MEMBER & FOUNDER

Robert Spence is managing partner of Spence Partners, a law firm he founded in 2003, creating a truly diverse and integrated practice with a clear depth of knowledge and exceptional work quality in representing both individual and corporate clients.

Serving as Memphis City Attorney from 1997 to 2004 enhanced Spence’s strong background in government relations and civil litigation. Since that time, Spence has recruited a diverse group of multi-cultural lawyers who provide additional fire power in assisting clients.

Before building this impactful law practice, Spence began his professional life as a Doctor of Pharmacy. A 1982 graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Spence embarked upon a career that allowed him to help improve the lives of others. Spence was recruited to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and served as its first African-American pharmacist.

Spence says that his time at St. Jude helped shape the person he would become and formed the basis of his desire to do even more to assist his fellow man.

Robert is admitted to practice in all Tennessee State Courts, numerous United States District Courts and United States Courts of Appeals across the nation, as well as the United States Supreme Court.

Spence was honored with a 2019 Spirit of the Dream Award from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and was awarded the 2019 Excellence in Diversity Small Firm Award by The University of Memphis. In 2012, he was named one of The New Tri-State Defender’s Men of Excellence. He was an Olympic Torch Bearer for the 1996 Olympics, served as a mentor at Ida B. Wells Academy, and is past chairman of the Center City Revenue Finance Corporation of the Downtown Memphis Commission.

PARTNER

Kristina Woo is a native Memphian. She obtained her B.A. in Biology from Vanderbilt University in 1998 and her J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri in 2002. While at St. Louis University, she was the recipient of the Award of Excellence in Disability Discrimination, and clerked for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. She also obtained an M.B.A. from Christian Brothers University in 2013.

Kristina was admitted to practice law in Tennessee in 2002 and in Mississippi in 2019. Since graduation, Kristina has been in private practice focusing on multiple areas of law, including, civil litigation, commercial/business litigation, employment litigation, personal injury, worker’s compensation, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, governmental tort liability, class actions, corporate bankruptcy, and construction. She is admitted to practice in all Tennessee State Courts, all Mississippi State Courts, the United States District Court Western District of Tennessee, the United States District Court Northern District of Mississippi, and United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

PARTNER

Jarrett Spence is a native Memphian. After attaining a Business Finance Degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he returned home to attend The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Jarrett was also a member of the Moot Court Board and the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Team.

Upon completing law school, Jarrett served as judicial law clerk to Judge Bernice B. Donald, who sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. After his clerkship, Jarrett accepted a position in Atlanta, Georgia working for the national law firm, Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete. In the spring of 2021, Jarrett joined Spence Partners as a Partner, where he specializes in business and employment litigation. Jarrett is admitted to practice in all Tennessee State Courts, all Georgia State Courts, the United States District Court Western District of Tennessee, the United States District Court Northern District of Georgia, the United States District Court Middle District of Georgia, and United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

In his spare time, Jarrett enjoys golfing and distance running. He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and Bethel A.M.E. Church.

ASSOCIATE

Alexxas J. Johnson is a 2022 graduate of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Recently, she served as the first Legal Business Analyst to the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and externed for the Honorable Judge Bernice Donald.

During law school, Alexxas was President of the Black Law Students Association, a member of the Moot Court Board, and an executive board member of the Student Bar Association. Additionally, she was recognized for best brief in the Southern Region Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition, received multiple Top Oral Advocate Awards as well as the Dean's Distinguished Service Award, and earned first place in the 2022 Southern Region Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition.

Prior to attending law school, Alexxas obtained an MBA from the University of Memphis, where she worked as a Graduate Assistant within the Professional Development Center at the Fogelman College of Business and Economics. Alexxas is a 2017 graduate of the University of Alabama and an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.