Join colleagues for this year's Disability Law Forum on Oct. 23 via Zoom for three virtual sessions that will cover a variety of topics applicable to disability law practitioners. These include a session with Jennifer Cronenberg from the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), a course dedicated to preparing for an administrative law judge hearing, and a Disability Determination Services/Office of Hearings Operations update with Kim Joseph and James Stanfield. Other speakers include Lena Beal, John Dreiser, Christopher George and Emma Drozdowski Webb.

Iowa Attorney General (AG) Brenna Bird joined an amicus brief Monday supporting a Tennessee law requiring social media companies to use age-verification software. The Protecting Children from Social Media Act mandates users be 18 or have parental consent to create accounts. NetChoice, a trade group including Meta, X and Reddit, sued in October 2024, claiming the law violates free speech and endangers data security. A U.S. district court denied the group's request to block the law, which led them to appeal to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, according to KCRG. Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti, argued in a brief submitted to the appeals court that the law does not abridge any free speech rights, but provides protection for minors online. Bird joined a coalition of 34 states and Washington, D.C., in filing the brief to support the Tennessee law.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications to fill a vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals following the retirement of Judge Kenny Armstrong on Feb. 9, 2026. Qualified applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 30 years of age, have been residents of the state for five years and reside in the Western Grand Division of Tennessee. Applicants must complete the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments’ application, and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) by noon CST on Nov. 5. The council will meet on Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. CST in the chambers of the Jackson City Council, located at 109 E. Main St., STE 107, Jackson 38301. Please submit questions to AOC Assistant General Counsel Laura Blount at 615-741-2687. Complete application instructions can be found on the AOC's website. 

Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier continues to evaluate whether or not to join a compact with the Trump administration that would give the university priority access to federal funding, but multiple campus groups have weighed in on the issue, Tennessee Lookout reports. The faculty senate voted last week to recommend the university reject the deal, as did the Vanderbilt graduate student union and the undergraduate student government. In related news, MIT rejected the same deal on Friday, according to the Nashville Banner.

A female wrestler at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood has filed a Title IX lawsuit against the Williamson County Board of Education, alleging that the girls' wrestling team was treated as an afterthought to the boys' team and was provided substandard support and opportunities as compared to the school’s other sports teams. Read more about the suit from the Nashville Banner.

Charlie Hatcher, who stepped down last month as Tennessee’s agriculture commissioner, is expected to announce this week that he will challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles in the Republican primary for the 5th Congressional District, The Tennessee Journal reports. A Williamson County veterinarian, Hatcher has served nearly seven years as the head of the Agriculture Department for Gov. Bill Lee. He previously worked for a decade as the state veterinarian.

A disciplinary item in yesterday’s issue of TBA Today omitted a link to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility’s press release announcing the revocation for probation for Davidson County lawyer Michael Lloyd Freeman. The document is now attached to the article. View it here.

Cris Helton, former Chattanooga attorney and East Ridge judge, was arrested in Panama City, Florida, on the felony count of making a written threat to kill or do bodily harm to his wife and her friend. Chattanoogan.com reports that on Sept. 28, Helton texted a death threat and a photo of a knife to his wife, Kimberly Helton. Helton is free on a $50,000 bond and is due back in court on Nov. 3. Helton was suspended from the practice of law in 2024 for five years after he failed to file required federal income tax returns for several years and willfully attempted to avoid his tax liabilities.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Bobbie Jo Denson complied with Tennessee’s health care liability pre-suit notice statute. Denson sent pre-suit notice and later filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of two minor grandchildren under Tennessee’s Health Care Liability Act after she gained legal custody of the children. In the pre-suit notice, Denson identified herself rather than her grandchildren as the claimants. Defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing Denson did not substantially comply with notice requirements because the minor children were not identified in the notice. The trial court found that Denson substantially complied with the requirements. A divided panel of the Court of Appeals reversed. The Supreme Court sided with the trial court, finding that Denson properly identified herself as the claimant because as minors, the grandchildren were unable to give notice or file a lawsuit.

Hard-to-break passwords are either long, complex, or both. Don’t expect to remember them all. Use this chart to pick a password manager that will do the remembering for you, as well as help create secure new passwords. Access this and other resources in the Opening a Firm section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.