Bar Admissions
ADMITTED TO PRACTICE LAW BEFORE:
• United States Court of International Trade (New York, USA)
• United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee
• United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Tennessee
• The courts of the State of Tennessee
Education
• Master of Laws (LL.M.), International Business Law, Vrije University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Graduated: July 2007)
• Juris Doctorate, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis (Graduated: May 2006)
• Law School Summer Study Abroad, St. Mary’s Institute on Global Legal Problems at Universität of Innsbruck, Austria (Completed: Summer 2004)
• Banking Coursework, Center for Banking and Financial Planning, Memphis (2003).
• B.A. in Journalism with a minor in English, Columbia College, Chicago (1994)
Professional Associations & Memberships
• 2004-2009 Board Member, Association for Women Attorneys in Memphis, Tennessee
• 2008-2010 Board Member, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis
• 2008-09 Steering Committee Member, The Law School for Journalists, continuing legal education seminars sponsored by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
• Other professional memberships: American Bar Association, Ben Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association, Memphis Bar Association, Memphis & Shelby County Council on Aging
Honors and Awards
CALI Award, International Business Transaction
CALI Award, Contract Drafting
CLEO Fellow, American Bar Association, Section of Business Law
2006-07 Fellow, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
2006 Dean's Distinguished Service Award, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, University of Memphis
PUBLICATIONS:
• “Women on Boards”, American Bar Association Reporter – CLE material developed for 2007 Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California
• “Golden Beauty: The FSIA & The Gilded Battle for Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” by Vanessa Cross and Melissa R. Allen (The Griffin’s View Journal on International and Comparative Law, Vol. 7, No. 2, January 2007)
• “Commentt: Revisiting Wesley v. Collins & Tennessee’s Disenfranchisement Statute,” The University of Memphis Law Review (Volume 36, Book 2) 36 U. Mem. L. Rev. 543 (Winter 2006)
• “The Actual Notice Requirement to Estate Creditors in Probate Proceedings in Tennessee,” Tennessee Young Lawyer, published by Young Lawyers Division of Tennessee Bar Association, (Vol. 1, Issue 3, Spring 2006)
• “Case Note: Hunter v. Ura: Appealing a Grant of Excessive Peremptory Challenges in Tennessee,” Tennessee Journal of Practice and Procedure (Spring 2007)
• “Study Abroad Essay: Plan Your Trip and Get on the Plane,” American Bar Association's Student Lawyer Magazine, p. 70 (January 2005)
• "Past is Prologue: The IT Market & September 11th," by Vanessa Cross (KnowledgeStaff, 2002)
• An Anthology of Black Folks Wit, Wisdom, and Sayings, (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1994)
