Betsy Chestney joined the law firm of Cornell Smith & Mierl in June of 2008, after completing her seventh semester on the faculty at the University of Texas School of Law. At UT Law, Ms. Chestney taught introductory and advanced courses in written and oral advocacy. Additionally, she developed and taught a course preparing law students to clerk for federal judges.

Prior to joining the faculty at UT Law, Ms. Chestney clerked for two years for the Honorable Sam Sparks, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas. During her clerkship, Ms. Chestney managed a heavy civil docket; her responsibilities included drafting orders, including numerous dispositive orders in employment lawsuits, and drafting jury charges, including charges for Title VII jury trials.

Ms. Chestney graduated with honors from UT Law in 2002. During law school, she was an associate editor of the Texas Law Review, served as a research assistant to Professor Ernest Young and Professor John Robertson, and assisted in teaching legal research and writing to first-year students. In 1999, Ms. Chestney received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University, where she captained the varsity soccer team.

She is licensed to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.