Sturgill Turner Summer Associates: Serving as Advocates

McKinley Pitts and Dallas Kastens joined Sturgill Turner in May 2024 as summer associates.

Summer is underway, and we’re proud of the work that our summer associates have been doing. Dallas Kastens and McKinley Pitts are both rising 3L students who joined the firm in May 2024. “We’re excited to have such talented, hard-working colleagues working with us this summer,” said member Josh Salsburey, chair of the Sturgill Turner hiring committee. “We appreciate their work and look forward to the great things they’ll contribute to the legal profession.”

“I enjoy trying to find answers to peculiar legal questions that do not have clear answers.” – Dallas Kastens

Dallas Kastens always knew he wanted a career that engaged both his intellect and his desire to serve others. And as a college athlete and cross country team captain, he was also ready for a bit of competition. He found nothing fit the bill quite like the practice of law.

“My approach is to look at both sides of an issue. I’m going to know the strengths of the opposing arguments, and any weaknesses in mine, and make sure I’m prepared to deal with them,” he says. “I love digging deep to find answers.”

At Asbury University, Dallas studied political science and history, and earned the Rita Pritchett Scholar Athlete Award. While competing on the cross country team, he also served as a resident assistant and tutor, and studied abroad in Jordan.

During the summers, he waited tables at an Applebee’s and an IHOP, where he honed practical skills he still uses to serve clients. “Those summer experiences strengthened my willingness to serve, and my appreciation for both colleagues and customers,” he says. “Working in the service industry, you quickly learn that no one is above doing the little things. And that those little things can really make a difference, which I find applies to my work in the law as well.”

Now in his final year at Vanderbilt Law School, Dallas has been active as a managing editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law and as a faculty research assistant. He was also part of the Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership through Vanderbilt’s Divinity School, participating with students from Vanderbilt’s professional schools in project teams focused on community engagement around sociological and moral concerns.

His competitive spirit has found its way into his legal studies. He has participated in intramural moot court and mock trial competitions, served on the Mock Trial and Moot Court Boards, and this year will be a member of Vanderbilt’s Moot Court travel team. He looks forward to using that experience to litigate his own cases as a practicing attorney.

“I’m excited to see the entirety of cases. As a law student, you only see the end of a case through the opinion that is printed in a casebook. As a clerk, you only see whatever phase a case is in during your three months in an office. Once I am practicing, I am excited to get to see cases through from beginning to end.”

“Even though we can’t see it and we often don’t think about it, the law ties into everything.” – McKinley Pitts

For McKinley Pitts, the legal profession meant the opportunity to make a meaningful and positive difference for clients at a time when they really need it. “I’ve enjoyed discovering all the ways in which the law is constantly around us as we live out our ordinary, day-to-day lives,” she says. “Even though we can’t see it and we often don’t think about it, the law ties into everything.”

There wasn’t a particular “aha!” moment when McKinley realized she wanted to become a lawyer. But she has a strong work ethic and reading and writing skills, which her family and teachers told her were well-tailored for a legal career.

“I’ve always had an interest in the legal profession and valued the work attorneys do,” she says. During her junior year at the University of Kentucky, where she studied psychology and Spanish, she started her journey toward law school and as she says, “I haven’t looked back since!”

A native of Chattanooga, McKinley has clerked for firms in Georgia and Louisville, and appreciates her time at Sturgill Turner, where she’s been able to gain hands-on experience across practice groups. She’s particularly interested in medical malpractice and insurance/torts defense work. “It’s been so interesting to see the topics and concepts I’m learning about in law school come to life and play out in front of me. I know that everything I’m doing and learning will be so rewarding and invaluable to my future career as an attorney.”

Now in her final year at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, McKinley earned a UK Provost Fellowship, is a Notes Editor for the Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law, and a member of the Women’s Law Caucus. She’s still excited about the legal field and learning how to interpret the law in ways that best serve clients.

“Whether in the classroom or in my work experience, I enjoy how the work is always interesting, challenging, and versatile,” she says. “I look forward to building strong connections and relationships with clients and being able to serve as a passionate and effective advocate for them.”.”