Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, today resigned from the Tennessee House after she was charged on one federal count of honest services wire fraud, the Tennessean reports. Prosecutors allege Smith, Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and Casada's former top aide Cade Cothren worked to set up a firm known as Phoenix Solutions, concealing its operator as Cothren engineered kickbacks to Smith and Casada. Smith and Casada allegedly received kickbacks from Cothren in exchange for using their official positions to pressure the House Speaker's Office to approve Phoenix Solutions as an official vendor and disburse state funds to the firm, according to court records. The Tennessee Journal reports that Smith has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. A hearing on the matter is set for tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. CST in Nashville.

The TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) program kicked off the 2022 year last week with a three-day opening retreat at Montgomery Bell State Park. Now in its 19th year, the six-month leadership training program is designed to equip participants with the vision, knowledge and skills necessary to serve as leaders in the profession and in the community as a whole. The select group of 34 lawyers comes from across the state, representing diverse practice areas and backgrounds. During the weekend retreat, class members participated in a variety of leadership exercises and heard from presenters like Nashville attorneys Byron Trauger and Randy Kinnard, TBA President Sherie Edwards and a panel of judges that included Magistrate Jennifer Wade, Judge Mary Wagner and Judge Danielle Mitchell Sims. The group’s next session, titled “Issues in Policy & Politics,” will take place next month in Nashville. Meet the Class of 2022.

In honor of Women’s History Month, for the second year, the TBA has rallied its past, current and future female presidents for a one-hour conversation on their experiences, influences and the impact women have made on the legal profession. The virtual panel will take place on March 30 from 3 to 4 p.m. CDT. Attorney Julie Bhattacharya Peak will moderate the panel, which will include former TBA presidents Judge Cindy Wyrick, Jackie Dixon, Marcy Eason, Sarah Sheppeard and Michelle Greenway Sellers, as well as current TBA President Sherie Edwards and President-Elect Tasha Blakney. RSVP for the event and submit questions for the panelists here.

Catch a webcast replay of a program that explores the impact of secondary trauma. Join Cindy Sharp and Becky Howlett from The Legal Burnout Solution on Aug. 10 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT for “How Secondary Trauma Affects Attorney Mental Health." The program will discuss the emotional stories, disturbing evidence and highly charged situations that legal professionals are subjected to and how they can cause secondary or vicarious trauma. Howlett, a Certified Meditation Instructor and attorney, will lead mindfulness practices throughout the session. Purchase the program here. 

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Page on Friday signed an order appointing Supreme Court Justice Sarah Campbell as liaison for the Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, effective immediately. Read the order here.

A story in yesterday’s issue of TBA Today, which summarized the provisions of a petition filed by the Board of Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection (TLFCP) with the Tennessee Supreme Court, incorrectly stated that the petition asked the court to raise the cap on each claim. In fact, the board is asking the court to amend existing limitations in Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 25 Section 13.01 to raise the attorney cap from $250,000 to $400,000 upon recommendation of the board and with approval of the court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday suspended 32 attorneys who did not pay the annual professional privilege tax as required. The attorneys include those living in Tennessee as well as 12 other states. Download the order. See the list with any reinstatements noted here.

Knoxville Legal Ministry and Administer Justice will hold a legal clinic on March 12 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST. The groups will offer the clinic on the second Saturday of each month. Volunteer attorneys are needed to staff the clinic. If you are interested contact Crystal Schrof. The state’s first Administer Justice Gospel Justice Center — a national non-profit that works with local churches to provide legal services for those in need — was established in West Knoxville at Cokesbury United Methodist Church this past fall.

K&L Gates has named Lauren Patten as the new managing partner for its Nashville office. Patten, a Nashville native, joined the firm when it opened the office in early 2021. A member of the firm’s Complex Commercial Litigation and Disputes group, Lauren is a trial lawyer who handles complex commercial disputes, arbitrations and internal investigations, representing clients in both jury and bench trials in state and federal courts. Having recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of its establishment, the Nashville office now includes more than 40 lawyers across a variety of practice groups. She earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2008.

The Senate Judiciary Committee said this week that confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson will begin March 21, keeping the Senate on track for a possible final vote next month, the Associated Press reports. As is tradition, the hearings will last four days, with opening statements on March 21, testimony and questioning on the second and third days, and testimony from outside witnesses on the fourth day. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve as a justice in the court’s 200-plus year history. WBIR has the AP story.