NSL Welcomes the Class of 2026

Atotal of 110 new students filled the auditorium at Nashville School of Law in July 2022, for new student orientation. Murfreesboro high school history teacher Nancy Baxley was one of them. Teaching for more than two decades, she knows firstday jitters are normal. However, it has been awhile since she was the new student.

“I had a bit of anxiety and thought, I am not sure if I can do all this. Then I talked myself down and thought, it is only four classes, two days a week; four classes, two days a week,” said Baxley.

While she continues to teach high school during the day, she will attend evening classes at NSL.

“It was encouraging to see other folks my age at orientation. I am still unsure about what I am going to do with my law degree, but I am excited for the possibilities,” said Baxley.

The two-day orientation at NSL was filled with lectures, panel discussions and informative sessions that gave students an idea of what they can expect during their four years of law school.

“Our orientation program is designed to welcome our new students and to emphasize the significance of their decision to earn a law degree. They are beginning the process of transforming themselves into legal professionals who will serve their clients and communities and advance the Rule of Law,” said Dean William C. Koch.

The students heard from NSL faculty members Chuck Shonholtz, Professor of Advanced

Legal Studies; Dr. Thorunn McCoy, NSL Writing Professional; and David Hudson Jr., former Professor of Bar Exam Workshop. The instructors not only offered advice on how to succeed in law school, but they also started teaching some of the curriculum with PowerPoint presentations included, enticing students to request a copy.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sarah Campbell administered the Oath of Professionalism, a requirement of all new NSL students.

“When attorneys join the Tennessee Bar, they take an oath to conduct themselves with honesty, fairness, integrity, and civility. Nashville School of Law serves its students well by asking them to take a similar oath as incoming 1Ls. Students who practice professionalism during their legal training will no doubt be better prepared to, as the oath puts it, “embrace the responsibilities” that accompany the privilege of joining our noble profession,” Campbell said.

Another panel, comprised of current NSL students, led by 4L student Mitzi Dorris, provided helpful suggestions like creating outlines, recording lectures, and joining a study group.

“I enjoyed the student panel. No one else in my family has been to law school,” said Jasmine Patton, a Nashville law office manager. “So, to hear from current students about what they’ve experienced was very valuable. I spent my evening looking up different devices and things they talked about that we will need for class,” she said.

Patton, who is a Tennessee State University graduate, was the first student to show up for this year’s orientation and was eager to begin her first year at NSL.

“When I left orientation, I thought, this is where I need to be,” she said. “The organizational skills and time management a student needs made me think, I can absolutely do this.”

From a young age, Jeri “Keneath” Galyon was always enthusiastic and curious. She spent a good amount of time at her dad’s law firm, so her introduction to statutes and amendments came early in life.

Galyon and Associates, in Sevierville, Tennessee, just 30 miles south of Knoxville, was founded in 1969 by her dad, Jerry Kenneth Galyon.

Jerry Galyon started out as a family law attorney, and within a few years he ended up becoming a criminal defense lawyer. After he passed away in 2011, Galyon and Associates eventually closed its doors, but the family still owns the building.

Sharing her dad’s initials, Keneath Galyon has many of his personalized office items like a notebook, pen case and business card holder with the letters “JKG.” She also still has the firm’s sign, “Galyon and Associates,” which welcomed clients at the front door.

When Galyon received her Bachelor of Arts degree from East Tennessee State University this case, the facts from this one, and the rule from this one, and you will apply it. The information we read from our textbook makes more sense because he is sharing how it is used every day,” she said.

“I was going five days a week from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. It was just go, go, go all the time. It was so much pressure. Even if you dropped down to part time, it was still six or seven classes. It was a lot,” said Galyon. She eventually dropped out and second-guessed her decision to attend law school. It was her mom, Patricia, who encouraged her not to give up. In fact, when Galyon applied and was then accepted to Nashville School of Law, her mom decided to ride with her as she made the more than 200-mile trip, three and a half hours one way with a time change, to and from NSL.

“My mom usually comes with me when I come the day before an exam, and we will go out to a good dinner and then I study at night while she reads,” said Galyon. “Sometimes she helps me. She says she should get an honorary J.D. degree because she listens to the lectures and reads the work too.”

Starting NSL in August 2022 as a first-year law student, Galyon quickly felt at ease. “People know my name here, almost all my professors know how far I drive to get here, and they are all understanding of my circumstances,” said Galyon. “Everyone here seems so happy and willing to help each other.”

Interested in criminal law, Galyon appreciates the fact that many of her professors walk out of a courtroom from their workday and into the NSL classroom to teach at night.

“I have General Funk for Legal Skills and Values, and I like his writing style more than the book. He has something he calls the “Funk Treatment,” where he says you take the facts from

“Ms. Galyon is a dedicated student. I expect her to become an excellent attorney,” said Funk, professor of Legal Skills and Values I. “If she really wants to be a top criminal defense attorney, my advice would be for her to work in a district attorney’s office for a few years after graduation.

“Given her diligence, I hope she chooses to continue learning through some public service prior to entering private practice. The criminal justice system works best when lawyers humanize everyone who comes into the courthouse – victims and defendants alike.”

Galyon admits the set of rules that criminal defense lawyers must follow to help people is appealing. She enjoys learning about the law, and sometimes does more work than assigned.

“News stories are not always favorable to someone who has been arrested. That always makes me think, I need the whole picture. Just because you are arrested does not mean that you did the crime or that you should have been arrested,” said Galyon.

“I am always curious. I even read the additional information from the footnotes in class.”

For now, Galyon plans on moving back home to Sevierville to reopen her dad’s firm after she graduates from NSL. She will hang the “Galyon and Associates” sign once again, which she hopes will greet her future clients at the firm’s front door.

Lily Ying’s dream job has always been teaching philosophy. But life has a way of changing your dreams and steering you to a career you didn’t even know you wanted.

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Ying (born Qianlu Ying) received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy from Fudan University in Shanghai. Ying, who will graduate from Nashville School of Law in May, had a one-year visiting scholarship offered by the John Templeton Foundation and studied in the philosophy department at Baylor University, an experience that led her to pursue a PhD in the United States.

She met Wei Huang when they were graduate students in Shanghai, and they married in 2010. They came to the United States in 2012 when she received a full scholarship to enroll in the PhD program in political philosophy at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her degree in 2018. She and Huang