Melanie E. Davis, Attorney

Melanie E. Davis, a native of Maryville, Tennessee, graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in French Magna Cum Laude in 1992. She was Phi Beta Kappa and a Normandy Scholar. She attended graduate school at the University of Tennessee from 1992-1993 in French Literature and went on to Law School, graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law Cum Laude in 1996. In Law School she was the President Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity, a member of the Moot Court Board, a semi-finalist in the College of Law Advocates Prize, and a member of the Labor Law Moot Court Team. She was Woman Graduate of the Year in 1996.

While attending law school, Ms. Davis clerked for the U. S. Attorney's Office in Knoxville, Tennessee and for the Honorable Leon Jordan of the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Ms. Davis joined Kizer & Black in 1995. Her areas of practice include general civil and business litigation, personal injury, municipal law, land use law, and appellate practice. She has represented the City of Maryville since 1999 and as such represents the City Council, the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, and the City School Board. She has been active in drafting and enforcing numerous ordinances enacted by the City and in representing the City in its contracts and litigation. She additionally prosecutes City Court violations. She represents numerous developers and property associations in the area.

Ms. Davis is Board Certified in civil trial advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.  She is certified as a civil trial specialist by the Tennessee Commission of Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.

Ms. Davis has been a member of the Blount County Bar Association since 1996 and was President in 2000. She additionally served as Speakers Chair from 1999-2001 and was on the Ethics Committee. Ms. Davis participated in the Mock Trial Competition for local high school students from 1996-2004 as a Judge, a High School Advisor to Maryville High School, and as coordinator for the District in 2004. Ms. Davis is a member of Tennessee Bar Association, Appellate Practice Sections, and also serves as a Member of the Inaugural Executive Committee. She is additionally a member of the Knoxville Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Tennessee Municipal Attorneys Association, the Tennessee Association of School Board Attorneys, and Litigation Counsel of America. Additionally, Ms. Davis has served as a hearing committee member for the Board of Professional Responsibility since 2005 and has presented CLE seminars on municipal law and law on the internet. Ms. Davis is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, limited to trial lawyers who have obtained a trial verdict, award, or settlement in the amount of one million dollars or more.

Ms. Davis is on the Board of the Maryville City Schools Foundation. She was a member of the Leadership Blount Class of 2001 and was a former Board member of the Blount County American Red Cross, the YWCA of Blount County, Childrens International Summer Villages, and Vocational Rehab of Blount County, Tennessee.

Ms. Davis is licensed to practice before all state courts, the United States District Court, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.