Whitney True Lawson was born in Frankfort, Kentucky and attended Franklin County Public Schools until she graduated from Western Hills High School with a 4.0 GPA. Thereafter, she attended Transylvania University and graduated, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in German. While at Transylvania University, she was an active member of her sorority, Phi Mu. Between her junior and senior year at Transylvania University, she interned with former United States Representative, A.B. Chandler, in his Washington, D.C. office. Witnessing the legislative process up-close encouraged her to pursue a law degree.
After Transylvania University, she attended the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, where she obtained her Juris Doctorate (J.D.) While studying at University of Louisville, Whitney was a member of University of Louisville Law Review and University of Louisville Moot Court Board. She participated in a number of moot court competitions, including two prestigious Moot Court Competitions involving Trademark Law. She was a semi-finalist at the Pirtle-Washer Oral Argument Trademark Competition in 2011. Also, Whitney and her partner won the national Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C., where they competed against law schools from across the United States.
After law school, Whitney moved to Frankfort with her husband, Philip C. Lawson, where she began practicing with the firm and her father, J. Guthrie True. Whitney specializes in cases involving state criminal law, federal criminal law, domestic relations, disability law, and administrative law. She has represented clients throughout the judicial process, including and through jury trial. Her most recent high-profile case involved her representation of Toby Curtsinger, the main defendant involved with the “Pappy-gate” case before the Franklin Circuit Court. She has also represented clients before the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Additionally, Whitney has been appointed as a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, which is a small panel of private lawyers appointed by the court to represent indigent clients in criminal cases before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Outside of her law practice, Whitney is a member of First United Methodist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky, where she serves as the chairman of the Wesley Center Day School Committee. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their son, exercising, skiing, and spending time with family and friends.
