Faculty Profile: David Briley, Judge

C. David Briley presides over the First Circuit Court in Davidson County, Tennessee.   He was elected in August of 2022.

Prior to being elected, Judge Briley primarily engaged in personal injury and products liability, commercial and class action litigation.  He represented clients in a wide variety of matters in state and federal court in Tennessee and California.  Immediately prior to joining the bench he was an attorney at Spencer Fane Bone McAllester.  He is a Master of the Bench member of the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court.

Judge Briley previously served as an At-Large Member, and Vice Mayor of the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County.  During that service, he focused on ethics, budget, solid waste and government efficiency issues.  He also served as the City’s 7th Mayor where he championed efforts to make Nashville a more equitable city, focusing on eliminating racial disparities in educational, housing, and socio-economic systems.

An eighth generation Nashvillian, Judge Briley graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy in 1982 and then moved to Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown University. Following graduation, he lived in Latin America, where he worked on a volunteer project, taught English and became fluent in Spanish. He earned his JD at Golden Gate University School of Law 1995.