DAWN COPPOCK
ATTORNEY AT LAW
P. O. Box 388
Strawberry Plains, TN 37871
(865) 933-8173
Fax (865) 933-3272
LEGAL WORK EXPERIENCE
June 1993 – Present
Attorney at Law, Solo Practitioner - Emphasis on adoption law.
- Adoption & termination of parental rights, including trials, appeals, jurisdictional transfers, foster care, access to adoption records, international adoption, service as guardian ad litem in contested adoptions and adoption-related parentage actions, custody, grandparent rights, guardianship matters and assisted reproductive technology.
October 1987 – June 1993
Attorney at Law for Rainwater, Humble & Vowell, Knoxville, Tennessee.
General Civil Practice.
June 1986 – August 1986
Law Clerk for Judge James H. Jarvis, U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
May 1985 – June 1985
Law Clerk for Egerton, McAfee, Armistead and Davis,
Knoxville, Tennessee.
February 1982 – April 1982
Intern for U.S. Congressman James H. Quillen of Tennessee,
Washington, D.C.
NON-LEGAL WORK EXPERIENCE
October 1983 – August 1984
Purchase Specialist at IBM, Rockville, Maryland
EDUCATION & LICENSURE
October 1987 – Present
Licensed to practice law in the State of Tennessee
May 1987
Juris Doctorate, Marshall-Wythe School of Law
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Grade point average 3.1 (top 30% of class).
Moot Court Board Negotiations Team, American Jurisprudence
Book Award for Trusts and Estates, Society of Mary & William.
May – June 1986
University of Exeter. Summer program in England.
Studied European economic community and comparative
English and French law.
July 1983
Bachelor of Science Degree, Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tennessee Double Major, Management and Business Data Processing. Grade point average 3.76. Magna Cum Laude. Various honor societies. Photographer for the annual staff. Essayist for the Carson-Newman literary magazine.
June 1980
Graduate Holston High School, Knoxville, Tennessee.
CERTIFICATIONS
September 2009
Certified as a Juvenile-Child Welfare Specialist Pursuant to Rule 21 of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
2008 – 2011 Legislative Session
Registered Lobbyist. Tennessee General Assembly.
July 22, 2002
Certified as a Family Law Mediator Pursuant to Rule 31 of the Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31.
DISTINCTIONS
Recommended to the Governor by the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission as one of the three candidates for the 2009 vacancy in the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section.
Received the Bill Williams Service Award for commitment, dedication and service to the Department of Children’s Services and all adoptable children in the State of Tennessee, November 2010.
Selected by the United States Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute as a 2004 Angel in Adoption™.
Martindale Hubble Rating AV
Named as one of Knoxville’s Top Attorney’s by CityView, August 2006, August 2008, September 2009 and July 2011.
150 Best Lawyers in the State of Tennessee, as determined by Business TN Magazine, January 2005.
Best 101 Lawyers in the State of Tennessee, as determined by Business TN Magazine, January 2004.
Distinguished Young Alumna 2005-2006, Carson-Newman College.
LEGAL PUBLICATIONS
Author of Tennessee Adoption Law With Forms and Statutes. Published by Michie Co. April 1997.
Author of Coppock on Tennessee Adoption Law With Forms and Statutes, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Editions. Published by Lexis Law Publishing in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2011.
Member of the Editorial Advisory Board and Author of forward.
Federal Adoption Laws. Published by Lexis Law Publishing 1999 and 2002.
Adoption Questions: The Short Answers, DICTA, December 2009.
Tennessee Adoption Law Distilled, DICTA, September 1996.
POETRY PUBLICATIONS
Wind magazine, a publication of the University of Kentucky
Mossy Creek Reader, a publication of Carson-Newman College
Now & Then a publication of East Tennessee State University
Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, a publication of the Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative
Outscape: Writings on Fences and Frontiers, 2008 Knoxville Writer’s Guild Anthology
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court, 2009.
American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (“AAAA”), 1992 – Present.
- Served on the Special Needs Adoption Committee and the Birth Parents’ Rights Committee.
- Represented AAAA as a presenter at the 1996 Annual Conference of the National Organization of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children held in Louisville, Kentucky.
Adoptive Families of America (“AFA”) Member, 1990 – Present.
- AFA Education & Policy Council Member, 1997 – 1999.
North American Council on Adoptable Children, 1991 – Present.
- Local Chapter Board Member and Legislative Coordinator, 1991-1995.
American Bar Association, 1987 – Present.
- Family Law Section 1991 – Present.
- Adoption Committee, 1991 – Present.
Tennessee Bar Association, 1987 – Present.
- Founder and Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Adoption Law Committee, 1991.
- Chair of the Adoption Law Committee, 1996-1997.
- Member of Family Law Section.
- Member of Appellate Practice Section.
- Board Member of Tennessee Young Lawyers Conference, 1988 – 1992.
- Executive Director of Long Range Planning for the Young Lawyers, 1989 – 1991.
Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Fellow, 2009 – Present.
Tennessee Bar Foundation Fellow, 2009 – Present.
- IOLTA Grant Review Committee, 2010 – Present.
Knoxville Bar Foundation Fellow, 2011 – Present.
State of Tennessee, Department of Children’s Services
- Knox Region Community Advisory Board, 2008 – Present.
Tennessee Trial Lawyers, 1989-1993.
Knoxville Bar Association
- Knoxville Barristers, 1987 – Present.
- Member of KBA’s first Minority Attorney Recruiting Committee, 1990.
