Legal Services At The Intersection Of Business And Life

Suzanne G. Marsh

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Practice Areas

  • Litigation
  • Business/Corporate Purchase and Sale Agreement
  • Employer Defense Mediation/Arbitration

Biography

Though she was raised in Nashville, Suzanne G. Marsh considers Clarksville her hometown, having attended college and spending her entire 30-year professional career here. After graduating from Austin Peay State University, she left her home state and headed due south, enrolling in law school in Alabama at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. After graduation, however, she felt compelled to return to her Tennessee roots. 

Drawn to Clarksville’s close-knit sense of community and Batson Nolan’s reputation, she began her professional career with the firm in 1992. Suzanne rose through the ranks, becoming partner after 10 years. Now having been with the firm for 30+ years (20 as a partner) and licensed in state and federal courts in Tennessee and Kentucky, she credits her longevity to her love of problem-solving, passion for learning, and the support of her BN colleagues. 

“Early in my career with the firm, we had two former Tennessee Bar Association Presidents (F. Evans Harvill and Dan L. Nolan) actively practicing law as partners,” says Suzanne. “Their mentorship and professionalism encouraged me to remain engaged through the peaks and valleys of law practice.”   

Focus on Healthcare

Suzanne has a hybrid litigation and transactional practice.  She practices in the firm’s Civil Litigation Group, focusing on professional liability (medical/legal/accounting malpractice) defense, licensure and administrative actions, and defending employers in the many overlapping state and federal laws governing the employment relationship and general human resources compliance for governmental entities and small business.  In addition to the civil litigation practice, she works with individuals and companies in the formation of partnerships, LLCs, and corporations and in the drafting of documents for the purchase and sale of businesses including dental practices, pizza restaurants, and automotive repair/body shops. 

Suzanne’s passion, however, has always been working with healthcare providers. A self-proclaimed science geek, she’s always been drawn to the medical/science field, often reading technical journals or guidelines in her free time and even gathering a small personal collection of medical instruments.

For the first 25 years of her practice, much of her time was dedicated to medical malpractice defense. “Healthcare providers assimilate information rapidly and are accustomed to making decisions in a very abbreviated timeline.  Their operating tempo is different.” says Suzanne. “I learn something from them in every interaction.”  

Over the last 5 years, her practice has primarily involved working with physicians in professional practice formation and the life cycle of a medical practice or other business.  She works with healthcare providers forming new practice groups, bringing in new partners, and planning for the sale or other changes that these businesses face. “I defended health care liability lawsuits for almost 25 years,” says Suzanne. “Much of my work now is a continuation of the professional relationships I have enjoyed with my clients for decades.” 

Suzanne is listed as a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 General Civil Litigation Mediator and completed the American Health Lawyers Association arbitration trainings in 2023 to serve as a neutral. She became a member of IADC in 2023 as well.

Suzanne lives in Clarksville with her Border Collie, Ace, who often accompanies her at the office.  

Education

  • Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama
    • J.D. - 1992
    • Honors: cum laude
  • Austin Peay State University
    • B.B.A. - 1989
    • Honors: magna cum laude
  • Tennessee Rule 31 Listed Mediator (General Civil)
  • IADC (International Association of Defense Counsel)
  • AHLA Neutral

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Pro bono counsel for the Child Advocacy Center for the 23 Judicial District
  • Pro bono counsel for the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center
  • Pro bono counsel for the Chapel Hill Christian Academy
  • Counsel for the Clarksville-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, 2006-2007

Professional Associations

  • Montgomery County (Tennessee) Bar Association
  • Tennessee Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • American Health Law Association
  • Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
  • American Health Lawyers Association Dispute Resolution Service Arbitration Panel
  • International Association of Defense Counsel

Current Employment Position

  • Member

Bar Admissions

  • Tennessee, 1992
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1993
  • Kentucky, 2013
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky, 2022
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee, 1993

Honors

  • Martindale-Hubbell Ranking: Rated AV-Preeminent, the highest peer review rating for professional excellence
  • 2022 America’s Most Honored Lawyers – Top 1% in 2022
  • 2022 AV Preeminent Attorney – Judicial Edition
  • Martindale-Hubbell Top Rated Lawyers in Labor & Employment Law
  • Martindale-Hubbell Top Rated Lawyers in Litigation
  • 30th Anniversary – 2022

Representative Cases

  • Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hosp., et al., 984 S.W.2d 593 (Tenn. 1999) (concerning the damages available in an action for wrongful death)
  • Field v. Trigg County Hosp., et al., 386 F.3d 729, (6th Cir. 2004)
  • Buman v. Gibson, a 2016 case concerning the exclusion of expert witnesses
  • Smith v. Outen, a 2020 case concerning the application of sanctions against attorneys within healthcare liability litigation