Jane Branstetter Stranch - CONFIRMED

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

On August 7, 2009, President Obama nominated Jane Branstetter Stranch to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Stranch is the managing partner of the Nashville law firm Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings PLLC.  She has extensive experience in civil litigation, specializing in labor and employment, and securities law.

Biography

Stranch is a native of Nashville, Tennessee.  She was among the first women admitted to the University of Virginia.  She later transferred to Vanderbilt University, where she obtained her B.A., summa cum laude, in 1975.  She graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School, Order of the Coif, in 1978. 

She has practiced at Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings her entire legal career.

The firm was founded in 1952 by Stranch's father, Cecil Branstetter.  It maintains a largely plaintiffs' practice in the areas of labor and employment, securities, and shareholder disputes. 

Jonathan Cole, president-elect of the Nashville Bar Association, said Stranch has a "good judicial demeanor."  He stated that "[s]he's a very well respected, very experienced member of the bar . . . I think she would serve very well."  Clay Carey, The Tennessean, Nashvillian Picked for Bench (Aug. 8, 2009).  United States Representative Jim Cooper, a Nashville Democrat, praised her nomination, stating that "Jane Branstetter Stranch brings years of legal experience to the federal bench." Id.  Her home-state Senator, Lamar Alexander, "congratulate[d] her on being nominated."  Press Release, Senator Alexander Statement on Jane Branstetter Stranch Nomination (Aug. 7, 2009).

Legal Experience

Over thirty years of practice, Stranch has worked primarily as a litigator.  Stranch is known as an ERISA-specialist, and currently has a national practice representing pension funds and individuals in benefit claims and complex securities class action litigation.  She has tried approximately twenty-five cases, most of which were bench trials.  Stranch has appeared before Tennessee state courts, federal district courts, and the Sixth and Ninth Circuits Courts of Appeal. 

Stranch often represents a pension plan or group of plan participants who have lost their account balances due to breaches of fiduciary duties by fund managers or trustees, frequently as a result of corporate mismanagement or improper accounting practices.   In Nortel Networks Corp. ERISA Litigation, No. 3:03-md-01537 (2001), in the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, for example, she represented a class of Nortel employees who lost a majority of their 401(k) account assets when Nortel stock dropped significantly after the company revealed numerous accounting and securities law violations.  Although Stranch filed the case in 2001, it was resolved in September 2009 after extensive discovery and far-ranging motions practice before the District Court—all of which was complicated by Nortel's bankruptcies in Canada and the United States.  Stranch was co-lead counsel throughout the litigation and oversaw the work of several firms, including her own, representing different plaintiffs.

Similarly, in Qwest Savings and Retirement Plan ERISA Litigation, No. 02-cv-00464-REB-PAC (2002), filed in the District Court of Colorado, Stranch represented a class of employees who lost most of their retirement plan assets which were required to be held in Qwest stock.  Corporate improprieties were revealed as the result of Qwest's merger with US West, and the stock declined in value.  Stranch was co-lead counsel and handled a large portion of the discovery, briefing, and oral argument before the District Court.  The case led to the recovery of nearly $58 million for the benefit of the company's retirement plan.  

In addition to her work on behalf of large classes of individuals, Stranch has represented a number of trade and labor unions in labor disputes and negotiations.  She represented several union trust funds in a class action against Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation, challenging the corporation's billing practices.  She has also defended several unions against claims by individual members.  In Black v. Ryder/P.I.E. Nationwide, Inc. et al., Nos. 92-5611 and 92-5694, the plaintiff brought a claim against his employer under the National Labor Relations Act for wrongful discharge, and against his union for breach of its duty of fair representation during his grievance proceedings.  Stranch's firm represented the local trade union at the trial level and on appeal before the Sixth Circuit.   The case went to the Sixth Circuit three times on distinct issues.  930 F.2d 505 (6th Cir. 1991); 970 F.2d 1461 (6th Cir. 1992); 15 F.3d 573 (6th Cir. 1994).  Stranch successfully briefed and argued the three appeals, twice compelling retrial.   

In Akins, et al. v. Zeneca Inc., et al., No. 87-00137, in the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Stranch represented a local union in a lawsuit brought by employees who had been laid off after the closure of their manufacturing plant.  The case was tried to a jury and Stranch successfully obtained dismissal of the claims.  The plaintiffs appealed to the Sixth Circuit and the Supreme Court, but Stranch successfully defended her client in both appeals.  Akins v. Zeneca, Inc., 1995 U.S. App. LEXIS 21536 (6th Cir. Tenn. July 27, 1995); Akins v. Zeneca, Inc., 516 U.S. 1158 (1996). 

Stranch has also worked with several Tennessee utilities, primarily on environmental issues.  She appeared before the state regulatory board multiple times.  In one case, Stranch represented the Savannah Valley Utility District as intervenor in a dispute before the Water Quality Control Board of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.  McCormick v. Tenn. Dep't of Environment, No. 04.02-031364A (2002).  The dispute turned on rules promulgated by the EPA regarding the treatment of surface and ground water.  Stranch successfully tried the case before an administrative law judge.  She has also handled a variety of smaller civil litigation matters on behalf of individual plaintiffs, including wrongful discharge and discrimination claims and personal injury suits. 

As a result of Stranch's extensive litigation practice, she has substantial expertise in some of the most impenetrable areas of the law including securities law, ERISA, and labor relations.  She also possesses the practical experience of managing complex litigation, pursuing discovery, defending settlements, and appearing in bench and jury trials.  Stranch will bring to the court a solid understanding of some of the law's most complex areas, a demonstrated ability to parse and appreciate the complexities of statutory and regulatory schemes, and substantial practical experience litigating some of the most commonly disputed issues before any court.  The combination of her substantive knowledge and practical experience will be a powerful asset to the Sixth Circuit.

Professional Activities

Stranch is a member of the Nashville, Tennessee, and American Bar Associations, and has been named to Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers (Mid-South) for Labor and Employment.  She is a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation, which raises funds in part to provide financial support for law students and continuing education programs.  Fellows are selected by members of the bar on the basis of demonstrated devotion to service to the client and to the public interest, and may not exceed one percent of the total membership of the Nashville bar. 

Between 1981 and 1983, Stranch taught labor law at Belmont University.  Over the years, Stranch has been a regular speaker on questions of labor law, speaking at conferences hosted by the AFL-CIO, United Food and Commercial Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, among others.  Stranch has also been an invited speaker at conferences sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association and Tennessee Association of Utility Districts.   

Stranch is engaged in various community service projects.  She serves on the Board of Directors of Property Tax Assistance, a non-profit that provides property tax assistance to the needy.  She is the former Board President of the Bellevue Family YMCA and Turner Senior Center Advisory Board.  Stranch serves on the Project Steering Committee of the Invisible Children and Child Mothers of Uganda Project.  She is also a member of the Nashville Women's Political Caucus. 

Conclusion

Alliance for Justice commends President Obama for nominating Jane Stranch to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Her background indicates that she will be a strong addition to the bench.  We look forward to working with the President to ensure that his future nominees are also committed to upholding our nation's core constitutional values and to ensuring equal justice for all, not a select few.

» AFJ Report on Jane Branstetter Stranch (pdf)