The New Year's Eve ball drops in less than 48 hours and the TBA is here to help attorneys meet their CLE requirements with flexible, year-end programming. TBA CLE offers live webcasts and on-demand courses that can be completed from home or the office, whether you need a single hour or 15 to finish the year. Members can select from packages by hour (six, eight, 10, 12 or 15), by topic, by practice area or by building their own with more than 200 on-demand programs available. Topical and practice-area packages offer dual hours, making it easy to complete ethics requirements before the year ends. For more information and to browse the full catalog, visit the TBA website or contact support at cle@tnbar.org.

Twelve attorneys licensed in Tennessee were admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 39th annual TBA Academy this month. TBA President Heidi Barcus moved for admission of the members during a regular court session in Washington, D.C. Those admitted before the high court were Nashville attorney Paige Bernick; Knoxville lawyer Stefanie Bowen; Nashville attorney Stuart Burkhalter; Memphis lawyer Chad Cardwell; Nashville attorney Stephanie Celada; Morristown lawyer Aaron Chapman; Lewisburg attorney Louisa Davis; Alabama lawyer Charles “Chip” Dawson Jr.; Texas attorney Orlando Dizon; Chattanooga lawyer Michael Kuebler; Knoxville attorney Brandon Morrow, and Nashville lawyer Bernadette Welch. See a photo from the event.

Step into the world of Dunder Mifflin and explore the antics of Michael Scott to uncover critical lessons in professionalism with Stuart Teicher. Learning objectives include the need for lawyers to preserve the dignity and integrity of the legal profession through appropriate conduct; demonstrate faithfulness, competence and diligence in client representation; counsel clients effectively on informed decision-making and alternative dispute resolution; maintain civility and respect in dealings with opposing counsel; strive for excellence in advocacy while being a moral voice for clients and society; and model respect for courts through honesty, knowledge and appropriate conduct. Visit the TBA website for more information.

Several new laws will take effect in Tennessee on Jan. 1, 2026. HB749 invalidates out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants, with a penalty of a class-B misdemeanor; HB1200, also known as "Savanna's Law," creates a domestic violence offender registry to be maintained by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation based on information from court clerks, the Department of Correction and local law enforcement agencies; and HB1376 enacts new regulations on Tennessee’s hemp industry. The 114th General Assembly will reconvene Jan. 13, 2026, for its second session. The Nashville Post and The Tennessean have details on the new laws.

Nashville law firm Brewer, Krause, Brooks, Chastain & Meisner PLLC recently shared with the TBA that it would dissolve as of Dec. 31, with several of its attorneys joining the newly formed Meisner Santiago PLLC, located at 545 Mainstream Drive, Suite 101, Nashville 37228. “Our focus remains unchanged — delivering experienced, efficient litigation defense and practical counsel our clients can rely on," says Managing Partner Steve Meisner. "The launch of Meisner Santiago PLLC allows us to continue that work with a trusted, experienced team of litigators while building a firm intentionally designed for the future. We are deeply grateful for the longstanding relationships we have developed and for the confidence our clients place in us, and we look forward to continuing to serve them with the same commitment, responsiveness and care in the years ahead.” The firm can be reached at 615-630-7715 or www.meisnersantiago.com.

The TBA Pro Bono Portal provides a centralized source for lawyers and law students to find pro bono opportunities across Tennessee, like the following case through Legal Aid of East Tennessee. In this situation, a client is seeking legal assistance to obtain a delayed birth certificate for her child, who was born at home in McMinn County. Get more information about the requirements associated with this opportunity and browse other pro bono needs.

A story in the Dec. 23 issue of TBA Today has been updated to reflect new information. Knox News reported on Tuesday that Diego Hernandez Garcia of Maryville was deported to El Salvador in violation of an order from U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker. After TBA Today was published, the news outlet updated its reporting to reflect that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had returned Hernandez Garcia to ICE custody in Louisiana late that same day.

In the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 order soliciting comments from the legal community, the court asks whether "any legal services currently provided by lawyers could be competently provided by paraprofessionals and, if so, what qualifications, limitations, or subject matter restrictions the court should consider imposing." Some mandatory bar states, such as Arizona and Washington, have created or are piloting programs to license paraprofessionals, often called Legal Paraprofessionals or Limited License Legal Technicians (LLLTs), allowing these individuals to provide legal advice and representation in specific, defined areas of law. Indiana — a voluntary bar state — is piloting a regulatory sandbox program to address legal deserts and more. Feedback on Tennessee's potential modification of the role of paraprofessionals in the practice of law may be sent to TBA's newly formed Legal Access & Regulatory Reform Task Force at townhall@tnbar.org as well as directly to the court. Visit TBA's Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page for more information.

Launched in 2015, Memphis Children’s Health Law Directive (Memphis CHILD) is a medical-legal partnership (MLP) that helps low-income families in Shelby County with legal matters affecting the health or well-being of Le Bonheur Children's Hospital patients. MLPs place attorneys into health care settings to address legal issues impacting the health of patients. Top case areas for Memphis CHILD include Social Security Income (SSI) benefits, education concerns, housing issues, conservatorships and family law. Each partner — including Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS), University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Le Bonheur, University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) — plays a unique role in the collaboration to provide comprehensive legal services for kids and families. Read more in an article from the Winter 2025 issue of Le Bonheur's "Securing the Promise" publication.

Judge D. Michael Swiney officially retires from the Tennessee Court of Appeals on Jan. 12, 2026. In this profile from the Administrative Office of the Courts, he looks back on his career and ahead to what retirement might bring. Swiney views his time on the bench as an important civic duty. “I don’t want to say I was called to be a judge, but I’ve always thought that public service is important and it’s something that those of us that have the opportunity to do it need to consider it.” As for post-retirement life, Swiney and his wife Suzann continue to take that matter "under advisement." “We decided we are going to wait and then decide when the time actually arrives,” he said. “I know I’d like for at least a little while not to have anything scheduled, even if it’s supposed to be something that’s fun.” Swiney is a 1978 graduate of the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law. He worked in private practice in Knoxville from 1979 to 1999. Beginning in 1994, he served as a certified mediator with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee until he was appointed to the Court of Appeals in July 1999. He also served as an adjunct professor at Winston College of Law from 1997 to 2006.