Rose Palermo, Esq.
Rose Palermo has practiced law in Nashville for more than 50 years, establishing herself as one of the city’s most respected and enduring attorneys. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Rose graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School and soon made Nashville her permanent home. In 1973, she and her husband, Denty Cheatham, combined their practices to form Cheatham & Palermo, beginning a partnership that became a fixture of the city’s legal and cultural landscape.
Rose’s early practice on Music Row introduced her to the entertainment industry, where she represented musicians and artists. As her clients’ needs expanded, she transitioned into family and divorce law—an area in which she built a formidable reputation. Over the decades, she has become known as the “divorce lawyer to the stars,” representing high-profile clients with a combination of courtroom toughness and genuine compassion. Her career includes memorable moments such as a fearless confrontation on 60 Minutes and a landmark legal victory in Dunn v. Palermo, where the Tennessee Supreme Court recognized her right to retain her maiden name after marriage.
Today, Rose continues to bring unmatched experience, dedication, and empathy to her clients.
University
Vanderbilt University Law School
Denty Cheatham, Esq.
Denty Cheatham began practicing law in Nashville in the early 1970s and, in 1973, partnered with his wife, Rose Palermo, to establish a combined law office under the name Cheatham and Palermo. Over the next several decades, he cultivated a reputation for versatile legal mastery, handling criminal defense, personal injury matters, real estate transactions, appellate litigation, workers’ compensation, and admiralty law under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
Denty was especially known for his extensive trial advocacy, bringing both skill and dedication to courtroom practice. He frequently teamed up with Rose on her appellate work, providing sharp legal reasoning and a steady hand in complex, high-stakes cases.
A lawyer from a generation that prided itself on broad expertise across multiple areas of practice, Denty never confined himself to a single specialty. Throughout his career, he remained committed to supporting those most in need of access to justice, often providing representation pro bono or at low cost, prioritizing the pursuit of justice over the pursuit of profit in the legal business. Alongside Rose, he built a practice that not only served clients across Tennessee but also embodied the values of integrity, fairness, and service to community.
University
Vanderbilt University Law School
Kathryn Brinton, Esq.
Kathryn Brinton is a Nashville-based attorney specializing in Tennessee family law. She is a Nashville native and earned her law degree from the Nashville School of Law. She has four children and three grandchildren.
After college, she worked as a protective services worker with the Tennessee Department of Human Services, a probation officer with the Davidson County Juvenile Court, and an investigator with the District Attorney’s office.
She has practiced law with the firm of Cheatham & Palermo since 1989, while taking a few years off in the interim to raise her children. Prior to that, she was an Assistant District Attorney in Nashville, and Assistant General Counsel at the Tennessee Department of Human Services. She has served as a family law mediator as well. Kathryn has an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell.
Kathryn provides representation tailored to the needs of each client, depending on the facts and circumstances of his or her individual case. She is committed to helping each client obtain the best possible outcome in their case and uses her wide range of experience from her diverse employment background to provide her clients with expertise from several related fields.
University
Nashville School of Law
Andrew Cheatham, Esq.*
Andrew Cheatham, a graduate of Hillsboro High School, is a seasoned international lawyer and the founder of Pragmatic Panic Legal and Social Services, a nonprofit firm offering pro bono legal aid in housing, immigration, and family law. A former Senior Advisor at the United States Institute of Peace, Cheatham previously served with the United Nations in Iraq, Somalia, and Libya, helping stabilize conflict-affected regions through reconciliation and governance programs.
In a recent feature in the Washington Lawyer magazine, Cheatham reflected on how his global conflict resolution experience directly informs his local legal advocacy: “I don’t really see much of a distinction between what affects the communities I try to help abroad and what’s happening here,” Cheatham said. “The same forces — income inequality, human rights abuses, civil rights struggles — are at play.”
From negotiating peace in war zones to defending tenants in D.C. housing court, Cheatham has brought a steady moral clarity to his work. His partnership with his mother, Rose Palermo, marks a new chapter in a family tradition of fearless advocacy and deeply human lawyering.
*Licensed to practice law in Washington D.C. and New York
University
City University of New York School of Law