- Member of KBA’s first Unmet Legal Needs of Children Committee, 1992.
- Knoxville Barristers Board Member in various capacities including:
- Chair of the Adopt-A-School Committee.
- Long Range Planning Advisor, 1988 – 1990.
East Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women, 1988 – Present.
- Program Co-Chair 2010
- Board Member, 1989 – 1991.
- Secretary, 1990 – 1991.
- Opportunities for Women Committee Member, 1990 – 1993.
Tennessee Lawyer’s Association for Women, 2008 – Present.
Hamilton Burnett American Inn of Court, inducted 2008 as a Master
Sevier County Bar Association, 2009 – Present.
Jefferson County Foster Care Review Board, 2000 – 2006.
Board of Professional Responsibility, Hearing Committee Member, 1994 – 2000.
- Tennessee Supreme Court’s disciplinary enforcement program.
Florence Crittenden Agency,
- Advisory Board, 1994-1997.
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL SEMINARS
A frequent speaker for continuing legal education seminars, judicial training seminars, public information seminars, prospective adoptive parent seminars, and the media on the subject of adoption and termination of parental rights. A partial listing of selected professional presentations are as follows:
- Tennessee Attorneys Memo (TAM)
- Family Law Conference
- New Developments in Adoption Law
- December 1, 2011
- University of Tennessee
- Adopting A Child: Myths & Realities
- Non-Credit Couse for Prospective Adoptive Parents
- January 29, 2011
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Recent Changes in Tennessee Law
- January 10, 2011
- Tennessee Attorney’s Memo (TAM)
- New Developments in Tennessee Adoption Law
- November 2, 2010
- NBI
- Adoption Law – Start to Finish
- May 25, 2010
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Adoption – The Easy Ones
- January 11, 2010
- Knoxville Bar Association
- Adoption Law
- August 14, 2009
- Tennessee Department of Children’s Services
- Removing Procedural Obstacles for Children
- October 3, 2008
- Use of Open Adoption and Moving Children Out of Foster Care
- September 22, 2006
- Tennessee Bar Association and Tennessee Lawyer’s Association for Women
- Utilizing Your Office Staff to Increase Productivity
- June 13, 2008
- Knoxville Paralegal Association
- Hot Topics in Adoption Law
- November 8, 2007
- Tennessee Judicial Conference
- Adoption & Termination of Parental Rights
- March 15, 2007
- Surrender of Parental Rights
- June 6, 2001
- Adoption Law Update
- October 1998
- University of Tennessee Law School – Child Law Society
- Trends In Child Welfare Law
- April 16, 2007
- Adoption and Termination of Parental Rights
- November 16, 2006
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Primary Presenter: Full Day Comprehensive
- Tennessee Adoption Law Series
- November 7, 2003 – Knoxville, Tennessee
- November 14, 2003 – Nashville, Tennessee
- November 18, 2003 – Memphis, Tennessee
- November 21, 2003 – Chattanooga, Tennessee
- 2003 Tennessee Court Clerk’s Conference
- Adoption and Termination, A Clerk’s View
- September 11, 2003
- North American Council on Adoptable Children Annual Conference,
- Adoption Assistance Negotiations
- August 3, 2002 – Chicago, Illinois
- Adoption Assistance Negotiations
- August 4, 2001- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Rural Legal Services
- Choices for an Unplanned Pregnancy
- August 9, 2001
- Nashville Bar Association
- Back to School Domestic Relations Institute: What You Need To Know
- September 2000
- East Tennessee Lawyer’s Assoc. for Women
- Basic Adoption Procedure for the General and Family Law Practitioner
- September 12, 1997
- TBA Annual Meeting
- Domestic Legislative Update – Tennessee Adoption Law
- June 1997 – Destin, Florida
- AAICPC Annual Conference, (AAICPC is the National Organization of
- Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of
- Children)
- Interstate Adoption Practice
- 1996 – Louisville, KY
- Tennessee Trial Lawyers
- Sole Presenter: Full Day Seminar Series
- Re: Basic Adoption Procedures
- August 23, 1996, Murfreesboro & Columbia, Tennessee
- September 20, 1996 – Clarksville & Gallatin, Tennessee
- September 27, 1996 – Cookeville, Tennessee
- ABA Annual Convention
- Representing Birth Mothers in Private Adoptions
- 1993 – San Francisco, CA
- TBA Adoption Law Seminars
- Organizer and a Major Presenter: Full Day Seminar Series
- May 1992 – Nashville, Tennessee
- June 1991 – Memphis, Tennessee
VOLUNTEER WORK
Throughout legal career – volunteer provider of free legal services through Knoxville Legal Aid.
1987 – 1993 provider of free legal services to victims of domestic violence through the Knoxville YWCA, Victim’s Advocacy Program.
Church of the Savior, United Church of Christ, 1998 – Present.
- Servant of All award co-recipient, 2008.
- Service in various capacities including:
- Adult and children’s Sunday school teacher,
- Ordination Committee,
- Associate Pastor Selection Committee, and
- Church Safety Committee.
Lindquist Appalachian Environmental Fellowship (LEAF) Co-founder & Legislative Director. LEAF is a Christian, creation care group. Principal lobbyist for the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act, a bill to stop mountain top removal coal mining in Tennessee in the 2008 and 2009 session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
PERSONAL INTERESTS & HOBBIES
Reading and writing poetry, yoga, kayaking, hiking, gardening, cooking, entertaining and travel.