Legal Studies, Business Law Concentration, M.S.

Featured Faculty

Sandra (“Sandy”) S. Benson, J.D., Program Director M.S. in Legal Studies and Professor of Business Law Sandy established her own law firm after graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law (summa cum laude). Her practice included representing entrepreneurs and professionals in a variety of business and specialized transactions to establish new business entities, draft employment and other contracts and comply with healthcare laws and regulations. She was endorsed by the Tennessee Medical Association to represent physicians in managed care contract negotiations. Joining MTSU full-time in 2006, Sandy’s work has been recognized with various teaching and research awards, including MTSU’s Outstanding Teaching award. Her work has been recognized by New York Society of CPAs and CNBC where she was the legal scholar on an episode of American Greed.

Susan K. Bradley J.D. graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1983 and the University of Tennessee School of Law in 1990. As a partner with Wilson and Bradley Law Offices, Susan engaged in private practice for over twenty years. Susan served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Murfreesboro Disciplinary Board from 1999 until 2014.  She was a Rule 31 Listed Mediator until 2017 and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Middle District, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, and all Tennessee Courts. Susan began teaching at Middle Tennessee State University in 2011.

Jarett B. Decker, Jacobs Chair of Excellence in Accounting and Professor of Practice, J.D., C.P.A. A former head of the World Bank’s Centre for Financial Reporting Reform in Vienna, Austria, Decker has advised governments on reforms to improve corporate accounting, auditing and governance in more than 30 developing and transitional countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. Jerry served as deputy director and chief trial counsel for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, the entity created by Congress to police corporate auditing in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals. Before his PCAOB service, Decker was senior trial counsel for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Chicago.

Wayne M. Irvin, J.D., C.P.A. has been an Attorney and CPA for over 30 years, including extensive experience working with public and private businesses and individuals, as well as service with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.  He has worked on a wide variety of commercial law matters, mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance matters, tax planning and controversy matters, business planning, estate planning and administration, and regulatory counseling and litigation.  He also serves on the Rutherford County Commission.

Horace E. Johns, J.D. Before entering academia, Professor Johns was a trial attorney, staff attorney for the Tennessee Department of Treasury, and assistant general counsel for American General Life Insurance Company. He is the ranking member of the Department of Accounting, now in his 43rd year at MTSU. In addition to his JD degree, he earned a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Syracuse University.

John Ouellette, J.D. John earned his Bachelor of Music from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He has worked in the music industry in Nashville for over 25 years. He worked in music publishing for over 10 years handling every aspect of music publishing administration; from filing copyright applications, interacting with foreign sub-publishers, and negotiating and issuing licenses, to processing royalties and drafting and negotiating songwriter agreements. John graduated from Nashville School of Law and also passed the Tennessee Bar Exam in 2006, and has been a practicing entertainment attorney ever since. He represents record labels, publishing companies, managers, concert promoters, artists, songwriters and producers.

Nashville School of Law

Nashville School of Law (NSL) is a private non-profit law school founded in 1911 whose mission is to offer high-quality legal education at an affordable tuition. Classes are held exclusively at night. Most students enrolled in the School continue full-time employment, during the day, throughout their law school career. The School is approved by the Tennessee Bar of Law Examiners under the authority of the Tennessee Supreme Court, although not accredited by the American Bar Association. NSL graduates also can be found among the ranks of federal, state, and local officials, in business leadership roles, and community service positions.

Note: Through MTSU’s arrangement with NSL, NSL will admit students in MTSU’s M.S. in Legal Studies program to take two designated courses to count towards the MTSU M.S. in Legal Studies degree only. Students in this program will not be admitted as NSL law students, and thus, these courses will not fulfill any requirements to sit for the bar exam in Tennessee or elsewhere. 

Dr. Thorunn McCoy, NSL Legal Writing Coach With a Ph.D. in American Literature and thirty years of teaching experience, Thorunn McCoy has a passion for helping people express themselves on paper. She has worked with writers at all levels, from 8th graders at University School of Nashville to students at Southern Illinois University and Northern Colorado University, as well as small business owners at George Mason University’s Small Business Development Center.  Dr. McCoy received her B.A. in English and her M.A. in English from George Mason University. She obtained her Ph.D. in English from Southern Illinois University. In 2020, she joined Nashville School of Law as the Writing Coach for first-year law students. When she’s not busy contemplating the Oxford comma, Thorunn can be found outside in her garden or walking on the greenway.

Eric Osborne, NSL Professor of Contracts An accomplished attorney with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, Eric Osborne sees litigation as an opportunity – an opportunity to protect his clients’ business and personal interests, an opportunity to advance critical principles of justice and fairness, and an opportunity to help people in times of crisis and need. He focuses his practice on contract disputes, white-collar criminal defense, antitrust matters, and civil rights cases. His advocacy is grounded in his creativity, empathy, and hands-on experience, having tried many cases before a jury and briefed multiple matters before the United States Supreme Court. Osborne has his B.A. (cum laude) from Amherst College, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and he obtained his J.D. from Stanford Law School. In 2021, Osborne joined NSL as Professor of Contracts.