Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services Names New Executive Director

Laura Brown, Deputy Director of Client Services at Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LASMTC), the largest non-profit law firm in the state, will take the helm of Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services in March 2022. Brown brings a deep knowledge of legal needs facing disadvantaged Tennesseans combined with a track record of building partnerships between legal aid firms, State agencies, and non-profits to advance economic self-sufficiency, security and stability for individuals and families facing civil legal barriers. Prior to joining LASMTC, as General Counsel of the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability (TCAD), Brown helped administer an approximately $35 million-dollar program to address key needs facing Tennessee seniors: dental care, housing, transportation and legal. Through partnerships with several state and local agencies while at TCAD, Brown was instrumental in developing and implementing a statewide program to provide assistance to elder and vulnerable adult victims of crime. Brown will build on the collaborative and innovative work of her predecessor Ann Pruitt, the TALS staff, and board. She earned her law degree at University of Tennessee College of Law in 2005 with a concentration in business and transactional law, her Master of Arts in Civic Leadership from Lipscomb University in 2014 and is a PhD candidate in Leadership and Learning at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “Under Laura Brown’s leadership, TALS is well positioned for the next chapter in its forty-five year history of advancing a vital mission - strengthening the delivery of civil legal help to vulnerable Tennesseans,” said outgoing Executive Director Ann Pruitt.