Renee Hammond joined Ritchie, Davies, Johnson & Stovall, P.C. after working for more than two decades as a law clerk to judges on both the Tennessee Supreme Court and Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, assisting those courts in determining cases on appeal. Ms. Hammond’s practice includes a variety of criminal defense at both the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts, with a focus on legal research and writing. Ms. Hammond also represents healthcare providers in disciplinary matters. She is admitted to practice in all courts in the State of Tennessee and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee.

Ms. Hammond began her legal career as Junior Law Clerk to the Honorable Gary R. Wade, Presiding Judge of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. She was promoted to Senior Law Clerk in 2004. From 2006 to 2007, she served as law clerk to then Justice Wade during his first year on the Tennessee Supreme Court. From August 2007 to January 2023, Ms. Hammond served as Senior Law Clerk to the Honorable James Curwood Witt, Jr., on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

Ms. Hammond received her Doctor of Jurisprudence, with honors, from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she earned both The Tennessee Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy and The Distinguished Student Attorney Service Award. Also in law school, Ms. Hammond served as a student attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, where she assisted in the prosecution of federal criminal cases. Ms. Hammond graduated magna cum laude from Middle Tennessee State University with an undergraduate degree in Political Science, was a member of the Mock Trial team, and earned awards for outstanding student attorney and team co-captain.

Ms. Hammond previously served as an adjunct professor, teaching legal research and writing, at the University of Tennessee College of Law. She is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Hamilton Burnett Chapter of the American Inns of Court, and the Knoxville Bar Association.

Bar Admissions

• Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee 
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee