Butler Snow LLP is pleased to announce that attorney Gadson William (Will) Perry was recently appointed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC). Perry is one of five new Commissioners, all of whom attended their first quarterly Commission meeting on August 15, 2024. Perry’s term will run through June 30, 2029.
“The firm is thrilled to congratulate Will on this significant achievement,” said Christopher R. Maddux, chair of Butler Snow. “He is an exceedingly skilled trial and appellate lawyer well deserving of recognition. We look forward to seeing his contributions to higher education in Tennessee as he takes on this new role.”
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) was created in 1967 by the Tennessee General Assembly to achieve coordination and foster unity concerning higher education in Tennessee. The Commission develops, implements, and evaluates post-secondary education policies and programs in Tennessee while coordinating the state’s systems of higher education. THEC is relentlessly focused on increasing the number of Tennesseans with a post-secondary credential.
Perry is a member of Butler Snow’s Commercial Litigation Group and also focuses his practice on alternative dispute resolution. He has represented businesses and governmental entities in litigation, arbitration, and mediation in more than a dozen states; tried bench and jury trials in state and federal courts; and argued before state and federal courts of appeal. From June 2021 to September 2022, Perry served as a Tennessee Chancery Court Judge, or Chancellor, presiding over a civil docket of more than 2,000 business, governmental, tax, divorce, and child custody cases. He is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator.
Perry has received multiple professional honors, including recognition by Super Lawyers® for Business Litigation and Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation and Appellate Practice. He also has served on the governing boards of the Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations.
A former middle school English teacher, Perry holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wake Forest University. Perry earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he was a staff editor of Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law and Chair of the Moot Court Executive Board. He was awarded the McClung Medal and the Judge James M. Haynes Prize for his graduating class.
