President Barack Obama has nominated Jane Branstetter Stranch, who earned her J.D. at Vanderbilt in 1978, for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Stranch is currently a partner at the Nashville law firm Branstetter Stranch & Jennings, where she has developed a national practice in labor and employment law and specializes in complex ERISA litigation. As a result of her ERISA work, Stranch has an in-depth understanding of one of the most complex and rapidly changing areas of federal law as it develops across the federal circuits. Her extensive practice has given her significant experience in alternative forms of dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration.
Stranch has also practiced before the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, where she worked on a range of environmental issues. She has taught labor law at Belmont University and served on the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee. She is a member of the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations, the Nashville Bar Foundation, and the Lawyers’ Association for Women. As an active member of the Nashville community, she dedicates considerable time to pro bono work and civic matters.
Before earning her law degree at Vanderbilt Law School, where she graduated Order of the Coif, Stranch received a B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Vanderbilt in 1975. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.