Montgomery County Commissioner Michael Lankford on Dec. 8 was chosen to serve as the interim state House District 75 representative by the Montgomery County Commission. The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle reports that the commission voted for Lankford to complete the term of the late Rep. Jeff Burkhart, R-Clarksville, following Burkhart's unexpected death on Nov. 14. "I appreciate the confidence that the commission has in me, and I look forward to working with this body in the future at the state capitol," Lankford said, addressing the commission after the meeting. Six candidates submitted resumes and letters of interest to the commission for consideration for the seat.

The number of lawyers in the United States increased significantly this year for the first time since 2020, rising from 1.35 million in 2024 to 1.37 million this year, according to the American Bar Association (ABA) 2025 Profile of the Legal Profession. The profile is based on findings from the National Lawyer Population Survey (NLPS) published by the ABA’s Center for Bar Leadership. In total, the number of resident active lawyers in the U.S. has grown by 73,363 over the last 10 years, an increase of 5.6%, according to the survey. The ABA has collected data on the number of U.S. lawyers since 1878. Over the last 147 years, overall growth has been consistently positive, with short bursts of rapid expansion. Read more about the NLPS and download the full report.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti has announced Phase 2 of Operation Robocall Roundup, expanding a crackdown on illegal robocalls to include four of the largest telecommunications companies in the country. According to Skrmetti, Inteliquent, Bandwidth, Lumen and Peerless have collectively facilitated an estimated 3.4 billion scam calls nationwide since 2020. “Despite action by attorneys general across the country, [these companies] continue to profit from routing these illegal calls into millions of American homes," he said. "We are intensifying enforcement against these bad actors to ensure stronger safeguards for consumers.” Read more in a press release from the AG's office.

Nashville attorney Patricia Lee Newton died Nov. 30 at age 77. She graduated from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1975 and practiced law at Gilreath & Associates in Knoxville. Newton moved to Nashville in 1978, where she became an assistant public defender for Metro Nashville government. In 1981, Newton began her 45-year career with the Tennessee state government, during which she held numerous leadership roles. Visitation will take place on Dec. 13 from noon to 2 p.m. CST, immediately followed by a funeral mass at St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows Church, 328 Rep. John Lewis Way N, Nashville 37219. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, 765 Nonaville Road., Mt. Juliet, TN 37122.

Mark your calendars for the 2026 Estate Planning & Probate Forum, scheduled for March 6, 2026, in Franklin. This annual event will provide seven hours of CLE credit and include sessions on litigation and estate planning, public receivership, a probate panel, and a legislative update. Speakers will include Rob Malin, Rebecca Blair, Chancellor William Cole, Jennifer Exum, Lisa Helton, Robin Miller, David Parsons, Al Secor, Andrea Sinclair, Jared Smith and Ashley Stearns. Get more information and register on the TBA's website. Section members receive discounted registration. Not a section member yet? Get started here.

The TBA is offering a three-hour "AI Essentials" CLE package focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the practice of law, designed to help Tennessee lawyers quickly complete their remaining hours for 2025. Check out the specific courses included in the package on the TBA website. Looking for something else? TBA also has six, eight, 10, 12 and 15-hour packages, packages based on specific topics or practice areas, live webcasts and on-demand video all month long. Explore all the Year End options to complete your CLE requirement by Dec. 31.

TBA's new "Sunrise Series" of early morning CLE offerings continues next week with "10 Ethical Tips from Hollywood Movies." Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this one-hour webcast reviewing the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility as those rules are depicted in popular movies. Join Joel Oster, the Comedian of Law, as he analyzes the difference between professionalism and ethics and encourages attorneys to view their career as a professional calling. For more information and to register, visit the TBA's website.

In the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 order soliciting comments from the legal community, the court asks whether it should "modify, reduce, or eliminate its reliance on ABA accreditation in setting minimum educational requirements for applicants to the Tennessee Bar" and (2) whether "there are any practicable alternatives to ABA accreditation" it should consider. At least three other states are considering this issue as well. Two states, Florida and Ohio, are reviewing their current accreditation requirements, and Florida has formed a workgroup that recently released a report proposing accreditation alternatives. The Supreme Court of Texas in September said it intends to end its reliance on the ABA for law school oversight and instead have the court determine which schools’ graduates can be admitted as lawyers. Feedback on Tennessee's potential modification of law school accreditation 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. Watch TBA Today through the month of December to learn more about the seven points in the Supreme Court’s order and specific ways to engage with the task force. Visit TBA's Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page for more information.

Federal officials last week unveiled a new crime-reporting hotline for Memphis public housing residents, part of the Memphis Safe Task Force surge that has generated thousands of arrests. U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Scott Turner said the hotline is meant to provide residents of HUD-funded housing a direct line to report “criminals, illegal aliens, sex offenders, human traffickers and those guilty of gang activity, drug distribution and fraud.” Calls will go to the HUD Office of Inspector General, which investigates fraud, waste and abuse in government-subsidized housing. The office also will coordinate with the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and state and local law enforcement, Turner said. The Tennessee Lookout, which reported on the story, noted that federal law already bars most from public housing and mixed-status families make up less than 1% of assisted households nationwide. Federal and state leaders have praised the task force’s work amid reports that the influx of arrests is straining Shelby County courts and jails.

Legal research tool Fastcase, now owned by TBA member benefit partner Clio, has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Canadian legal research startup Alexi of breaching a data-licensing agreement, infringing its trademarks and misappropriating trade secrets. The suit alleges that Alexi used Fastcase’s proprietary legal database — licensed only for internal lawyer research — to build and commercialize an AI legal research platform that directly competes with Fastcase, including training its AI models on Fastcase data and displaying Fastcase-sourced case law to users. Alexi's CEO denies any wrongdoing, calling the dispute a “massive miscommunication” that surfaced only after Clio’s recent acquisition of vLex, and says Alexi always operated within the agreement’s intended scope. After issuing a notice of breach in October and receiving a denial from Alexi, Fastcase terminated the agreement and filed suit, seeking injunctions, damages and disgorgement of profits. Reuters reports on the developments.