TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Mar 10, 2026

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee swore in Brian C. Lea on March 2 as a U.S. district judge, WBBJ reports. Lea fills a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. Lea earned his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2009 and, following law school, served as a law clerk to Judge Edward Earl Carnes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. In between and following his clerkships, Lea worked in private practice. Most recently, he served as deputy associate attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. Senate approved his nomination last month