Stevan L. Black

Stevan Black attended the public schools in Natchez, Mississippi (K-5) and Memphis, Tennessee (6-12), graduating from Overton High School in 1966. Black majored in chemistry at Mississippi State University and secured an American Chemical Society accredited Bachelor of Science degree in 1970. While at Mississippi State, Black was Chairman of the Judicial Council, a student Senator and a member of the President's Cabinet. He was an officer in his fraternity, Beta Tau chapter of Kappa Alpha Order. Black attended law school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and graduated in 1973. In law school Black was a member of the Tennessee Law Review and Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity. Black was an associate attorney with the Memphis law firm of Hanover, Walsh, Jalenak & Blair from 1973 to 1979 and a partner from 1979 until 1993. In 1994 Black founded the firm which now is Black, McLaren, Jones, Ryland & Griffee, P.C. Black has been a member of the Memphis Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association and the American Bar Association from 1973 until present. Black has had the highest rating (AV) by Martindale Hubbell every year since 1990 and has been selected to Best Lawyers in America (Family Law) every year since 1999. He has been named Lawyer of the Year in Family Law by Best Lawyers twice, for 2018 and for 2021. Black was the first family lawyer practitioner in Memphis to be selected as a Mid-South Super Lawyer. Black is married to Lynda Wray Black, a graduate of Yale Law School and presently Associate Professor at the University of Memphis School of Law. They have five children and six grandchildren.