Melissa C. DiRado

Robert B. Frost, Jr. is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Land Use and Zoning Law and Municipal Law. Robert B. practices law in Knoxville, Tennessee Best Lawyers has recognized Robert B. Frost, Jr. since 2024. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Robert B. Frost, Jr. is held by other lawyers.

Jeff Thompson is a shareholder in the firm’s Knoxville office. He has tried over 70 jury trials to verdict in state and federal courts. Mr. Thompson focuses on healthcare liability, products liability, and the defense of public officials and governmental entities. He is admitted to practice in all Federal and State courts in Tennessee, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Jeff Thompson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(...

Adam Rust is a shareholder in the firm’s Knoxville office and represents individuals and businesses in a diverse range of legal matters. He handles lawsuits involving the areas of commercial litigation, employment law, transportation and construction. He also focuses upon the formation and advising of business entities, providing counsel to limited liability companies, partnerships and corporations throughout Tennessee. Additionally, he spends a significant amount of time representing p...

Betsy J. Beck is a Partner and a member of the Firm’s employment law team. Ms. Beck has spent her career litigating issues involving employment discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour and other compensation issues, and all other aspects of the employer-employee relationship both in federal or state court and in front of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL), and various other state and federal administrative agencies. Business owners, in-house ...

Jonathan Cooper offers decades of experience, unsurpassed personal attention, and zealous representation to his clients. He focuses his practice exclusively in the area of criminal defense, representing citizens accused of crimes in both state and federal courts. His experience of successful representation encompasses the entire spectrum of the criminal justice system, from DUI to homicide, and from narcotics possession to white collar offenses. Jonathan is a career long member of the Knoxvil...

Cullen Wojcik is a multifaceted, highly successful criminal defense lawyer. He joined Knox Defense in 2019 and focuses his practice on defense of state and federal court prosecutions. He is a 2011 graduate of the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco and a UC Hastings Bridge Fellow where he served as a post-bar certified law clerk with the Knox County Public Defender’s office before opening his own practice. Cullen is a member of the Tennessee Supreme Court, ...

Kim Burnette is a partner with Arnett, Draper & Hagood, where his practice focuses on tort litigation, product liability, workers’ compensation, mediation, and insurance issues. Kim is an East Tennessee native who received his J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1985, graduating with honors. Upon graduation, he served a one year judicial clerkship with United States Magistrate Judge John Y. Powers in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Thereafter he returned to Knoxvi...

Robyn Jarvis Askew is a shareholder in Lewis Thomason's Knoxville office, focusing on comprehensive real estate, corporate, and business law in Tennessee and other regions of the United States. Robyn represents corporations, joint ventures, partnerships, and limited liability companies in various aspects of entity formation, financing, and operations. Her experience spans multiple industries, with a particular focus on the preparation, review, and negotiation of complex commercial contracts. ...

Stephen Ross Johnson is a partner with Ritchie, Dillard, Davies and Johnson, PC in Knoxville, and is a criminal defense trial and appellate attorney. Mr. Johnson has defended criminal cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States, ranging from complex white-collar financial crimes to death penalty cases. Mr. Johnson has argued or briefed cases before the Supreme Court of the United States; the Supreme Court of Tennessee; the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Six...

Mikel Towe is a shareholder in the firm’s Knoxville office and joined the office in 2013 after graduation from law school. Mr. Towe graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and devotes his practice to civil litigation focusing primarily in the areas of insurance litigation involving automobile and trucking accidents, products liability, commercial liability, general liability, as well as insurance coverage and claims litigation. Mr. Towe handles matters in both state an...