Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins, J.D.

Bio

Chief Justice Jeff Bivins took office on the Tennessee Supreme Court on July 16, 2014 and was appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam. He was elected to the remainder of the full term in August 2016. Effective September 1, 2016, his colleagues elected him Chief Justice.

Career & Education Highlights

• Judge, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, August 2011-July 2014.
• Circuit Court Judge, 21st Judicial District of Tennessee, covering Williamson, Hickman, Lewis, and Perry counties.
• Appointed to the trial court in March 2005, elected to a full eight-year term in 2006.
• Circuit Judge, July 1999-August 2000.
• Past President, Tennessee Judicial Conference.
• Served on the Board of Judicial Conduct and its predecessor, the Court of the Judiciary, and on the Tennessee Judicial Evaluation Commission.
• Member: John Marshall American Inn of Court (President, 2003-08); Harry Phillips American Inn of Court; American, Tennessee, and Williamson County Bar Associations.
• Fellow: American Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Foundation, Nashville Bar Foundation.
• Former member, Williamson County Commission.
• Private practice with Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry PLC in Nashville.
• Served as Assistant Commissioner and General Counsel, Tennessee Department of Personnel.
• B.A. (political science, with minor in criminal justice; cum laude), East Tennessee State University.
• Graduate, Vanderbilt University School of Law, 1986.

Credentials

• Member, Board of Directors of Conference of Chief Justices (2019-2021)
• Chair, Government Affairs Committee of the Conference of Chief Justices (2019-2021)
• Recipient, Tennessee Bar Association Frank F. Drowota III Award for Outstanding Judicial Service (June 2020)
• Founding Board Member, Williamson County, Tennessee Education Foundation (2014-2019)
• Member, Board of Directors, Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (2012-present)