Alabama has joined Texas and Florida in removing the American Bar Association (ABA)-accredited law school graduation requirement for bar exam eligibility, part of a broader push to reduce the ABA's influence over lawyer licensing. Reuters reports that the move stems from an ongoing conflict between the ABA and the Trump administration over a number of issues. The U.S. Department of Education also is reviewing whether to strip the ABA of its official law school accreditor status. Tennessee is weighing a similar change, framing it as an access-to-justice issue, and received backing from both the FTC and DOJ's Antitrust Division, who argued the ABA's outsized role limits the supply of lawyers and drives up costs. The ABA maintains that national accreditation is the "gold standard" and prevents a state-by-state patchwork of requirements. Read the TBA's comment filed April 30 with the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Save the date for this year's Elder Law Forum, the premier event for Tennessee senior-centric lawyers. Join speakers Amy Bryant, Barbara Moss, Beverly Sharpe, Jon Toy and Karl Warden on July 17 at the Nashville School of Law for sessions on conservatorships, fraud concerns, guardians ad litem, special needs trusts, ethics and more. For more information and to register, visit the TBA's website.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it will return Rep. Andy Ogles', R-Tennessee, cellphone and destroy data obtained from it and his Google account, a move some say effectively closes its investigation into Ogles' campaign finances. The FBI had seized the phone in August 2024 over discrepancies in Ogles' campaign finance filings — specifically, a reported $320,000 loan to his campaign that was later amended to just $20,000 — but had agreed not to review its contents while Ogles challenged the seizure in court. The probe, which began under the Biden administration, had stalled awaiting a judge's ruling and never advanced to charges, according to the Associated Press. Ogles said in a statement that the DOJ "has effectively acknowledged I was right," He still faces a separate House Ethics Committee investigation.

Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) will welcome Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty as its commencement speaker during the law school’s graduation ceremony, tomorrow at 4 p.m. EDT. This 14th graduating class is the largest in the law school’s history at 105 graduates. Heagerty was appointed to the Knox County Chancery Court, Division III in 2021 by Gov. Bill Lee. He graduated from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1994. After a clerkship with Hodges, Doughty & Carson during law school, he was hired by the Carpenter & O’Connor firm, where he worked for six years as an associate and four years as a partner. He then practiced with Hodges, Doughty & Carson from 2004 to 2015, handling mostly civil litigation. He started his own firm in 2015, and a large percentage of his practice was in litigation cases. Heagerty has served as an adjunct professor at LMU Law and at Winston College of Law. Read more in a press release.

FisherBroyles, a law firm with an international presence, has opened an office in Nashville with the addition of corporate attorney Stacey Garrett Koju. FisherBroyles partner Ken Cutshaw will join Koju in launching the Nashville office. “Expanding our geographic footprint with attorneys as sophisticated and proven as Stacey and Ken demonstrates our firm’s commitment to providing clients with exceptional counsel and guidance where and when it’s needed, reinforcing the advantages of our distributed model and its continued growth,” said James Fisher II, cofounder and managing partner of the firm. Read more in a press release. The office is located at 222 2nd Ave. S., 17th Floor, Nashville 37201 and can be reached at 866-211-5914.

Voters across Tennessee cast their ballots yesterday during the state’s May primary. In Memphis, Mickell M. Lowry clinched the Democratic nomination for Shelby County mayor against Republican nominee John J. Deberry Jr. and four court clerk seats were decided. Only one was contested. The Commercial Appeal reports on those results. In Jackson, attorney Jen Free will be unopposed for a General Sessions judgeship in August. The Jackson Sun has that coverage, as well as the results of two court clerk races. Nashville saw three judge races decided, including the upset of two of the three incumbents. Three court clerk seats and the public defender also were on the ballot. The Tennessean reports on those races. In Chattanooga, Jennifer Peck was unchallenged for the Hamilton County Circuit Court judge seat while two of three court clerk positions will be unopposed in August, according to Chattanoogan.com. Finally in Knox County, incumbent General Session Judge Andrea Kline will face Democractic challenger Ben Houston III in the August election, Knox News reports. The paper also reports that Emily Abbott will be the lone general election candidate for a criminal court seat and two court clerk candidates will advance to the general election unopposed. The Tennessee Secretary of State’s website has a complete list of election results for each of the state’s counties. Early voting in the general election will run July 17-Aug. 1 with election day on Aug. 6.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) Exploration CLEs received rave reviews last yearv— including, "it was the single greatest CLE I've ever been to," "insightful" and "very original idea." Now make plans to join colleagues for the fourth Exploration CLE at Long Hunter State Park in Nashville on Sept. 25. Take the day to experience the magnificence of one of Tennessee's state parks while earning three hours of CLE credit. The day will include lunch and a ranger-led hike. More information and speakers will be announced soon.

Several members of the TBA leadership attended the American Bar Association's (ABA) Day on the Hill this spring. Participants met with several members of the Tennessee Congressional delegation to discuss Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funding, judicial security, utilizing lawyers as resources when drafting AI-related legislation and public service loan forgiveness. The group also attended the LSC reception at the U.S. Supreme Court. See photos from the event.

Retired Colonel Karen Victoria Fair of Alcoa died April 6 at age 62. Fair graduated with honors from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point University in 1985 and immediately began her Army career. She was a decorated veteran with over 25 years of leadership, including service as general counsel for Commanding General First Armored Division in Wiesbaden, Germany, and strategist and later division chief to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. She served as a deputy general counsel in Iraq during “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” She was appointed by the Pentagon as litigation manager and led a team that successfully prosecuted soldiers for the human rights violations in the highly publicized Abu Ghraib scandal. Fair graduated on the Commandant’s List as a top scholar in international and operational law from The Judge Advocate General’s Legal School at the University of Virginia Law School, and she received the James L. Powers Award for Highest Excellence in Trial Advocacy while completing her law degree at the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law. Services were held April 15.

In a statement issued on May 1, Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall asserted that Metro Nashville is exempt from newly passed legislation HB2219/SB2223, which requires sheriffs' offices to enter into agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) known as 287(g) partnerships. The Tennessean reports that Hall said the bill only pertains to sheriffs certified by the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, a categorization that does not involve Metro Nashville-Davidson County. In related news, U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and Lindsay Graham, R-South Carolina, last week introduced the 287(g) Expansion Act to provide financial incentives for local governments to participate in the program, which allows ICE to partner with state and local law enforcement to identify and remove individuals in the country without legal status.