Meet Dena Gibson of Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, P.C.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dena Gibson

Hi Dena, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
So, my story is definitely different than most. My sister-in-law was a paralegal for Rocky. I was working at the time for a company that contracted with Nissan. I drove new vehicles from the distribution line to the places they needed to go for shipping. My sister-in-law called me one day saying that the firm needed a receptionist and asked if I was interested. I interviewed and was hired on the spot. I was 18 years old at the time. Eventually, Rocky started giving me paralegal tasks and ultimately, I moved to a paralegal position. We were a small office so I also started taking on more of the management duties as well such as ordering supplies, dealing with vendors, placing hiring ads, interviewing, etc. As the firm grew, it was clear we needed someone to do this full-time, and in 2012, at the age of 24, I stopped handling cases and took on the role of Office Manager/Executive Director. In 2020, at the age of 32, I was promoted to Chief Operations Officer. I celebrated my 18th year at the firm in 2024 which means I have been here literally half of my life. It’s crazy. While hard work and applying myself was ultimately what led to where I am today, I would never have even had the chance if it wasn’t for Rocky. He took a chance on an 18-year-old with absolutely no experience and only a high school diploma, and I will forever be grateful to him for that ❤️

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A smooth road? What does that feel like? 😂 With any business, especially a growing one, there are always obstacles and challenges. I personally believe you can get through anything with a good support system and a good team. Thankfully, I have had both of those during all my years at RML. So regardless of what has come up, we have figured it out and worked through it together.

We’ve been impressed with Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, P.C., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in personal injury. We fight to ensure injury victims receive the justice they deserve. We always represent real people, not big corporations. We have the absolute best team in the entire world. And I don’t just mean the lawyers. I mean everyone. There are A TON of personal injury firms here in Tennessee. They are not all made equal. What sets us apart are two main things I think:

1. Rocky. I know I am probably biased, but Rocky is the most amazing lawyer I have ever known. He is not like the head of so many other large firms with well-known lawyers who do not work files or ever go to court or trial. Rocky is here every day working on cases, handling depositions, mediations, motions, trials, etc. He is at the courthouse all the time. I have sat in several of his trials. It doesn’t matter who the defense attorney is, they always pale in comparison to Rocky. When Rocky speaks, you listen. Not because you feel obligated to, but because you WANT to. He is a storyteller. He is a real person who has lived a real life. He grew up in a trailer park in a small town in East Tennessee. He fought to be where he is today. He understands the struggles regular people go through because he has been there. He cares. And that care is apparent in everything he does. There is just no other lawyer I have ever met that comes close to him. And the beautiful thing is, he is training all the lawyers that work at RML to be exactly like him.

2. We don’t just hire good gladiators; we hire good people with high moral character. I genuinely love everyone who works at RML. It sounds so cliche, but we are like family. Our gladiators hang out outside of work. They go on vacations together. They love firm events so much that at our last New Year Kick-Off event, they all stayed so late we literally had to make them leave because the place we rented was closing. This close bond makes our firm strong. We care for each other and this business. We work harder because of it. We step in and help one another when needed. This work environment is why we have such good employee retention. We have a ton of gladiators who have been with us a long time. It makes an impact when prior clients call in years later, ask for their prior attorney or paralegal, and discover those same attorneys and paralegals are still here.

This kind of stuff is what sets us apart from the pack.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I have been blessed to have mentors fall into my lap so to speak. Rocky was my first mentor. Not only is he an amazing lawyer, but he is also an amazing businessman. Because the business was so small when I started, a lot of the processes and procedures (some we still use today) came from me and Rocky working together trying to figure it out. When Rocky’s wife, Penny, began working with the firm, she quickly became another mentor of mine. Not only is she also a lawyer, but an amazing businesswoman. She really helped us tweak and fine-tune our processes and procedures to make them better. She had great ideas about things we could add or change. Then, in 2019, we hired our first ever CMO who also happened to have a communications degree and years of business experience. She taught me so many things. Because I had only worked at RML for most of my adult life, Alexis had the experience you can gather by working at different businesses and organizations that I lacked. She quickly became an invaluable resource to me, Rocky, and Penny. Together, we make an incredible team. And finally, every single gladiator here is my mentor. I don’t think I know everything or think I have all the answers or the great ideas. We make a lot of decisions as a team. We pull in the people who will be directly impacted by a decision. Almost always, they think of something we haven’t. Because we have an “open door policy” and want our gladiators to be honest with us, they come in a lot to give feedback or suggestions. I cannot tell you how many times our gladiators have come up with ideas we ended up implementing and contributing to our success. If you surround yourself with amazing people, you will always have a list of mentors to choose from.

Obviously, not everyone will have this experience or opportunity, so my advice would be to do your research. Find industry organizations that fit into your line of work and network to make connections with people from whom you can learn. People who share your mission and goals and who fit in with your idea of who you want to be. Seminars, CLEs, and training courses are also a great way to network. I was privileged to take a course at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. The course itself was amazing, but it was also a wonderful place to meet professionals in management positions to whom I could relate. They understood some of the challenges I was facing and could offer solutions I had not considered.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rockylawfirm.com/
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• Twitter: https://x.com/RockyLawFirm
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRockyLawFirm