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Governors’ Award Recipient Profile
GOVERNORS’ AWARD PROFILE By: Bill Vines
Butler, Vines & Babb
On December 9, 2022, the Knoxville Bar Association presented to Elizabeth “Beth” Ford the Governors’ Award. This award is designated as the association’s highest award. It recognizes those lawyers felt by the association to be role models for the profession.
Beth Ford is executive director of the Federal Defender Services of East Tennessee. She was one of the founding attorneys for this service which handles the great majority of all criminal cases in the East Tennessee federal courts. In addition, the office handles cases which occur on federal property, including the Veterans Hospitals, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Big South Fork, and Cherokee National Forest. Beth quickly rose to be the director, and under her direction grew the office from a staff of three attorneys to 18 attorneys. She supervises a total of 53 employees. Beth developed an efficient staff to handle the criminal cases of all types, and, importantly, developed a capital division. A capital division is something that is available in only a handful of federal defender programs throughout the United States. Consequently, from the office in Knoxville, capital cases have been handled in Ohio, Texas, Florida, Nebraska, Tennessee, and even at Guantanamo, as well as others. The program is well known throughout the country, and Beth has been called upon to be a member of various committees in Washington, D.C. regarding federal defender issues. She has argued before the United States Supreme Court and has met five Supreme Court Justices as part of her work. Simply, Beth has a national reputation.
Beth was raised in Cocke County, the daughter of a State Legislator. She attended Vanderbilt when she was only 16 years old for undergraduate and finished in three years. She received a law degree from the University of Tennessee. She returned to Cocke County in private practice. She was the first female lawyer in private practice in that county. It was not unusual for clients to ask if she was “the secretary.” Subsequently, she accepted a position with the Department of Human Services and traveled 17 counties, addressing issues relating to children. She then accepted a position with the Federal Defender Program and has been there since 1991.
Beth is active in the KBA, having served on the Board of Governors from 2019-2021, the Publications Committee since 2015, the CLE Committee since 2021 and the Diversity in the Profession Committee since 2021. As part of her work with the Diversity in the Profession Committee, Beth served on a subcommittee to draft the Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP), which serves as the KBA’s acknowledgement that inclusion and diversity are core values of the KBA, and it charges the Diversity in the Profession Committee to take action steps to institutionalize recognition and responsibility for inclusion and diversity throughout the KBA. Beth agreed to serve as Co-Chair of the KBA’s new Wellness Committee in January, 2022. The committee has hosted fitness activities and a financial wellness webinar, compiled resources to share with members, and sponsored a health fair and wellness conference that encouraged prioritizing mental health.
Outside of her legal work, she has been passionate about the YWCA, has mentored and taught at the University of Tennessee, and has been active in the Beck Cultural Center and the Messiah Lutheran Church. Beth is married to Mike Driskill. They have a son, Gavin, and daughter, Gwyn, and three grandchildren.
Beth is truly one of the best examples of a model person and a model attorney. She deserves the highest award of the Knoxville Bar Association.
