Ciara Petronzio

Assistant General Counsel

Ciara Petronzio

Ciara Petronzio serves as the Assistant General Counsel at Tennessee State University (TSU). In her role as the Assistant General Counsel, Ms. Petronzio engages in a wide-ranging higher education in-house legal practice under the direction of the General Counsel. Ms. Petronzio provides legal services, with a focus on drafting and reviewing contracts, on a wide variety of matters. These include intellectual property, real estate, student disciplinary matters, athletics, ​Title IX, student affairs, and more. Ms. Petronzio also conducts contract training sessions on various topics, advises on policy development, and responds to Open Records Act requests.

Prior to joining TSU, Ms. Petronzio worked as an attorney for Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, where she dealt with legal compliance of records and mitigating risk for clients. She also worked as an attorney for Taylor Pigue Marchetti & Blair PLLC, focusing on litigation management, risk-related advice, and contract review.

In law school, Ms. Petronzio worked for the Nashville Predators, drafting and reviewing agreements related to facility management, sponsorships, corporate strategy, intellectual property, employment law, and more. She also clerked at the Law Offices of John Mason LLC, as well as Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), where she focused on federal legislative affairs and lobbying related to animal welfare.

Ms. Petronzio is an active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). She is also a member of the Lawyers' Association for Women (LAW), the Nashville Bar Association, and the Tennessee Bar Association. 

Ms. Petronzio received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from The University of Alabama and was awarded her Juris Doctorate from Belmont University.