Judge Patrick M. Dandridge’s career as a Georgetown Law graduate and young lawyer in Washington, D.C. had just begun when Memphis elected Willie Herenton as its first black mayor. Sensing opportunity in Memphis, the Central High School Class of 1983 graduate returned home in 1994, opened a law office, and began working as a part-time City Attorney in the Herenton administration—a position he would hold for many years. In 2007, Dandridge became a full-time City Attorney advising Code Enforcement and ultimately found a specialty enforcing the building codes that specify minimum requirements for houses and other structures. A few years after the 2008 financial crash saddled Memphis with foreclosures and blighted properties, Dandridge became a Senior Assistant City Attorney and was given the task of advising the Code Enforcement Department in its aggressive new endeavors in fighting blight. After advising the City for many years in this role, Dandridge became the Director over Code Enforcement, leading a 60-employee Code Enforcement unit in the Neighborhood Improvement section under the Public Works Division. In 2018, Dandridge succeeded long-time Judge Larry Potter as the Judge of the Shelby County Environmental Court, where he had previously brought cases as the City’s chief Code Enforcement official and as the Assistant City Attorney. Key matters before the Shelby County Environmental Court include enforcement of building code violations when owners refuse or neglect to comply. If a tenant, for example, sues a landlord for a leaky roof, the case often lands in Circuit Court. However, If the tenant instead files a leaky roof complaint with the Code Enforcement Department, then the City can sue the landlord in the Environmental Court.