ACS · NSL Student Chapter / Founding Class · Spring 2026
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Nashville School of Law Student Chapter of the American Constitution Society
Student Chapter American Constitution
Society
№ 01 Nashville School of Law · Student Chapter

Law as
a force
for justice.

A founding chapter at NSL. We're building a community of students who believe the Constitution is "of the people, by the people, and for the people" — and who interpret the document based on its text and against the backdrop of history and lived experience.

Express Interest →
§ 02  —  Next Meeting

Grace Stranch
and Phil Brest,
September 17.

Our first speaker event pairs the national president of ACS, joining by video, with the lawyer who leads ACS in Nashville — and who founded an ACS student chapter of her own.

Open to every NSL student, whatever your class year and whether or not you’re a member. We’ll also take a few minutes for chapter business: the fall calendar and the class representative seats still open. September 17 is a third Thursday — the chapter’s standing meeting night.

Call to order in
  • --Days
  • --Hours
  • --Minutes
  • --Seconds
We're underway — Room 400.
§ 02.1  —  This Month’s Speakers
K. Grace Stranch
Courtesy Stranch,
Jennings & Garvey
K. Grace Stranch
President, ACS Nashville Lawyer Chapter
Chief Executive Officer, Harpeth Conservancy
Of Counsel, Stranch, Jennings & Garvey

Grace Stranch leads the Harpeth Conservancy, Tennessee’s statewide clean-water organization, and remains of counsel at Stranch, Jennings & Garvey. Her practice has centered on class actions, labor and employment litigation, civil rights, consumer protection, and election law. The Tennessee Supreme Court has named her an Attorney for Justice for her pro bono work. She helped found the ACS chapter at the University of Tennessee College of Law — and now serves as president of the ACS Nashville Lawyer Chapter.

Class Actions · Labor & Employment · Election Law · Environmental
Phil Brest
Courtesy American
Constitution Society
Joining by video
Phil Brest
President, American Constitution Society

Phil Brest became ACS’s president in January 2026. He came to the organization from the White House Counsel’s Office, where as Senior Counsel he directed the Biden administration’s judicial nominations — an effort that confirmed 235 Article III judges, the most under any administration in nearly five decades. He previously spent six years with the Senate Judiciary Committee, most recently as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Senator Dick Durbin, leading the confirmations of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and nearly 100 federal judges.

Judicial Nominations · Senate Judiciary · White Collar Defense
§ 03  —  About the Society

What is
the American
Constitution
Society?

Founded in 2001, ACS is a national 501(c)(3) educational organization with nearly 250 student and lawyer chapters across the country. Members include law students, practitioners, judges, and academics who believe the Constitution should be interpreted in light of its text and against the backdrop of history and lived experience — and who work to ensure the law improves people's lives.

01 / Pillar
Equality
& access
Ensuring the law serves everyone, not just the powerful.
02 / Pillar
Democracy
& rule of law
Defending democratic institutions and constitutional norms.
03 / Pillar
Career
& network
Connecting students with judges, lawyers, and advocates nationwide.
04 / Pillar
Human
dignity
Centering the rights and liberties of every individual in our legal system.
§ 04  —  Founding Status

Building NSL's
first ACS chapter,
from the ground up.

We have seven founding members and a faculty advisor in place. The chapter's Constitution has been signed and the registration packet has been submitted to NSL for formal recognition under Policy 2025-02. The chapter held its inaugural meeting in August and opens its speaker series on September 17, with panels and networking across the Middle Tennessee legal community to follow.

Our chapter needs rising 2Ls and 3Ls. The Executive Board is seated, but every member of it graduates in May 2027. Class representative seats are still open, and those are the roles that carry the chapter past its founding class. If you have any interest in chapter leadership, the form below has a question for that.

President
Bryan Shannon
Vice President
Trevor Hilton
Secretary / Historian
Danielle Aucoin
Treasurer
Van Bryant
Membership & Comms
Lizzy
Throckmorton
Faculty Advisor
Hon. Matthew
Sweeney (Ret.)
§ 05  —  Calendar

The third
Thursday,
as a rule.

The chapter meets on the third Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in Room 400. We deliberately keep it to a small number of meetings a semester so each one is worth your evening. The night is ours by design — it doesn’t collide with the Federalist Society (second Thursday) or the Student Veterans Association (first Thursday), so you never have to choose. When a speaker’s schedule moves a meeting off the pattern, the date below says so.

Monday
August 24
Inaugural meetingThe chapter opened its founding year.
Complete
Thursday
September 17
Grace Stranch & Phil BrestOur first speaker event. ACS’s national president and a Nashville public-interest lawyer.
Next — Confirmed
Thursday
November 12
Fall meetingProgramming to be announced. Note: a second Thursday, not our usual third.
To be announced
Thursday
February 18
Spring meetingProgramming to be announced.
To be announced
Thursday
April 15
Spring meetingProgramming to be announced.
To be announced

Dates beyond September 17 are reserved on the NSL calendar; speakers and topics will be announced here and by email as they’re confirmed.

§ 06  —  Reach the Board

Ask us
anything.

Everything routes through the chapter inbox — it’s checked by the board, and it stays with the chapter as officers graduate. You don’t need to know who handles what, but if you’d rather aim your question, the list is here.

Email the chapter
nashvilleschooloflaw.acs@gmail.com
Instagram
@nashvilleschooloflaw.acs
In person
Room 400 · Third Thursdays · 5:30 p.m.
Who handles what
Bryan ShannonPresident
Chapter direction, ACS National, and anything that doesn’t obviously belong to someone else.
Trevor HiltonVice President
Speakers, programming, and event logistics.
Danielle AucoinSecretary / Historian
Minutes, chapter records, and the archive of what we’ve done.
Van BryantTreasurer
Chapter finances and budget.
Lizzy ThrockmortonMembership & Communications
Joining, the mailing list, and social media.
Hon. Matthew Sweeney (Ret.)Faculty Advisor
Faculty sponsor of the chapter under NSL Policy 2025-02.

Express
your interest.

Add your name and we'll be in touch about chapter events. You can also just come to the September 17 meeting and sign up at the door. There is no cost to join the local chapter. National ACS membership is separate and optional — $25 for students, good through December of your graduation year, and required for ACS’s career and clerkship resources (acslaw.org/join).

Leadership
interest.

Our Executive Board is now complete. Class representative seats remain open — one for each of the 1L, 2L, 3L, and 4L classes. Class reps carry their classmates’ interests to the board and sit with it in an advisory, non-voting capacity. It is the most direct way into chapter leadership this year. Check any roles you'd be open to exploring — no commitment required at this stage.

Your information will only be used to organize chapter activities and keep you informed about our launch. We will not share your data with third parties.

Confirmation · Received

You're on
the list.

Thank you for your interest in the ACS NSL Student Chapter. We’ll be in touch about chapter events. Our next meeting is Thursday, September 17 at 5:15 p.m. in Room 400 — come by.