If you plan to attend the 2026 TBA Convention but have not yet booked your hotel, time is running out! The TBA hotel room block at the Crowne Plaza Knoxville will tomorrow, May 8, at 5 p.m. EDT. Book now to take advantage of our special discounted rate. Can't make it to the full convention? Join colleagues on June 11 for TBA's first-ever Tech Showcase. Day passes for Thursday are now available online.

If you plan to attend the 2026 TBA Convention but have not yet booked your hotel, time is running out! The TBA hotel room block at the Crowne Plaza Knoxville will close this Friday, May 8, at 5 p.m. EDT. Book now to take advantage of our special discounted rate. Can't make it to the full convention? Join colleagues on June 11 for TBA's first-ever Tech Showcase. Day passes for Thursday are now available online.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court are accepting nominations for the 2026 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award. The deadline for submitting nominations is May 8. The annual award is presented to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the highest standards of the legal profession in Tennessee. This year's award will be presented to a lawyer or judge residing in the Eastern Grand Division. Nominees must be alive when nominations are submitted but they need not be an active member of an American Inn of Court or the TBA. The award will be presented at the TBA's Annual Convention, which will be held in Knoxville June 10-13. See past recipients of the award.

Young lawyers should make plans now to connect with colleagues during the 2026 Annual Convention, set for June 10-13 at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Knoxville. The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) will hold events throughout the week, including the swearing-in of incoming president Jennifer Sneed-Perry and the presentation of annual awards by current president Alex McVeagh. The CASA award, recognizing outstanding service, will be presented during the Public Service Breakfast by Middle Tennessee Governor Alix Rogers. A celebration on Friday evening will include a Gavel Pass and Champagne Toast held in conjunction with the Tennessee Bar Foundation, a graduation ceremony for members of this year's Diversity Leadership Institute, and the induction of new TBA YLD Fellows. Finally, the YLD will hold its Annual Membership Meeting on Friday afternoon and the YLD Board will meet on Saturday to plan for the upcoming bar year. Don't miss these opportunities to connect and celebrate the year ahead. See the full schedule on the Convention webpage.

The 2026 William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award will be presented to Memphis attorney and former TBA President Buck Lewis next month at the TBA’s Annual Convention. The award, given by the Fellows of the TBA Young Lawyers Division, is named for former Attorney General William M. Leech Jr. It is presented each year to a Tennessee lawyer who has been of outstanding service to the profession, the legal system and their community. In announcing the award, Fellows President and Memphis lawyer Mason Wilson said, “Buck Lewis represents the best of the Tennessee legal community. From his bar association service to promoting legal services for those who cannot afford a lawyer, and now his work developing leadership qualities in Tennessee law students, he embodies the ideals of the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award.” Lewis will be presented with the award on June 12 at the Lawyers Luncheon.

Lewis is a shareholder at Baker Donelson and leads the firm’s Appellate Group. He also is the Larry Wilks Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law and co-founder of the newly renamed Pamela Reeves Institute for Professional Leadership. Lewis has focused his career on promoting access to justice initiatives in Tennessee and across the country. He is a past chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and the ABA Pro Bono and Public Service Committee, and was instrumental in launching Tennessee Free Legal Answers and taking the project nationwide through ABA Free Legal Answers. Most recently, Lewis founded and provided initial funding for the Justice Frank F. Drowota Trust to support organizations providing legal services to low-income individuals in the state. He also led fundraising efforts, raising $500,000 in direct donations and $2.5 million in bequests. Read more about his career in this press release from the TBA.

If you plan to attend the 2026 TBA Convention but have not yet booked your hotel, time is running out! The TBA hotel room block at the Crowne Plaza Knoxville will close May 8 at 5 p.m. EDT. Book now to take advantage of our special discounted rate. Can't make it to the full convention? Join colleagues on June 11 for TBA's first-ever Tech Showcase. Day passes for Thursday are now available online.

Nashville lawyers Erik Halvorson and J. Hunter Robinson, both with Bradley, will receive the TBA's prestigious Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing on June 12 during the association's Annual Convention in Knoxville. The award, which will be presented at the Lawyers Luncheon, was established more than 40 years ago and is given each year to the lawyer who writes the most outstanding article published in the Tennessee Bar Journal for the preceding year. Halvorson and Robinson are being honored for their article One Domino Falls: Tennessee Supreme Court Reshapes Foreclosure Claims, which appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of the Journal.

In announcing the selection of Halvorson and Robinson, TBA President Heidi Barcus. said, “This winning article took a complex ruling from the Tennessee Supreme Court and, in straightforward and concise language, explained the consequences for both mortgage-related and non-mortgage-related litigation in Tennessee. This is the kind of writing the Joe Henry Award was created to recognize.” The award is named for Joseph W. Henry, a former chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, who was known for his forthright and clear writing. Read more in a press release from the TBA.

Early bird registration for the TBA’s 2026 Annual Convention will end tonight at midnight. The convention, set for June 10-13 in downtown Knoxville, will offer annual favorites such as the Public Service Breakfast, Lawyers Luncheon, compelling CLE and swearing in of TBA’s new president, as well as the Wednesday night welcome reception and a Thursday evening reception at Knoxville’s minor league ballpark. This year’s gathering also will include TBA’s first-ever Tech Showcase and lunch and learn opportunities with tech vendors on June 11. Day passes for Thursday are available for those who unable to attend the full convention.

Tennessee lawyers will gather in June for the 2026 TBA Annual Convention. This year's CLE lineup, which will offer 8.5 hours of credit, will include the annual Legislative Update. Make plans now to join the TBA Government Affairs Team — Berkley Schwarz with Pier Strategies and Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin with Adams & Reese — as they cover the most recent session of the Tennessee General Assembly and legislation affecting Tennessee lawyers. The program will take place June 11 from 3:15-4:15 EDT at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Knoxville. Learn more about the convention and register here.

The Tennessee Bar Association is accepting nominations through tomorrow for its Fourth Estate Award, which honors courageous reporting on justice and the law. Nominees must be Tennessee-based journalists who have shown exemplary courage in exercising First Amendment rights in the promotion of public understanding of how the law and our legal system works, or how it should work, as demonstrated by a story or series of related stories published in 2025. Read more about the award in TBA's press release. Submit nominations for the Fourth Estate Award online by April 30. Access the submission form at the link above.