The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) welcomed the Honorable Christopher D. Heagerty as its Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2026 during the law school’s graduation ceremony on May 7 at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium.
“Our graduating students provided input as to who they wanted to speak at their commencement, and Chancellor Heagerty was at the top of the list,” said Matt Lyon, dean of LMU Law. “We are thrilled that he agreed to be part of our celebration of the graduates and their families.”
Heagerty currently serves as Chancellor of Division III of the Knox County Chancery Court, a position to which he was appointed on January 23, 2021, by Gov. Bill Lee.
Chancellor Heagerty graduated from the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law in 1994. After a clerkship with Hodges, Doughty and Carson during law school, Heagerty was hired by the Carpenter and O’Connor firm, where he worked for six years as an associate and four years as a partner. He then practiced with Hodges, Doughty and Carson from 2004 to 2015, handling mostly civil litigation. He started his own firm in 2015, and a large percentage of his practice was in litigation cases.
The fourteenth graduating class of LMU Law is the largest in the law school’s history. The University conferred Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees on 105 graduates. Twelve of those graduates also received master’s degrees, having completed one of LMU’s three available dual degree programs for students enrolled in the J.D. program.
Outgoing Student Bar Association President AbbyGrace “AG” Rowe of Medina, Ohio, was selected by her classmates to be the Class of 2026 graduate speaker.
Ansley Letsinger provided information for this report.
