Prior to joining the faculty she was a law clerk for the Honorable James L. Dennis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. After her clerkship she was an associate at the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C., where she practiced construction law, labor and employment law, and commercial litigation. Prior to her legal career, Professor Varnado taught high school social studies and English for eight and a half years in Mississippi and Louisiana.