We are a civil litigation firm with an excellent reputation and over 50 years of combined experience.
03/30/2023
We are celebrating Women's History Month by recognizing all of the women currently on our team – Board Members, Emeritus Directors, Advisors and staff. Our wildlands conservation work is made possible by the contributions of all these amazing and talented women.
Row 1: Kelly Bartley (Chair), Julia Taylor (Vice Chair), Rebecca Allan, Bethany Baxter, Ivy Brashear
Row 2: Premalatha Durham, Mo McKnight Howe, Melanie Ratliff, Kathleen Shelton, Zoé Strecker
Row 3: Laurel Fuson, Judith McCandless, Sara Ash, Susan Hamilton, Laura Keller
Row 4: Donna Alexander, Angie Allman, Nicole Breyette, Brittany White
Listen to our own Joe Childers conversation with Tom Martin in Episode 1 of the WEKU Podcast series "RISE."
RISE is a series of conversations that focus on the realities of the present and prospects for the future of Eastern Kentucky. It came about in response to the unprecedented flooding experienced by several Eastern Kentucky communities in July of 2022 and the myriad questions and dilemmas the flood e...
08/17/2022
OP-ED by our own Joe Childers.
OpEd: With the drastic reduction of coal mining in eastern Kentucky, it is time to challenge corporate landowners to free up some of their vast holdings for residential and commercial development.
08/16/2022
Joe is interviewed by WKYT about free legal help for east Kentucky flood victims. Flood victims seeking legal assistance should call 1-844-478-0099.
This is a hotline set up by AppalReD, who will help put victims in touch with pro bono attorneys.
Lawyers from around the region are volunteering their time to help flood victims through the appeal process.
08/10/2022
Joe Childers quoted in a recent article about the devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky, along with several of our friends and colleagues.
“No one is denying the amount of rain we had — it truly was a 1,000 year event — but did the strip mines contribute? Absolutely," a Kentucky lawyer said.
02/01/2022
More coverage of our recently filed civil rights case.
A lawsuit claims the deputy let the woman out of home-detention monitoring fees.
02/01/2022
We are proud to join Ned Pillersdorf in bringing this federal Constitutional case.
A woman has filed a federal lawsuit accusing a Letcher County deputy of coercing her into s*x after she couldn't afford to pay for home incarceration.
10/15/2021
Attorney Joe Childers and his clients worry about how the Kentucky Bluegrass Experience Resort could transform the town.
10/15/2021
Joe F. Childers was honored to represent and speak on behalf of concerned Midway citizens in opposition to the RV park development at last night's community forum.
Proposed RV resort developer Andrew Hopewell spoke to the crowd as his attorney, Hank Graddy; City Council members, and Mayor Grayson Vandeg...
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Working to protect Kentucky’s most vulnerable citizens and natural landscapes has long been Joe’s personal and professional passion. As an undergraduate student at the University of Kentucky, Joe successfully lobbied for Appalachian studies curricula and the formation of the UK Appalachian Center. As a law student, Joe spent his summers working throughout east Kentucky and central Appalachia with the Appalachian Land Ownership Task Force documenting absentee land and mineral ownership by out of state energy giants. This work inspired the creation of the Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition, which later became Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. Joe started his legal career with the AppalReD in Jackson, Kentucky, and has represented landowners in some of Kentucky’s most important mineral and tax litigation, which led to major reforms in property tax of unmined minerals and passage of the Broad Form Deed Amendment to the Kentucky Constitution in 1988.
From 1988 to 1992, Joe was a partner of Shepherd & Childers, where he practiced with now Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd. From 2007 to 2011, Joe was a partner in Getty & Childers, a Lexington civil litigation firm. In 2012, Joe started Joe F. Childers & Associates, the predecessor to Childers & Baxter. Joe has previously served on the boards of the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Kentucky State University, and since 2015 has served as Board Chair of the Kentucky Resources Council. Joe and his wife Denise have two adult children.
About Bethany N. Baxter
Bethany was born and raised in Lexington, and as an environmental studies major at Sewanee: The University of the South, developed a deep appreciation for Appalachian culture and ecology. After graduating, Bethany spent a couple of years working at the Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky, and then went on to earn a master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before deciding to go to law school. During law school at the UK College of Law, Bethany served as an articles editor for the Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law. Upon graduating in 2012, Bethany was awarded the Faculty Cup for her outstanding contribution to the law school. After working as a staff attorney for the Franklin Circuit Court Division I, Bethany began as an associate at Joe F. Childers & Associates in 2014.
Bethany has served on the boards of Appalshop, Inc. and the Mentelle Neighborhood Association, and is a volunteer administrative hearing officer for LFUCG. Bethany and her partner Willie have three young children.
