Chancery Court, Part III
The Honorable Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles is an experienced litigator and businesswoman who left the private sector to start a legal career and begin to fill a need for passionate, effective, diverse advocacy in the Davidson County legal system. She is the first African American female civil trial court Judge and Chancellor in Nashville, Tennessee.
Under the tutelage of the Honorable Judge Richard H. Dinkins, as his mentee and former summer clerk, Chancellor Myles learned to balance the demands and rigor of the profession while always making time to serve the community. From her experience working in the private sectors of New York City and Nashville, owning and operating a small business and representing clients in construction, business and real estate, she understands the challenges that business owners, employees and litigants face in a rapidly evolving business environment. Chancellor Myles believes that race, ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status should never be a barrier to accessing justice. To that end she has regularly helped to run pro bono expungement and legal advice clinics in Davidson and Rutherford counties.
During her years of practice, at one of the five fastest-growing Am Law 200 firms, Chancellor Myles was recognized as a formidable and skillful litigator. She is also a published author with the American Bar Association’s Journal Under Construction. She has been recognized by her peers for her work having received numerous awards and recognitions. She was awarded the prestigious Diversity Fellowship to the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law from 2018-2021. She has been named by the National Black Lawyers as a Top 40 Under 40 lawyer and received the Super Lawyers Rising Star Award in Construction for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Most recently, Chancellor Myles was named to the 2021 Nashville Emerging Leaders Class and was honored to receive the Nashville Business Journal’s Women of Influence Trailblazer Award for 2021.
Chancellor Myles is accustomed to blazing trails. She received her law degree from Belmont College of Law where she was a member of the inaugural class, receiving a full academic Bell Tower merit scholarship. She also received her undergraduate degree in 2001 from Belmont University as well, where she earned the prestigious William Randolph Hearst Scholarship full academic scholarship.
Chancellor Myles is active in her community and church. She founded and hosted the first expungement clinic in Rutherford County. She regularly volunteers with the expungement clinics in Davidson County and at the Nashville Rescue Mission. She is a past President of the Napier Looby Bar Association and its former Treasurer. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee and is a member of the Discovery Center Guild and the Lawyers Association for Women. She is a past board member for the Board of Directors for the United Way of Rutherford County and Elevated Development. Chancellor Myles has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Tennessee as an Attorney for Justice for her pro bono service.
Since returning from New York City, she has lived in Middle Tennessee for over 16 years. She is the adoring mother to Kaleb, Myles and McCartney and puppy Thurgood Marshall.
“I am truly honored to have an opportunity, as a minority woman, to be the first to bring this diverse and inclusive perspective to our civil trial court bench in Nashville. With the critical matters brought to the Chancery Court, it is vitally important that the law is interpreted and applied impartially and equally for everyone in this county and I plan to do just that.”