LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC announces the addition of nine attorneys to the firm. Four attorneys join the Louisville, Ky., office: Rachel Gumbel, Jackson B. Hurst-Sanders, James E. Myers and April M. J. Sain. Harper B. Anderson, Holly A. Couch and Robert H. Dean join the firm in Lexington, Ky., while Mackenzie Miller and Lauren Towell (Ren) join the Atlanta office.

Rachel Gumbel is a member of the Business Litigation Service Group. She earned her J.D. from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, summa cum laude, in 2024. In law school, Gumbel served the University of Louisville Law Review as the senior notes editor for Volume 62, where she published a note, and as a member for Volume 61. Gumbel also was a research assistant for Professor Lauren Rothstein. Her honors include the Samuel L. Greenebaum Excellence in Legal Writing Award, the Runner-Up Best Note Award, the Brandeis Leadership Initiative (inaugural fellow) and the Brandeis Honor Society. Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, she was a legal extern for Judge Eric Haner, Division One of the Jefferson Circuit Court in the fall of 2023. She also participated in Stites & Harbison’s summer associate program in 2022 and 2023. She is admitted to practice in Kentucky.

Jackson B. Hurst-Sanders is a member of the Business Litigation Service Group. He earned his J.D. from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, summa cum laude and Order of the Coif, in 2023. While in law school, Hurst-Sanders was a BARBRI ambassador and a student representative of the UK Rosenberg Diversity Committee. For the Kentucky Law Journal, he served as editor-in-chief of Volume 111 and was published in that volume; he also served as a staff editor of Volume 110. His other honors include a Best Brief Award and a Best Source & Cite Award for Weaver Note, Book 1. Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, Hurst-Sanders was a judicial law clerk for Judge David J. Hale of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, 2023-24. He was a summer associate for Stites & Harbison in 2021 and 2022. He was also a legal extern for the Fayette County Attorney’s Office, spring of 2022, and a judicial extern for Judge Brian C. Edwards, Division 11 of the Jefferson Circuit Court, spring of 2023. He is admitted to practice in Kentucky.

James E. Myers is a member of the Business & Finance Service Group. He earned his J.D. from the Vanderbilt University Law School in 2024 and completed the Law & Business Program. In law school, he was a Vanderbilt Law School ambassador, a representative for the Vanderbilt Law and Business Society, a treasurer of the Vanderbilt Law School Transfer Association and a member of the Investment and Securities Law Club. Prior to joining Stites & Harbison, Myers was a summer associate for the firm in 2023 and a summer law clerk for an Asheville, N.C., firm in 2022. He is admitted to practice in Kentucky.

April M. J. Sain is a member of the Business Litigation Service Group. She earned her J.D. from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, magna cum laude, in 2021. While in law school, Sain was editor-in-chief of the University of Louisville Law Review, Volume 59, and chaired the Student Bar Foundation. She received the Samuel L. Greenebaum Award for Achievement in Legal Writing in Spring 2021. Prior to joining the firm, Sain clerked for the Honorable Claria Horn Boom, U.S. District Judge for the Western and Eastern Districts of Kentucky, from 2022-24, and for the Honorable Regina S. Edwards, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Kentucky, from 2021-22. She is admitted to practice in Kentucky.

Harper B. Anderson is a member of the Torts & Insurance Practice Service Group. She earned her J.D. from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, magna cum laude, in 2024. In law school, she was president of the Moot Court Board and captain of the Moot Court National Competition Team. She also was a member of the Appalachian Law Caucus and the Trial Advocacy Board. She served as education chair of the Women’s Law Caucus and social events chair of the Student Bar Association. Additionally, Anderson earned a Class of 2024 Pro Bono Award. Prior to joining the firm, she participated in Stites & Harbison’s summer associate program in 2023 and was a legal extern for Judge Lucinda Masterton in Fayette Circuit Court in the fall of 2023. Anderson is admitted to practice in Kentucky.

Holly A. Couch is a member of the Construction Service Group. She earned her J.D. from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law in 2023. In law school, she served the Kentucky Law Journal as a staff editor for Volume 110 and the special features editor for Volume 111. She also was president of the Women’s Law Caucus. Couch worked as a certified legal intern at the University of Kentucky Legal Clinic, 2022-23, and was a law clerk for the National Labor Relations Board Region 9 in the summer of 2022. In 2023, she earned the Allison Connelly Seek Justice Award and the UK College of Law Pro Bono Award. Prior to joining the firm, Couch was a law clerk for Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, 2023-24. She is admitted to practice in Kentucky.

Robert H. Dean is a member of the Real Estate & Banking Service Group. He earned his J.D. from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, cum laude, in 2023. While in law school, Dean was a senior online staff member of the Kentucky Law Journal, Volume 111, a staff editor for Volume 110 and served as president of the Business Law Society. His honors include being a recipient of the Book Four Source and Cite Award and the Online Publication Source and Cite Award. Before joining Stites & Harbison, Dean was a law clerk for Judge Patrick J. Urda, U.S. Tax Court in Washington, D.C., in September of 2023 and a 2022 summer legal associate for the IRS, Office of Chief Counsel in Washington, D.C. He is admitted to practice in Kentucky.

Mackenzie Miller is a member of the Real Estate & Banking Service Group. She earned her J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, in 2024. While in law school, Miller was an articles editor for the Georgia State University Law Review for Volume 39 and the articles editor for Volume 40. She served as president of the American Constitution Society, vice-president of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers and a graduate assistant for the Academic Success Program. She received a recognition from the White House and Department of Justice Eviction Prevention Program. Prior to joining the firm, Miller participated in Stites & Harbison’s summer associate program in 2023 and was a business immigration analyst for an Atlanta firm, 2019-21. She is admitted to practice in Georgia.

Lauren Towell (Ren) is a member of the Torts & Insurance Practice Service Group. She earned her J.D. from Emory University School of Law, with honors, in 2024. In law school, Towell was a member of the Moot Court (ABA competition team) and the American Constitution Society. Prior to joining the firm, she participated in Stites & Harbison’s summer associate program in 2023 and was a summer judicial intern for Henry County Superior Court in 2023. She also was a data analyst for Hilton Worldwide, 2019-21. She is admitted to practice in Georgia.