Young attorney in tune with the culture of civil defense firm in Nashville
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Young attorney in tune with the culture of civil defense firm in Nashville
By Brian Cox
Victoria Rohloff is attuned to when the universe clicks.
She felt it click on her first day in law school and knew immediately she was exactly where she was meant to be.
She felt it click when she moved to Nashville and fell in love with the Music City.
And she felt it click when she interviewed with the insurance defense law firm of Cornelius & Collins, LLP.
“It felt like we had known each other for such a long time,” Rohloff says of the partners who met with her. “I knew right away this was who I wanted to work for.”
It was actually the lack of a click with the career that for many years she considered her destiny that prompted Rohloff to opt for the legal profession.
Growing up in League City, Texas, on the outskirts of Houston, Rohloff was surrounded by the space industry. Her father, Ralph, worked as an engineer, and when NASA's shuttle program gave way to the Artemis program, the family relocated to Florida's Space Coast near Kennedy Space Center. Like her father and brothers, she assumed engineering would become her future. Her father often told her the world needed more women engineers.
She even began working at Kennedy Space Center while still in high school, spending summers on materials engineering projects and learning firsthand what a professional engineering life looked like. A mentor there, Kevin Berry, encouraged her to trust her own abilities rather than simply follow in someone else's footsteps. His confidence in her proved invaluable when she realized during a Calculus 2 class at 7:30 in the morning that engineering wasn't the right fit for her.
Attorney Victoria Rohloff and her mother, Charlotte, hiked the Grand Canyon together. Victoria describes her mom as one of her biggest influences, teaching her to push herself and never count herself out.
“It wasn’t what I really wanted to do with my life,” she says. “My middle brother, Ryan, has a big passion for the space industry. He loves it. And I wanted to find my passion like him.”
The decision to switch to law surprised even her.
"As I considered my options, I kept coming back to law," she says.
What attracted her was the blend of analysis and human interaction. Engineering satisfied her curiosity and problem-solving instincts, but it lacked the social interaction and communication she also craved. Law, she discovered, offered both.
She enrolled at Texas Tech University School of Law, where she graduated summa cum laude and served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law. While many describe law school as an exhausting grind, Rohloff found it energizing. She embraced the discipline it demanded and learned that success for her involved balance.
"I learned that work-life balance is such a big thing for me," she says. "Giving myself that stick-to-the-schedule and do-what-you-say-you're-going-to-do mentality is what works best for me."
She’d cultivated the discipline necessary for law school years earlier through another pursuit: running.
Rohloff, who still runs marathons, credits the sport with teaching her that goals are achieved through steady work and preparation, even when no one is watching. That mindset has carried over naturally into her legal career, where preparation often determines success long before anyone steps into a courtroom.
After completing law school, Rohloff wanted a fresh start somewhere that offered both professional opportunity and an active outdoor lifestyle. The Volunteer State kept surfacing during her search. Ironically, though, Nashville itself did not initially appeal to her.
That changed almost as soon as she met the attorneys at Cornelius & Collins.
The firm's collaborative culture mirrored her own priorities. The partners emphasized working hard while also encouraging attorneys to enjoy their lives outside the office. Rather than merely talking about mentorship, they demonstrated it, making a young lawyer relocating hundreds of miles from home feel immediately welcome.
Family remains a big part of Victoria’s life. Pictured with her brothers, sisters-in-law, nephew, and niece (l-r) Ryan, Bre, Charlie, Victoria, Amelia, Alexandra, and Matthew.
Victoria and her sister-in-law, Alexandra, attend a Texas Tech v. UCF game.
"They're just good people," Rohloff says. “I felt like I hit the ground running.”
She recalls one partner offering to help move her into her apartment if she needed assistance. The gesture reinforced her feeling that she had found more than a job.
"I felt safe moving to a new city when I thought I knew no one," she says.
Outside the office, Rohloff channels her adventurous spirit into travel, distance running, and scuba diving, a hobby she has shared with her family since she was 12 years old. She has explored reefs throughout Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bonaire, and recently fulfilled a long-held dream by planning a trip to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Closer to home, she serves on the Young Professionals Board for Nashville's Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), continuing a commitment inspired by her mother, Charlotte, a longtime educator who introduced her to the organization while she was still in law school. Rohloff also participates in fundraising races benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, combining her love of running with community service.
Her enthusiasm also extends to the broader legal profession through Primerus. After attending the Young Lawyers Conference, she found herself building friendships with attorneys across the country while creating professional connections that benefit both her and the firm.
"We're all going through the same things," she says. "I've made some great friends through it."
Beginning in insurance defense, Rohloff has steadily expanded her practice into labor and employment law, education litigation, and medical malpractice, while maintaining a broad civil litigation practice. Rather than narrowing her focus, the firm's partners have encouraged her to explore new areas whenever she expresses interest.
“The partners push me to explore anything I have an interest in,” says Rohloff. “They trust me. They want my feedback. They want my opinions on cases and my ideas. It's a great thing to know that as a young lawyer, I’m actually making a difference.”
