Steve was born in Springfield, Tennessee.  He attended Vanderbilt University (B.A., 1975); Webster College (M.A., 1976); and Memphis State University (J.D., 1979).   He was admitted to the bar in Tennessee in 1980.  In Law School, he was a member of the Law Review, the Moot Court Board and Order of Barristers, and was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Contracts.  Steve Co-authored "Tennessee Workers' Compensation Practice" (PESI 1995).  He is a member of the Knoxville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations, the Defense Research Institute, and the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association.  Notable cases include:  Bennett v. Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge, 714 S.W.2d 273 (Tenn. 1986); Blalock v. Claiborne, 775 S.W.2d 363 (Tenn.App. 1989); Brown v. Canterbury Corp., 844 S.W.2d 134 (Tenn. 1992); Bradshaw v. Old Republic Insurance Co., 922 S.W.2d 503 (Tenn. 1996); Bomely v. Mid-America Corp., 970 S.W.2d 929 (Tenn. 1998).