Faculty Profile: Erika Barnes

Erika Barnes is a Member of Stites & Harbison Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy Service Group and the Business Litigation Service Group. Erika represents creditors and franchisors in bankruptcy cases nationwide. She also has experience representing creditors' committees and Chapter 11 trustees. Erika handles complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts. She frequently represents lenders and special servicers in commercial foreclosures and mortgage litigation. Erika is certified as a specialist in business bankruptcy by the American Board of Certification and the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.

She received her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, and her M.B.A, B.S. (magna cum laude), and B.A. (magna cum laude) from Tennessee Technological University. Erika is a member of the board of directors of the American Board of Certification, an organization that certifies attorneys as specialists in business bankruptcy, consumer bankruptcy and creditors' rights law.  She is Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Bankruptcy Section Executive Council and is a graduate of the 2011 Nashville Emerging Leaders Class.  Erika also actively participates in the Lawyers' Association for Women.

She is a member of the American, Kentucky, Nashville, and Tennessee (Bankruptcy Section Chair) Bar Associations, American Bankruptcy Institute, Turnaround Management Association, Lawyers' Association for Women (Nashville, Marion Griffin Chapter), International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, and the American Board of Certification, Board of Directors.