When RaDonna Gaddis was still a paralegal, she walked into a client meeting and was greeted not with a handshake but with skepticism.
“Who are you?” the man asked. “I want the male attorney. I need a bulldog on this case.”
Gaddis didn’t flinch. She understood the assumption – that male attorneys are tougher, more aggressive. It was a common misperception.
Fast forward to 2025, and the tune is changing.
“I’ve had clients seek me out specifically because I’m a woman,” says Gaddis, now an associate attorney at England Injury Law. “There are cases that involve things that perhaps a woman feels more comfortable sharing with a female attorney.”
The shift Gaddis describes is part of a broader transformation in the legal profession. More women are graduating from law school than men, a trend that’s accelerated over the past decade. But in certain practice areas – like personal injury – female representation remains relatively sparse.
This gap sparked the creation of Accident Angels, an informal group of Chattanooga-based female personal injury attorneys who lean on one another for advice, support and even laughter.
Support network
The idea began with a simple need: connection.
“When I was about to graduate from law school, I had questions, but I didn’t know any other female personal injury attorneys,” says Gaddis, who earned her law degree from Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law. “It’s not that the men didn’t have answers – they did – but sometimes it’s easier to talk with other women. Especially in this field, we don’t always want to admit we don’t know something. It feels safer to say to another woman, ‘I don’t understand this. Can you help me figure it out?’”
That changed when Gaddis’ friend Katie Reed at McMahan Law Firm also entered the personal injury field. “At first, it was just the two of us,” Gaddis says. “But we started meeting other women who were doing the same kind of work and the circle began to grow.”
Through mutual friends and professional connections, the group expanded to include seven women: Reed, Hannah Murrell (Pritchard Injury Law), Lacy Rorex (Wettermark Keith), Elizabeth Phillips (Alex Shunnarah Firm), Annette Kelley (The Hamilton Firm), Melissa Weitzel (McMahan Law Firm), and Gaddis herself.
“We all work at different firms and are technically competitors,” Gaddis says, “but we’re not shy about supporting each other. Recently, one of our members tried a case alongside a colleague at her firm – and they won. There was a lot of back and forth in our group that day – sharing updates, discussing how it went, celebrating the outcome. We enjoy cheering each other on.
“But what I find especially valuable is the space we’ve created to talk about things that aren’t always easy to discuss elsewhere – like how certain defense attorneys react or how they interact with women in the courtroom. Accident Angels is a safe place to do that.”
No bylaws, just bonds
Accident Angels isn’t a formal organization; there’s no charter, no dues, no regular meeting schedule. That’s by design.
“We all have busy lives – families, practices and obligations,” says Gaddis, a mother of three who lives in Georgetown and rescues cats in her spare time. “Sometimes, we can’t meet in person for a while, but the group chat is always active.”
In that chat, they offer real-time support. “Someone will ask, ‘Has anyone ever drafted this kind of motion?’ and we’ll all chime in,” Gaddis says. “We’ve each had different experiences, and sharing that knowledge helps everyone grow.”
The camaraderie also covers personal ground. When one member was pregnant and struggling with fatigue, the others reassured her. “She was dozing off reading documents,” Gaddis laughs. “Some of us have been there.”
Despite its informality, Accident Angels fills a gap that more structured groups often can’t. “It’s not that the men in our lives or firms don’t support us – they do,” she says. “Zach [England] is always there to answer my questions. But sometimes, it’s easier to ask another woman.”
That ease, she says, comes from a shared experience – not just as women, but as newer attorneys navigating a complex, high-stakes field.
Beyond “mansplaining”
“There are seasoned male attorneys who are incredibly helpful,” Gaddis emphasizes. “This isn’t about excluding anyone. But sometimes it’s refreshing to talk shop without feeling like we have to prove ourselves first.”
Gaddis is quick to note that the group isn’t a rebellion – it’s a resource. “We’re just women helping women,” she says. “There’s something special about the camaraderie we have – not just as friends, but as professionals who want to see each other succeed.”
The culture of support isn’t new to Chattanooga’s legal community. The city’s bar is known for being collegial – a place where mentorship often trumps competition.
“Accident Angels is an extension of that spirit,” says Gaddis, who’s an active member of the Chattanooga Bar Association, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. “It’s worthwhile to be part of an organization where people want to help you grow.”
There are also groups with a more focused mission. The Southeast Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women (SETLAW), for example, advocates specifically for the advancement of women in law. It aims to foster both professional and personal development – a goal that aligns closely with what Accident Angels does on an informal level.
In real estate, a parallel group exists in the Chattanooga chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors, which works “to advance women as business leaders in the industry and the communities they serve.”
“These organizations show how important it is to have spaces where women can learn from each other,” Gaddis says.
Fighting for the underdog
For Gaddis, becoming a lawyer wasn’t merely a career choice – it was a calling.
The daughter of a working-class family with strong union roots, she started as a runner in a Chattanooga personal injury firm and spent 11 years as a paralegal before deciding to go to law school. Along the way, she raised three children, studied public administration and nonprofit management at UTC, and worked to support her family.
“What I love about personal injury is the ability to stand up for regular people – especially against big corporations or insurance companies. It’s about accountability.”
Gaddis believes personal injury law offers something especially valuable to women: freedom. “There’s no ceiling on what you can achieve. You can start your own firm, define your own success,” she says. “In some areas of law, you’re more limited.”
That sense of agency is at the heart of Accident Angels.
“We say, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats,’” Gaddis explains. “Even if I’m helping someone who works for a competing firm, I know that helping her strengthens our entire community.”
And while the group might not have a board of directors or formal recognition, its impact is undeniable.
“We’ve talked about maybe making it official one day,” she says. “But right now, it’s perfect the way it is.”
In a profession that can often feel isolating – especially for women in the early stages of their careers – groups like Accident Angels offer a simple reminder: you don’t have to do this alone. And perhaps they’re also helping to reshape the idea of what a true “bulldog” really looks like.