“I didn’t see it coming at all,” she said. “I was incredibly surprised and honored.”
The award, named for two trailblazing women in Tennessee’s legal history, recognizes exceptional professional achievement, leadership, and service to the legal community. For Stimac, who now serves as Chair of the Litigation Practice Group at Evans Petree and Immediate Past President of the Memphis Bar Association, the honor represents both a personal milestone and a reflection of the values that have guided her career since graduating from St. Mary’s Episcopal School.
A Memphis native, Stimac credits St. Mary’s with laying the foundation for her confidence and sense of purpose. After graduation, she attended the University of Richmond, where she pursued a degree in leadership studies through the Jepson School, along with a second major in political science and a minor in French. She remained in Richmond for law school, graduating in 2007, and spent the first five years of her legal career practicing there.
In 2012, she returned to Memphis to join her father’s law practice, an opportunity she describes as both meaningful and formative. For more than a decade, she built her career as a trial attorney, ultimately transitioning in late 2024 to Evans Petree, where she was asked to lead the firm’s litigation section.
Today, Stimac’s legal practice focuses largely on business litigation and professional liability defense, representing healthcare providers, attorneys, and other professionals in complex litigation and licensure matters across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Virginia. Her work spans both trial and appellate courts, and she has been recognized annually as a Mid-South Super Lawyer in Professional Liability Defense since 2022.
Beyond her courtroom work, Stimac has emerged as a respected leader within Memphis’ legal and civic communities. In addition to serving as president of the 150-year-old Memphis Bar Association, she was appointed in 2025 by the Tennessee Supreme Court to the Board of Professional Responsibility Hearing Committee for Disciplinary District IX. She is also stepping into the role of board chair of the Downtown Memphis Commission and holds leadership roles with several nonprofit and professional organizations focused on access to justice, child advocacy, and community development.
Mentorship has become a defining thread in Stimac’s career. Through the Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inn of Court and the Association for Women Attorneys, she has spent more than a decade mentoring law students and young attorneys as they navigate the early stages of their careers. The Inn recognized Stimac as its Outstanding Mentor of the Year in 2023.
“Mentoring is truly a two-way street,” she said. “I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have strong women mentors in my own life, and I’ve tried to pay that forward whenever I can.”
That commitment to lifting others up is one reason the Marion Griffin–Frances Loring Award holds such significance. Being recognized by peers — especially by an organization dedicated to supporting women in the legal profession — feels deeply meaningful to Stimac.
At the heart of her leadership philosophy is a belief that confidence and responsibility go hand in hand, a mindset she traces directly back to her years at St. Mary’s.
“St. Mary’s does a wonderful job of giving young women the confidence to believe they can do anything they put their minds to,” she said. “That confidence doesn’t just help you succeed personally — it empowers you to step into leadership and to encourage others along the way.”
That sense of empowerment has guided Stimac as she has taken on increasingly visible leadership roles, from firm leadership to citywide boards. She sees service not as an obligation, but as a way to give back to the community that has given her so much.
Outside of her professional life, Stimac is quick to acknowledge the support system that makes it all possible, including her husband, Jack, whom she met during her first semester of college. Married in 2007, the same year she graduated from law school, passed the bar, and began her legal career, she credits his unwavering encouragement as a constant source of strength.
As she prepares to receive the Marion Griffin–Frances Loring Award in 2026, Stimac views the honor not as a culmination but as motivation to continue leading, mentoring, and serving.
“It’s incredibly humbling,” she said. “And it reminds me how important it is to keep showing up — for the profession, for this city and for the next generation of women leaders.”
