Background Check

Bart Pickett was recently appointed as the State Trial Court Administrator for the Twentieth Judicial District where he oversees the operations of the 18 State Trial Courts. Prior to that, he practiced as a trial attorney for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.

Twenty years ago, Martha Boyd left her Nashville home and law practice for active-duty service in Iraq. The Middle East might seem like a long way for someone from Dyersburg, TN, but not for the Boyd family. Boyd’s father, who himself had served in the military, had always emphasized that military service should be looked at as a way to expand one’s world view and to try different experiences. It’s no surprise then that Boyd and her two older brothers all chose to serve.

Following graduation from Dyersburg High School in 1986, Boyd headed to Vanderbilt on an Army ROTC scholarship. She majored in English and graduated in 1990, being commissioned a Second Lieutenant the same day. She went to Ft. Huachuca in Arizona for training in military intelligence. She then spent 3 years in Germany where the American soldiers were adjusting to their role in a reunified Germany. After a brief stint in AZ for continued training, she was assigned to the National Security Agency in Maryland.

After 6 years of active duty, Boyd returned to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt Law School beginning in 1996. Boyd spent one weekend a month serving in the Army Reserves at Ft. Campbell during law school.

Going into law school, Boyd had not considered working for a big firm until she accepted a summer clerkship at Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati. That experience solidified Boyd’s desire to pursue private practice. After law school graduation, Boyd practiced in FBT’s Cincinnati office until 2002 when she returned to Nashville. Not long after her move, Boyd was called up for active duty in Iraq. She deployed in late 2003 and returned home in October 2004. Martha describes her time in Iraq as lifechanging. She saw the positive impact of the war on the lives of the Iraqi people (i.e., the removal of Saddam Hussein) and the negative – the militias that emerged to fill the void of a legitimate government and that destabilized the country and caused years of relentless war and hardship. She also made lifelong friends with several of her Iraqi interpreters. She realized during her time in Iraq that the similarities between Americans and Iraqis far outweighed the differences.

Boyd resigned from the Army as a Major in 2005, and shortly after she wed fellow attorney and TBI agent Rich Littlehale. They wanted to start a family and Boyd thought it would be a good idea to be home since she would play a critical role in the project. It was a hard decision but with the war on terror, the possibility of a new deployment would always be there.

Boyd joined Bradley Arant in 2006 where she stayed until joining Baker Donelson in 2012, where she remains. Boyd’s practice has always been employment law. Her practice focuses on providing employment counsel to employers, conducting workplace investigations (e.g., employee misconduct, harassment and discrimination, and employee fraud), and conducting training for managers on topics like interviewing and hiring; employee engagement and management; and discipline and discharge. Baker Donelson recently selected Boyd to chair the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group.

Boyd has found involvement with Operation Stand Down Tennessee as a way to continue her service in support of the military. The organization does an amazing job providing high level/high quality services for veterans in Middle Tennessee. Boyd served on the board from 20152021 and continues to advise the organization on employment issues on a pro bono basis.

Boyd also speaks highly of her time engaged in bar activities and serving on the NBA board. She believes bar service is essential and a great way to interact with lawyers from all practices to support our continued collegiality. Boyd likens NBA events to family reunions and would love to see all lawyers spend some time in service to the bar.

Boyd and her husband live in the Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood with their daughter, Alice, and cat, Leroy. Rich now serves as an assistant director for the TBI. Alice is a sophomore at University School of Nashville. While she currently considers herself a nascent ukulele player, one day when she retires, Boyd plans on taking professional lessons and improving, with the goal of joining a band and traveling the world. If that fails, she will be content to sit on the front porch, playing the ukulele and singing to herself.