Patrick Mark Carter

 I have been with the firm Wolaver Carter & Heffington since February 2015.  I began my legal career in 1998 with the law firm of Hardin, Parkes & Kettering, PLLC, which later became Hardin, Parkes, Kelley & Carter, PLLC when I became a partner in 2007.  I primarily practice in the areas of personal injury law, business law, contract law complex civil litigation and wills and estate law.  I also serve as the city attorney for Spring Hill, Tennessee.

I received my doctorate of jurisprudence from the University of Florida College of Law in May 1999, achieving both honors and high honors in my course work.  While at the University of Florida, I earned my pro bono certificate for my work with the Alachua County Teen Court.

Prior to attaining my law degree, I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Idaho in Political Science and Spanish and graduated magna cum laude.  I am a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key Honor Societies among others.  I also studied at the University of Tennessee as well as the Centro De Estudios Interamericanos in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Since beginning my practice, I have been involved in both the Maury County and Tennessee bar associations.  Locally, I re-established the young lawyers division of the Maury County Bar Association in 2000 and served as president of same from 2000 to 2003.  Statewide, I served as the District 11 Representative to the Tennessee Young Lawyers Division from June 2002 to June 2004 and June 2007 to June 2009, and the Middle Tennessee Governor from June 2004 to June 2007.  I have also served as the District 6 Governor for the Tennessee Bar Association from 2006 to 2012.  In addition, I was the secretary of the Teen Youth Court Advisory Board under the auspices of the Tennessee Legal Community Foundation from January 2002 to 2005.  I also graduated from the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law Class of 2005.  In June 2010,  I was inducted as a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.  Since 2011, I have chaired the local annual fundraising campaign for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.  I sat on the coordinating committee for the Tennessee Bar Association’s Informed Voters Project.

I have also been involved in other volunteer activities, such as the Maury County CASA organization, of which I was the organization’s first President and an active Board member, the University of Florida Alumni Mentor Program, and the Tennessee High School Mock Trial Program.  I am a graduate from the Leadership Maury Program.  Recently, I helped lead the charge to save the local YMCA facility, which became The Wellness and Aquatics Complex, Inc.  I also currently serve as the President for the Columbia Soccer Association and am on the Board of Directors for the Maury County United Way.  I am actively engaged in supporting local and community initiatives such as the Muletown Music Festival, Arts in Action and People’s Table among other things.

I am the proud parent of two daughters, Grace and Portia.  My daughters and I reside in Columbia, Tennessee.  I enjoy coaching swim team and soccer in my free time as well as racing in the sport of triathlon, having competed in the infamous Escape from Alcatraz Race in 2011.