Justice Holly Kirby

Judge Holly Kirby graduated with honors from the University of Memphis with a degree in mechanical engineering, and graduated with high honors from the University of Memphis School of Law. After law school, Judge Kirby served as a judicial law clerk on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. After the clerkship, she joined the Memphis law firm of Burch, Porter & Johnson, where she specialized in employment litigation and was active in politics. She was selected as the firm’s first female partner. In 1995, Governor Don Sundquist appointed Judge Kirby to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, making her the first woman ever to serve on the Court. Since then, she has won three statewide retention elections and has authored over one thousand opinions on appeals from trial courts across the state. Since 1998, Judge Kirby has served the body that reviews ethics complaints against Tennessee’s judges, first for the Court of the Judiciary and until recently as a member of Tennessee’s Board of Judicial Conduct. She has received the Award for Outstanding Alumna from the University of Memphis College of Engineering, and the Award for Outstanding Young Alumna from the University of Memphis. In December 2013, Governor Bill Haslam appointed Judge Kirby to the Tennessee Supreme Court. She will be sworn in as a Justice in September 2014.