Waller attorneys sign on to gubernatorial campaigns

Two prominent locals to serve as legal counsel for two different GOP candidates

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Ammon Smartt, left, and Woody Woodruff

Two members of a major Nashville law firm have signed on for the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, but don't expect them to hit the hustings together.

Joseph A. "Woody" Woodruff and J. Ammon Smartt have agreed to serve as legal counsel for the campaigns of Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Chattanooga Congressman Zach Wamp, respectively.

Woodruff has a long history in politics, having served as legal counsel for both of Fred Thompson's U.S. Senate campaigns and as corporate secretary and assistant treasurer for Thompson's 2008 presidential bid. A graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law, Woodruff is also heavily involved in Williamson County Republican politics.

Smartt also is no stranger to politics, having supported Thompson's presidential efforts and those of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the University of Memphis School of Law, Smartt is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant and former senior auditor at Ernst & Young.