Faculty Profile: Mary-Kathryn Harcombe

Mary-Kathryn Harcombe grew up in Houston, Texas, but left as soon as she could. She attended college at Stanford University in California and law school at New York University School of Law. In 2004, Mary-Kathryn came to Nashville to clerk for Judge Martha C. Daughtrey on the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The following year, she began work at the Nashville Public Defender's Office, where she still works today. At the PD's Office, Mary-Kathryn has represented clients on almost every kind of case, ranging from driver's licenses to death penalty murder. In 2014, Mary-Kathryn shifted focus to become the "immigration specialist" at Nashville Defenders. In that role, she created and now runs the Public Defender's Office's New Americans Project, which aims to improve criminal defense services for those who are non-citizens or new to this country. Nashville Defenders is the only public defense office in Tennessee to house an immigration specialist. Mary-Kathryn writes and presents frequently about the interaction between criminal and immigration law in Davidson County and Tennessee.