Background
Kirby was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and graduated from Columbia Central High School in Columbia, Tennessee.
Kirby was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and graduated from Columbia Central High School in Columbia, Tennessee.
She attended Memphis State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1979 as the top-ranked graduate in the university"s College of Engineering.
After completing her law degree, she served as a judicial law clerk to Judge Harry Wellford on the United States. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1990 she became a partner in the firm.
In 1983, Kirby joined the Memphis law firm of Burch, Porter and Johnson, where she specialized in defending businesses in employment-related litigation.
She then enrolled in the Memphis State University Law School, graduating in 1982 as the third-ranked member of the class of 140.