Amy Rao Mohan

Member

p. (615) 742-4571
f. (615) 742-4539

amohan@srvhlaw.com
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Leveraging both her well-honed advocacy skills and her extensive media background, Amy Rao Mohan develops effective approaches to protect her clients’ interests and reputations inside and outside of the courtroom. Founder and leader of the firm’s crisis management/media relations practice group, Amy represents individuals and businesses in civil litigation and criminal cases and assists clients with media training and press strategies.

Focused on developing practical solutions to achieve positive outcomes and minimize any financial and reputational damage to her clients, Amy has substantial experience handling business litigation, health care liability actions, defamation and media law cases, and appellate litigation. Passionate about trial advocacy, Amy has tried several complex multi-week jury trials during her career. She takes pride in her ability to connect with clients, ease their minds during a crisis, and provide them with a clear path forward.

A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Amy worked as a television reporter and anchor for nearly eight years, most recently at WTVF NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, before attending law school. During that time, she received several awards, including two Emmy awards for her coverage of the 2004 Asian tsunami. After she began her legal career, Amy hosted “Ask the Attorney,” a live monthly call-in show on NewsChannel 5/Cable Channel 50, for several years. Amy currently teaches Communications Law at Belmont University as an adjunct professor and devotes considerable time to pro-bono work, primarily representing inmates on Tennessee’s death row.

Amy earned her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. In law school, she served on the National Moot Court Team, which placed second in the nation in 2010, chaired the Moot Court Board, and served as a staff editor for the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy. She received a certificate of academic excellence in several subjects, including Pretrial Litigation, Evidence, Trial Practice, and Federal Courts. She also interned at the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Prior to joining Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, Amy served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gilbert S. Merritt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. When not serving her clients, Amy enjoys spending time with her two boys exploring Middle Tennessee’s soccer fields.

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CLE Presentations and Speaking Engagements
  • Panelist at Vanderbilt Law School and the Environmental Law Institute’s annual symposium: Turning Participation Into Power: A Water Justice Case Study, February 2022
  • Interviewed on stage Exoneree Amanda Knox at The Innocence Project’s Continuing the Fight, November 2021
  • Managing Media Madness: Crisis Communications for All Lawyers, 3-19-2015 (CLE Speaker along with Dewey Branstetter)
  • Casting a Wide Net: How to Ethically Use Social Media to Advertise, 2-6-2015 (CLE Speaker along with Ryan Holt)
  • A Lawyer’s Role in Crisis Communications: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know, 12-16-2014 (CLE Speaker)
Education & Bar Admissions

Education

  • University of Tennessee College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2012, (Concentration in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution)
  • Northwestern University, B.S.J., 2002

Bar Admissions

  • Tennessee
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • Middle District of Tennessee
  • Western District of Tennessee
Recognition & Publications

Honors

  • Woodward/White: The Best Lawyers In America, 2024-Present (Commercial Litigation); “One to Watch,” 2021-2023
  • Nashville Business Journal Best of the Bar, 2023
  • Attorney for Justice Tennessee Supreme Court Pro Bono Service Award 2020
  • Nashville Business Journal 40 Under 40 class of 2019
  • Selected for inclusion in the Nashville Bar Foundation’s 2018-19 Leadership Forum program
  • Associate member of Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, 2017-2019
  • Selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers 2015-Present (Business Litigation) (“Mid-South Rising Star”)
  • Order of the Coif
  • Order of the Barristers
  • James L. Powers III Excellence in Criminal Advocacy Award
  • Robert E. Pryor Award of Excellence in Advocacy
  • 2011 National Moot Court Competition, Second Best Oralist
  • Susan B. Devitt Award for Excellence in Oral and Written Advocacy
Civic Activities

Civic Activities

  • Board Member, Tennesseans for Alternatives Against the Death Penalty
  • Executive Committee, Tennessee Bar Association’s Communications Law Section
  • Advisory Council Member, The Tennessee Innocence Project
  • Belmont University, Former Adjunct Professor
  • Nashville Bar Association Representative, Davidson County Board of Ethical Conduct 2019-2022
  • Board of Directors, FiftyForward 2015-2018; Chair of FiftyForward Communications Committee 2016-2019

Practice Areas

Blog Posts

Know Your Audience

We all switch communication styles multiple times each day. We talk to our coworkers differently than we talk to our clients, or we communicate differently on social media than we would in a [...]