Cynthia Padilla

Cynthia D. Padilla is an experienced attorney and legal educator with more than three decades of experience in civil law, appellate practice, legal research, and writing. She currently serves as a Personal Staff Attorney for Judge Thomas R. Frierson II of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, where she drafts proposed appellate opinions, conducts legal research and analysis, prepares bench memoranda, and mentors chambers attorneys and interns.

Padilla earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Tennessee College of Law, graduating magna cum laude and ranking first in her graduating class. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she graduated cum laude.

Prior to her current role, Padilla served as Senior Law Clerk for Judge Herschel P. Franks, former Presiding Judge of the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Her career also includes private civil practice, where she worked in areas including civil rights, personal injury, domestic relations, business disputes, wills and estates, and adoption.

From 2013 to 2020, Padilla served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law, teaching Legal Process II to first-year law students. Her instruction focused on legal analysis and writing, research, persuasive argument, and legal citation. Throughout her career, she has also mentored law students and young attorneys and remained engaged with the University of Tennessee and Knoxville legal communities.