Meet Ashley Nunneker of Stokes Wagner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Nunneker.

Ashley, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was raised in Riverdale, Georgia, a small community just south of Atlanta. From an early age, I was super competitive, probably to a fault. One of my first memories was from second grade when my teacher asked my mom to attend a parent-teacher conference because I had become upset when I didn’t earn the highest grade on a math test. My work ethic has also always come natural to me. My parents never had to tell me to do my homework or clean my room. I was also very curious and inquisitive about the world around me which explains my love of books and movies. My mom sometimes had to physically remove the books from my room to get me to sleep at night. Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys were my favorites!

My first job was as a hostess in a restaurant in south Atlanta where I also worked as a server and bartender. I can’t begin to describe the life lessons I learned from serving others (some of whom were appreciative of my efforts, others less so). I became interested in the law early on in my studies at Georgia State. I took Intro to Constitutional Law my sophomore year and I was immediately hooked. In college, I began interning at various law firms doing everything from making copies, to stuffing envelopes to running documents to the courthouse all while working in the restaurant on nights, weekends, spring and winter breaks, and summer vacations. One of my proudest accomplishments is graduating college in four years with a 3.8 GPA while working 40 hours a week.

I graduated from Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida in 2008 at the precipice of the Great Recession, arguably the worst time to enter the legal field in the last 50 years. Over the next ten years, I serendipitously found my way to the Atlanta office of Stokes Wagner. Stokes Wagner is a hospitality law firm dedicated to representing hotels and restaurants in employment and business-related disputes. I was elevated to partner in 2019 and am responsible for leading and managing cases, maintaining client relationships, and mentoring associates and our support team. What I love most about working with Stokes Wagner is that it allows me to combine my love of the hospitality industry and the law. Every day is different, I’m never bored, and I get to travel regularly to do my work.

A few years back, I co-founded Power Suit Project, a non-profit dedicated to providing Atlanta women with mentoring, leadership and networking opportunities. I’m humbled by the number of incredible women I’ve met through this organization and grateful for the opportunity to learn from their collective experiences. PSP has also taught me that, while it is great to have a competitive spirit, there is room for everyone to succeed and we can go farther if we stick together and pay it forward.

Fun Facts:
I learned to step from R&B singer Ciara, who was on my high school cheerleading team.
I was a Polynesian dancer (think, Hula) for over ten years.
Currently teaching myself to play the ukelele.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Working and attending school full time is not easy for anyone, or everyone would do it. Growing up in a working-class family was not always easy, either. I went to Georgia State because I needed the Hope Scholarship to pay for school. I worked full time because I needed to pay for a car to get to school. Back then, it was a burden. Today, I see that it was a blessing.

Being a woman made it easy to get entry-level positions early in my career. After 2000, everyone seemed eager to “diversify their portfolios.” Before I graduated from law school, I could never relate to the glass ceiling struggle because I always got what I wanted through hard work. It wasn’t until I entered my legal career as an attorney that I felt stagnant and left behind. I was 30 years old before I first understood and recognized that the glass ceiling is real. That was one of the impetuses behind founding Power Suit Project. The boys always stuck together; why shouldn’t us girls?

There were many painful experiences along the way. But I realized in the last few years that I took something from each of those experiences and learned from them. Malcolm Gladwell’s book, David and Goliath, is all about how adversity in youth makes better leaders. I couldn’t agree more. If you never struggle has a child, how will you ever manage adversity as an adult?

I also made so…many…mistakes. But I wouldn’t change them most of them because that’s how you grow.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Stokes Wagner story. Tell us more about the business.
At Stokes Wagner, we focus on providing the best practices, preventative approach to the practice of law. We specialize in the hospitality industry and most of our clients are hotels, restaurants, and entertainment and lifestyle brands. Nearly every member of our firm, from the receptionist to shareholder, began their careers in hospitality. In fact, that is typically the first question asked when interviewing for any position in our firm.

When a client calls our firm, they are likely speaking to a former hostess, server, bartender, bellman, concierge, front desk agent, cook, or busser. Our unique hospitality backgrounds allow us to draw from a collection of organic and authentic personal experiences that most lawyers simply do not have.

And because we know the difference between a service charge and a gratuity and can identify those employees who can and cannot participate in a tip pool, our clients don’t pay lawyers to learn their trade. Hospitality is not merely an industry; it’s a culture, a way of life, a language. And we are fluent in hospitality.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
For me, success has certainly been a combination of hard work and good luck. Before I went to law school, I worked as a legal secretary and paralegal at a downtown firm. When I graduated, many of my classmates spent almost a year looking for jobs. Because I was fortunate enough to work for a firm before law school and prove myself, I was quickly hired by that firm right out of school, despite the economy.

Landing at my current firm was also the result of luck and coincidence. Power Suit Project was having its first annual holiday party. One of our members brought her mom as her “plus one.” I hit it off with her mom who later recommended me to the firm’s CEO to fill a future opening. The rest is history!

Contact Info:

• Address: 1201 West Peachtree St. NW
  Suite 2400 Atlanta, GA 30309
• Website: www.stokeswagner.com
• Phone: 4047660076
• Email: anunneker@stokeswagner.com

Image Credit:
Trey Yearwood (photo with puppy), Tricia Victoria (bridal shot), Kelly McGuire (group shot),  Paul McPherson (Photo of me on a scooter)

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