TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jul 20, 2026

The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law recently held its 2026 Orr Symposium. This year’s theme, “Closing the Rural Justice Gap: Innovation and Regulatory Reform,” examined the causes of legal deserts and explored practical solutions. According to Knox TN Today, speakers focused on how the legal profession can rethink legal service delivery to ensure that people in underserved communities are not left behind. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Mary Wagner spoke about the court’s recent call for public comment on regulatory reforms, saying it was designed to “have a conversation” about unmet legal need across Tennessee. Other panels explored alternative licensing, the role of non-lawyer legal professionals and what other states are doing to help fill the justice gap. Learn more about the symposium or watch a recording of the program.

The law school also unveiled the Legal Desert Incubator Program, which will provide graduates who commit to spending five years in a legal desert with training, mentoring, business support and financial incentives. And it announced that Briana Rosenbaum, associate dean for access and community engagement and associate professor of law, has been appointed to the Law School Admission Council’s new Rural Access to Justice Workgroup. That group will investigate innovative approaches to expanding the pipeline of future rural attorneys.

Want to learn more about these issues? Join the TBA on July 29 for a discussion with lawyers and judges. Learn more and register here.