The Hon. Robert L. Childers (Ret.) is a former judge for Division IX of the 30th Judicial District Circuit Court of Tennessee in Shelby County. He was elected to the bench in 1984. Childers retired in 2017, returning to private practice at Childers Mediation and Arbitration Services.
During his judicial tenure, he served as a special judge for the Tennessee Supreme Court Workers’ Compensation Panel and the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Childers worked as a private practice attorney (1975 to 1984) before his election to the bench.
Childers earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Memphis. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Childers was admitted to practice in Tennessee in 1975.
He is a past president of the Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inn of Court, the Tennessee Judicial Conference, and the Tennessee Trial Judges Association. Childers also chaired the Tennessee Domestic Violence State Coordinating Council and the Domestic Violence Council.
Among his many accolades, he received the Pillar of Excellence Award from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Alumni Association of the University of Memphis (2019); the inaugural Judge Robert L. Childers Wellness Award from the Memphis Bar Association (2019); the William M. Leech Public Service Award from the Fellows of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (2017); and the Outstanding Judge of the Year Award from the Shelby County Deputy Sheriffs Association (1990) and the Memphis Bar Association (1986, 1999, and 2006).