D. Billye Sanders (Of Counsel)
D. Billye Sanders is Of Counsel with Dockery & Associates. In addition, she is a commercial and employment law arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. Formerly a partner with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, Billye has over 35 years of experience practicing law. Her clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies and municipalities to start-up companies. Her primary practice areas are administrative law, public utilities, land use and state and local government relations. She has represented clients in complex utility rate cases, cases of first impression under new statutes, licensing and rule-making proceedings and a variety of regulatory matters. She also has experience with mergers and acquisitions, financial institutions and general corporate transactional work.
Prior to joining the Waller law firm, Billye served as Deputy General Counsel for the Tennessee Public Service Commission. During her tenure at the Commission, she represented the public interest in litigation involving public utilities, managed the Legal Division, and handled a variety of labor and employment matters. Before joining the Commission, Billye served as Legal Counsel for United Southern Bank in Nashville.
Billye has been recognized by her peers in the Nashville Business Journal as one of the “Best of the Bar” and was recognized by Business Tennessee as one of the “Best 101 Lawyers in the State of Tennessee.” She has an AV® Preeminent peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating for ethical standards and legal ability. She has also been honored as a member of the YWCA Academy for Women of Achievement, a recipient of the J. C. Napier Trailblazer Award from the Napier-Looby Bar Foundation, recipient of the Fisk University Distinguished Alumni Award for Service to the University, a member of the Central High School (Louisville, KY) Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame, recipient of the Cable Spirit of Leadership Award and the Molly Todd Cup, which is awarded to outstanding women who spend much of their lives making the world, and particularly Nashville, a better place to live.