The TBA's Law Firm in a Box includes an easy way for members to get their legal technology and law practice management questions answered for no cost by an expert at Affinity Consulting Group. Members also can receive discounts for personalized technology plans, custom-designed new firm services, assistance with trust accounting, outsourced bookkeeping support, legal tech training for firm staff and software training manuals. Check out these services.

One of the key things law school does not teach is that law is not just a calling, it’s also a business; and the success of that business relies on finding and retaining satisfied clients. The TBA's Law Firm in a Box has resources to help Tennessee lawyers grow their practice by attracting clients, building solid referral networks, and effectively marketing their services. Check out white papers and best practices for interacting with clients in the Building a Firm section.

If launching a new firm or “hanging out a shingle” is in your future, the TBA's Law Firm in a Box has resources to help. The materials in “Opening a Firm” section will start you down the right path and make sure vital considerations aren’t overlooked. Content includes checklists and comparison charts for a range of office technology, as well as white papers and best practices to guide this stage of your career. Check out those and other resources here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week abolished a common law rule that required testimony of a criminal defendant’s accomplice to be supported by other evidence. The change, which will apply prospectively, was made in an opinion upholding a first-degree murder conviction. The court found that the “accomplice-corroboration rule is effectively obsolete as a common law rule and that the General Assembly is better equipped to decide whether such a rule should exist in Tennessee.” Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee agreed in a separate opinion that the conviction should be affirmed but disagreed with abolishment of the accomplice-corroboration rule. She argued that the rule has long served to safeguard against untrustworthy accomplice testimony. Justice Sarah K. Campbell also filed a separate opinion agreeing with much of the majority, but argued that abolishing the rule should have been applied retroactively. Read more about the decision from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

A new six-part series titled “Justice USA” from HBO Max will feature former Nashville Public Defender Dawn Deaner as well as stories from Nashville's criminal courts. The series, which begins Thursday, is being promoted as providing a real look at what happens when someone is arrested and subjected to the criminal justice system. The project began more than six years ago when Deaner was public defender. She worked with the producer Marshall Goldberg, who filmed much of the show inside Nashville’s jails and courtrooms. Deaner, who is now with Choosing Justice Initiative, writes in a recent email message that she hopes the series motivates the legal community to “work on creating different systems of justice rooted in restorative practices instead of punishment.” Watch a trailer for the show.

The Belmont University College of Law’s Legal Aid Society is holding a golf tournament on April 5 from noon to 5 p.m. CDT at the Towhee Golf Club in Spring Hill. Money raised during the "Putt for Pro Bono" tournament will be awarded to law students who commit their summers to working in unpaid, public interest internships. The event also will include a special silent auction item: a private five-course dinner with wine pairings for a group of up to eight people. Get more information or register here. Email fundraising chair Brooke Wanser with any questions.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has released a comprehensive set of data on bar passage outcomes for ABA-approved law schools. The new data shows that in the aggregate, 90.40% of 2021 law graduates who sat for a bar exam passed it within two years of graduation. That percentage is down from the 91.85% figure for 2020 graduates. The data also shows that first-time takers in 2023 achieved an aggregate 79.18% pass rate, an increase from the 78.15% pass rate for 2022. Additional data shows aggregate results by ethnicity and gender. The information is available on the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s website under “Legal Education Statistics.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Feb. 28 issued an order suspending two Tennessee lawyers for failure to comply with CLE requirements. The order supplements an order from Aug. 17, 2023, suspending 143 Tennessee-licensed lawyers for failure to meet CLE requirements in 2022. See the full list of those suspended and reinstated, including one from the Feb. 28 order, who was reinstated last week.

The Lawyers Association for Women (LAW) Marion Griffin Chapter has announced its 2024 award recipients. The Nashville-based group will present its 2024 Martha Craig Daughtrey Award to Davidson County General Sessions Judge Robin Kimbrough Hayes, while Rachel H. Berg will receive the 2024 Rising Star Award. Hayes was elected to the bench in 2022. She previously served as an associate general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Children's Services and legal counsel for the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. She is a past co-chair of LAW’s Litigation and Legislation Committee and was instrumental in reinstating the group’s Diversity Essay Scholarship Contest. Berg is a staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. She previously was in private practice in New York and Nashville, focusing on class action litigation. She also serves on the LAW Board as treasurer and has been co-chair of the group’s Mentoring/Member Development Committee.