Jim Brown, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), writes in today’s Tennessean that the professional privilege tax should be eliminated to send the unequivocable message that it is a right, not a privilege, to be a professional in Tennessee. He says the idea of taxing some people simply because they go to their job is discriminatory. Brown provides a history of how the tax became law and outlines four reasons why the tax should be repealed for the seven professions – attorneys, securities agents, broker dealers, investment advisers, lobbyists, osteopathic physicians and physicians – still subject to the annual payment. NFIB is a member of the “No Taxation on My Occupation” coalition, which includes the Tennessee Bar Association and nine other organizations.

Birmingham-based Burr & Forman LLP has appointed Ken Bryant as the new office managing partner in Nashville. He replaces Tucker Herndon, who has served in the role since 2018, the Nashville Post reports. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, he handles commercial and corporate litigation, admiralty and maritime issues, class actions and agriculture funding. The firm also has the news.

Three Republicans are running for Washington County Sessions Court Judge Part II in the May 3 primary. Those in the race to succeed retiring Judge Don Arnold include Johnathan A. Minga, an attorney with the Tony Seaton Law Firm; Michael Rasnake, an assistant attorney general; and Stephanie Sherwood, a lawyer in private practice focusing on criminal, civil and juvenile matters. The winner of the primary will be unopposed on the Aug. 4 general election ballot, the Times News reports. The candidates answer a number of questions posed by the paper.

The TBA election results are in and Edward D. Lanquist Jr. of Nashville has been elected to the office of vice president. He will ascend to office of president-elect in 2023 and lead the organization as president for the 2024-2025 bar year. Mary Dohner Smith and William “Billy” Leslie also were elected as Middle Grand Division governors on the TBA Board of Governors. Lanquist, a co-founder and shareholder of Patterson Intellectual Property Law, is the TBA’s current general counsel. He also serves on the executive committee of the TBA Intellectual Property Section and is a member of the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows. Lanquist has been active in the American Bar Association and the Nashville Bar Association as well. He is a past chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division and a past president of the NBA. At Patterson, he focuses his practice on patent, trademark and copyright litigation, intellectual property counseling and technology law. Dohner Smith is a partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete where she handles employment compliance and litigation. Leslie is associate general counsel with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and the current TBA Young Lawyers Division president. All will take office at the TBA Convention June 15-18 in Nashville.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 22 attorneys last week for failure to pay the annual registration fee. Eight of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the March 28 fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended for fee and IOLTA violations in 2022 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

A reduction in the state’s professional privilege tax on attorneys is part of Gov. Bill Lee’s budget plan released this week. Paired with a grocery sales tax holiday, the reduction would cut the annual tax lawyers pay from $400 to $300, Knox News reports. Eliminating the tax has been a top legislative priority for the Tennessee Bar Association and seven other professional groups, who argue the 200,000 people working as lawyers, doctors, lobbyists, investment advisors and stockbrokers are unfairly singled out by the tax. “It is very discriminatory in who it reaches,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, says of the tax, which he favors eliminating either all at once or over a period of time. House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, said he also favors the cuts. While the General Assembly considers these and other cuts, the TBA is continuing efforts to have the tax completely eliminated.

The Johnson City Press introduces the two candidates running to be public defender for the Third Judicial District, which includes Greene, Hamblen, Hancock and Hawkins Counties. DeAnna Snyder and Todd Estep are both running in the May Republican primary, and were asked the same five questions.

Scott County attorney Andy Tillman has announced his candidacy for General Sessions Court judge in the upcoming August general election, the Independent Herald reports. Tillman, who previously served as Chancery Court Judge in the 8th Judicial District, is one of three candidates vying to replace Judge Jamie Cotton, who is retiring this year. A 1989 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Tillman has also served as a law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and as senior clerk to Judge Charles Susano of the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Knoxville.

Nashville attorney Lee Pope has left his position as Tennessee’s open records counsel to enter private practice, the Citizen Tribune reports. Pope has held the position since 2017. Comptroller Jason Mumpower plans to announce the new open records counsel on Monday, spokesman John Dunn said in an email Thursday.

The Tennessee Supreme Court’s April docket includes eight cases. The first two are set for Jackson on April 5. The next five cases will be heard in Nashville on April 6, with the final case submitted on briefs. Oral arguments will be livestreamed to the Tennessee Courts YouTube page. Details on the individual cases are available on the Tennessee Courts website.