal Services in September 2020 as an office manager and receptionist in Nashville. In September 2021, Kelly became a paralegal for health, benefits and education. In this role, she assists clients in matters related to Social Security benefits, Medicare and Medicaid, and other public assistance programs.
Kelly graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2015, where she earned a bachelor`s degree in political science with a specialization in law and access to justice. Kelly cares about equality, justice and the well-being of our most vulnerable citizens. She hopes that, through her work as a paralegal, she can advance the interests of those who might not otherwise have a voice. When she`s not serving customers and supporting the Nashville office, Kelly enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending quiet nights with her pets. Nick Armes joined LAS in April 2019 as a new VOCA-funded family and housing lawyer in the Oak Ridge office. Nick has been in private practice for 6 years and handles housing law, family law and general litigation in many courts in our service area. He has also represented low-income parents and children in court-appointed cases. He served as District Attorney for the City of Oliver Springs from 2014 to 2019, representing them in municipal civil cases. Nick is a member of the Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity and has volunteered at numerous legal aid clinics, mock trial competitions and student events at Roane State Community College.
Since 2013, Nick has been an Adjunct Professor at Roane State Community College in Harriman, Tennessee, where he teaches courses on tort and assault as well as estates and trusts.