Sanderson Farms Hires Heidelberg Native Attorney, Tia Cardwell

LAUREL, Miss. – March 18, 2014 – Tia Cardwell, former partner of Cardwell and Cardwell, PLLC, a general practice firm in Heidelberg, Mississippi, has recently joined ranks with the nation’s third largest poultry producer, Sanderson Farms. In her new capacity within the poultry producer’s Organization Development Department, Cardwell will be responsible for managing the company’s Corporate Retention Program designed to reduce employee turnover and increase employee retention.

Cardwell, a native of Heidelberg, Mississippi, graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree, as well as a Master of Science degree, in Political Science. As an undergraduate student, she was one of two students selected for the opportunity to study international law and politics in an honors program at Keele University in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. During her tenure at Southern Miss, Cardwell was a Chancellor’s List Scholar and an active member of Pi Sigma Alpha, a national political science honor society. She was also named one of the nation’s Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges for her outstanding academic achievement as a graduate student.

In 2008, Cardwell earned a Juris Doctorate from Mississippi College’s School of Law. As a law student, she was a Dean’s List Scholar, a STAR Student Mentor and the Philanthropy Chair for Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity. Cardwell volunteered for the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, served as a Legal Intern for the Forrest County Youth Court and functioned as coordinator of the Adoption Legal Clinic for the Family and Children’s Law Center located at Mississippi College’s School of Law. As the Adoption Legal Clinic’s coordinator, she acted as a liaison between Mississippi College’s School of Law and the Mississippi Department of Human Services. In that capacity, Cardwell also attended and participated in adoption proceedings, prepared and filed adoption pleadings, as well as researched applicable legislation.

Prior to joining Sanderson Farms, Cardwell worked as a contract attorney for several corporations in the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas areas. Since 2010, she has been a partner with the general practice firm, Cardwell and Cardwell, PLLC, alongside her husband and fellow attorney, Andrew S. Cardwell. She is a member of the Texas and Mississippi State Bar Associations. Cardwell also serves on the Laurel School District Advisory Council.

Cardwell and her husband, Andrew, have an 18-month-old son named Cal. The Cardwell family resides in Laurel and attends First Trinity Presbyterian Church.