Faculty Profile: Sonya Wright

Sonya Smith Wright is a graduate of the Emory University School of Law, where she was inducted into the Order of the Barristers for outstanding oral advocacy and legal writing. She is an experienced litigator with a wealth of diverse experiences. Wright began her career with a large defense firm in its civil litigation department, where she participated in several state jury trials and defended a multimillion dollar lawsuit in federal court for a national hotel chain. She also tried one of the first medical malpractice cases to ever go to arbitration in Tennessee with a full defense verdict.
Wright then became the managing partner of the Tennessee office of a Tampa, Florida based law firm concentrating on first party litigation. In this capacity, Wright began representing homeowners and business owners against insurance companies who wrongfully denied claims. Through this experience, she has helped families, elderly couples, newlyweds, and other individuals who have suffered a catastrophic loss to their home or business from flooding, hail, tornado, fire, and sinkhole, as well as other natural disasters.
Wright then started her own firm with Amy Farrar who already had a reputation for helping Tennessee homeowners and business owners with their legal needs. This has allowed Wright to continue to combine her experience in first party insurance litigation with her corporate and business background to better advise and serve all of her clients.
Wright's passion is advising business owners. She has drafted arbitration agreements, worked with clients on non-compete agreements, and designed discovery plans for businesses that can be used throughout the country to help cut costs and ensure a strong and consistent defense. Wright works with her clients to make strategic decisions that are best for the business, which sometimes means avoiding litigation.
Wright is involved in the Nashville Pro Bono Program, the Modest Means Initiative, and Greenhouse Ministries. She has served on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Wilson County, the Monroe Carell Junior Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and is currently active in the Murfreesboro Noon Lions Club and CABLE. Wright was awarded the Lewis Donelson Public Service Award for her community service and has been named a 2014 Super Lawyers Mid-South Rising Star in the area of business litigation.
Wright grew up on a tobacco and cattle farm just outside of Lebanon, Tennessee, where she and her sisters were involved in 4-H and FFA. Wright has remained active in her agriculture roots and has served as the state advisor for the Tennessee Junior Angus Association, a director on the Tennessee Angus Association Board of Directors, and currently serves as the Beef Superintendent of the Tennessee State Fair. She lives on a small farm outside of Lebanon with her husband and son.