Faculty Profile: Stephen Tepley

Stephen O. Tepley, Esq. is a graduate of the Nashville School of Law and has been a licensed Tennessee Attorney since 1979. From 2002 to 2013 he served as General Counsel and special Assistant General Counsel of the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He is currently in private practice, with special emphasis and experience regarding conservatorship matters. Mr. Tepley has been involved, either directly or indirectly, in the review, preparation and litigation of several hundred Tennessee conservatorship cases in approximately 35 counties across the State. Further, he has served as a Guardian ad litem and Attorney ad litem on numerous occasions. He possesses fiduciary training and experience, having engaged in complex estate planning and served as a trust officer for over three years with SunTrust Bank in Chattanooga, Tennessee; receiving a Trust Administration Certification from the Southern Trust School in Birmingham, Alabama. Steve was a member of the 2013 Volunteer Task Force on Conservatorships and Guardianships established by the Honorable Randall (Randy) Kennedy, Probate Judge for the Seventh Circuit Court of Davidson County, Tennessee; the result of which was an in-depth report of proposed improvements/changes in that jurisdiction, including the creation of the Office of Conservatorship Management. He is a founding member of the Conservatorship Association of Tennessee (CAT) and currently serves as the Chairperson of CAT's Training Committee - leading in the production of a basic conservatorship training video entitled "The Five Golden Rules of Conservatorships", that was released in the spring of 2016.