Melanie Mayes
I have lived in Clarksville for most of my life. As with a lot of fellow residents, I’m a military brat. My father was stationed at Ft. Campbell when I was in the first grade and eventually retired from the Army making Clarksville our home. I graduated from Northeast High School and received my bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University.
After living in North Carolina, Nashville, Alabama and Missouri, my husband and I returned to Clarksville in 2009. We spend a lot of time attending school basketball games and off-season travel ball games for our daughters. At every opportunity we take a vacation, even if it is only a weekend. We enjoy traveling to new places. Our favorite travels are to Florida to visit the mouse and Gatlinburg to ride the mountain coasters at night.
While attending Austin Peay, I really enjoyed my legal courses required for my business degree. It piqued my interest in a paralegal career, but I didn’t pursue it at the time. After a lengthy career in retail management, I finally made the decision to pursue a certification as a paralegal. I chose a program credentialed by the American Bar Association and attended night classes five days a week for a year while working full-time as a retail manager. Although it made my workdays very long, I really enjoyed the classes and the instructors, some of which were Judges. I’m very proud of myself for making the leap. It has been one of the most rewarding career experiences for me.
Most of my legal career has been in creditor’s rights and bankruptcy law. I gained extensive experience with commercial loan origination, restructuring, creditor representation, and foreclosures. While in Missouri, I worked with the Federal Courts as a Case Administrator which provided me with extensive knowledge of the case intake procedure and the electronic case filing system. My foreclosure work provided extensive experience with title searches, survey review, deed drafting, and real estate closings.
After working in Nashville for a larger firm serving the southeastern U.S., I’m very elated to be serving clients in Clarksville and surrounding area.