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Tech alumnus providing free legal representation to underserved Chattanoogans
John Jolley
Tennessee Tech University alumnus John Jolley did not aspire to practice law when
he first arrived on Tech’s campus as a transfer student from Roane State Community
College in 2009.
Yet by his senior year, Jolley was president of Tech’s pre-law society, charting a
path that led him to his current role as a staff attorney in Chattanooga with Legal
Aid of East Tennessee, a nonprofit law firm providing free legal representation to
underserved populations.
“I think I was a little rudderless before I got to Tennessee Tech,” said Jolley. “Tech
was where I found the ability to direct where I wanted to go in life.”
After a stint with Legal Aid’s offices in Johnson City, where he focused on helping
clients with Social Security and TennCare denials, consumer debt issues and evictions,
Jolley and his wife, fellow attorney Karen Anderson Jolley, moved to Chattanooga.
There, he spends his days at the Chattanooga Family Justice Center representing victims
of domestic violence in civil legal matters including orders of protection, custody
proceedings and divorce.
While many of Jolley’s clients are lower-income Chattanoogans who could not otherwise
afford legal representation, Jolley says finances are not the only consideration for
whom Legal Aid will assist.
“People who are victims of domestic violence can have difficulty getting an attorney
immediately, no matter their income. They may be cut off from marital funds. So, we
want to be there to help them,” he explained. Legal Aid can represent victims of domestic
violence regardless of financial status.
An active member of the Tennessee Valley’s legal community, Jolley serves as president-elect
of the Chattanooga Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division and as a board member
for the Tennessee Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. While other career opportunities
are never far from reach, Jolley says he finds purpose in the mission of his nonprofit
firm and the clients he serves.
“I’ve represented victims in some of the most heinous crimes one can imagine – attempted
murder, sexual assault and child sexual abuse to name a few. It is difficult and taxing,
but it is also incredibly rewarding to be entrusted to represent these vulnerable
populations within our community who have been so victimized,” said Jolley. “It’s
meant a lot to me.”
Jolley adds that, “Sometimes it’s hard to separate out these incredibly emotional
areas of law from the rest of your life, but it is also an area where you can be most
confident that you’ve really done something to help somebody. I benefit from having
some incredible coworkers and community partners, too. Legal Aid has been a great
firm to work for in terms of the way they support their staff.”
In recent years, Jolley found a new outlet to balance the demands of his day job:
woodworking. While he doesn’t sell his wares for profit, he has been making and donating
hand-carved bowls, platters, pens and other items since 2019 under the name Jolley
Good Woods. Today, his creations are a popular fixture at silent auctions benefiting
Legal Aid, Ronald McDonald House and other charitable causes around town.
Jolley’s woodworking also made its way to famed historian, presidential biographer
and Chattanooga native Jon Meacham, whom Jolley gifted a handmade walnut burl pen
after a speaking event in Chattanooga last fall.
“I had read several of his books. I really respect his voice and so I wanted to make
something as a show of appreciation,” said Jolley.
While family law will always be a passion for Jolley, his most important project to
date is outside of the courtroom. Jolley and his wife Karen welcomed their first child
in January, a son named Hank.
Jolley is pictured with his wife, Karen, and their newborn son, Hank.
As the new father looks to the future, he says he feels gratitude for the foundation
that Tech provided.
“I made a home and found community in the political science department and my pre-law
classes at Tech,” said Jolley. “I really benefited from the faculty, particularly
Dr. Lori Maxwell and all her guidance. Tech did a lot to prepare me for the future.”
