Justin Hayden serves as Chief Legal Officer for Pinnacle Financial Partners. Before joining Pinnacle in February 2018, he was a partner with the law offices of Smythe Huff & Hayden, P.C. (2008 - 2018) where his practice was focused in the areas of creditors' rights, banking and financial services, creditor litigation, secured transactions, commercial law, representation of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, as well as advising bank and financial institution clients in matters of corporate governance, compliance, regulatory, and (occasionally) employment law issues. Justin received his undergraduate degree from Belmont University, cum laude, and his juris doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law, with honors. He was a recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Legal Writing and Research, the Chief Justice Lenore L. Prather Award for Professionalism, was named Belmont University College of Law American Inn of Court (Inaugural) Outstanding Mentor of the Year (2014), Mid-South Super Lawyers Rising Stars (2014-2021), and Nashville Business Journal's Top 40 under 40 (2021). He is a member of the Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, and Nashville Bar Associations, as well as the Association of Corporate Counsel, Risk Management Association, and he currently serves on the TBA Corporate Counsel Executive Council, the American Bankers Association General Counsel Section, and the Tennessee Bankers Association Bank Counsel Committee.