Mr. Wiseman is a native Tennessean who attended the University of Tennessee on a basketball scholarship before going on to Harvard Law School. He later grew a private practice as a high-stakes, "bet the company" litigator before being called to public service as Deputy Governor and Chief Counsel to the Governor in Tennessee.
Mr. Wiseman provides strategic political, legal, and legislative advice and insight to clients in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, health care, transportation, automotive, energy, real estate, and financial services, as well as educational institutions and local governments and economic development districts. Based on his extensive experience, relationships, and insider knowledge about how government works, he frequently assists companies in negotiating economic incentives, real estate development, and business litigation and strategy. Mr. Wiseman is a problem solver and regularly advises clients that interact and do business with state and federal government, including constructing blueprints around legislative and/or executive branch priorities and initiatives. He also provides regulatory counsel, assists with governmental and Attorney General investigations, and provides public affairs and crisis management, and counseling.
From 2019 to 2021, Mr. Wiseman served as Deputy Governor and Chief Counsel to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, acting as a liaison between Governor Lee's office, the legislature, and the various departments and agencies in state government. As Chief Counsel and the state's Chief Ethics Officer, Mr. Wiseman coordinated the legal and regulatory affairs of the executive branch and advised Governor Lee on legal, political, and legislative matters. He assisted in development, drafting, and implementation of legislation and worked closely with the judiciary and the attorney general and reporter. He was also responsible for assisting Governor Lee with judicial appointments, requests for executive clemency, and implementation of economic development programs at the state level, including legislation to enact incentive packages for a multinational automobile manufacturer.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Wiseman was a founding partner at the Memphis law firm Wiseman Bray PLLC where he developed significant experience in the areas of business and commercial litigation, bank litigation and workouts, advising closely held businesses, insurance coverage disputes, professional liability and catastrophic injury claims, wrongful death litigation, construction litigation, and lien disputes, election law and government relations, and defending municipal and governmental entities against claims under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act.
Mr. Wiseman is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed Civil Mediator. He previously served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, as well as a law clerk to the Honorable Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.