Two Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives — Elizabeth Stephens of Nashville, who is running in the 5th Congressional District, and Jacob Anders of Tullahoma, who is running in the 4th Congressional District — are suing the Tennessee Democratic Party after being disqualified from their primaries. The two candidates argue that the party’s appeal hearing procedures were unfair and failed to provide due process. They are seeking a temporary restraining order to ensure their names appear on the August ballot. The Nashville Banner reports on the development.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on the state's obligated member entity election under the franchise & excise (F&E) tax on March 31 beginning at 9 a.m. CDT. Department staff will discuss how pass-through entities can elect to pay F&E tax at the entity level and what this means for compliance and planning. The webinar is part of a free series the department offers to the public. Learn more and register here or read more in a press release.

Nashville trial lawyers Joe Welborn, Charlie Malone and Jason Callen have launched WelbornMalone PLC, a boutique litigation firm that will focus on complex, high-stakes disputes for corporations, small businesses, high-net-worth families and individuals across a range of industries. The office is located at One Burton Hills Boulevard, Ste. 200E, Nashville, TN 37215 in the Green Hills area of the city. It can be reached at 615-455-0360 or online at www.welbornmalone.com. Welborn, originally from Memphis, has practiced law in Nashville for 35 years, previously with Bass, Berry & Sims; Walker, Tipps & Malone; Butler Snow; and K&L Gates. Malone, a Nashville native, has practiced law for 23 years, previously with Walker, Tipps & Malone; Butler Snow; and K&L Gates. Callen has practiced law for 22 years: four years with Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago and 18 years with the Nashville offices of Walker, Tipps & Malone; Butler Snow; and K&L Gates. Read more about the firm.

William "Bill" Franklin Alley Jr. died March 15 in Knoxville. Alley graduated from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law and joined the U.S. Air Force. He later joined the Air National Guard, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2004. He served as a partner at the Knoxville firm of Hodges, Doughty and Carson until his retirement in 2006. A celebration of life will be held March 28 at 3:30 p.m. EDT at Fountain City United Methodist Church, 212 Hotel Rd., Knoxville 37918. A private family burial will take place on March 30. Read more about his life from this obituary in Knox News.

Former Tennessee state legislator and retired lawyer Bill Bruce died recently at the age of 90. A native of Virginia, Bruce moved to Memphis in the 1960s to practice law. He later was elected to the state House of Representatives and then the state Senate. Bruce retired from the legislature in in the early 1970s and moved his law practice to Nashville. He joined Stokes & Bartholomew and launched the firm’s government relations practice. He supported the merger with Adams & Reese in 2005, and facilitated discussions with Armstrong Allen, which led to an expansion to Memphis in 2006. Burce retired from active practice not long thereafter and moved to the Georgia coast. Arrangements are pending for a memorial service in the coming weeks. Read more from Adams & Reese.

Sessions from TBA’s 2026 Construction Law Forum are available online as a 1-Click package or as individual programs. The package offers up to 4.5 hours of general hours and two hours of dual hours for a total of 6.5 hours. Topics include the many ways lien claims can go awry; the nuances of the Prompt Pay Act, Beacon4 and other current cases; emerging AI tools for the construction practioner; ethics update; and key opinions and case developments from the Tennessee appellate courts.

Magistrate Shayla Purifoy has announced her campaign for judge on the Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court, Division 2. Purifoy graduated from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and joined Memphis Area Legal Services as a staff attorney in the civil Domestic Violence and Family Law Unit. In 2016, she was appointed to the magistrate judge role, where she hears criminal and civil matters. Purifoy was president of the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association in 2020 and remains involved in community groups and local and statewide legal organizations. Purifoy says she will use the General Sessions position to promote understanding in the judiciary through community outreach. She also pledges to run a fair and efficient courtroom for all those who come before her. Read more in a press release or visit her campaign website.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division, in collaboration with law firms and businesses in Chattanooga, held the 2026 Chattanooga Leadership and Law Academy, which introduces high school students to the practice of law. The program featured courtroom observation and discussion with General Sessions Court Judges Tori Smith and Christie Sell, and panel discussions with civil law attorneys, criminal law attorneys, and those in law-adjacent careers. Federal Magistrate Judge Mike Dumitru gave the keynote address. Mary Frances DeVoe, TBA YLD district representative and John Jolley, TBA YLD Mock Trial Committee chair, also participated in the event. TBA YLD Board member Ariel Anthony helped start this program 10 years ago and continues to serve as the chair. See photos from the event.

The U.S. Supreme Court signaled a divide over whether mail-in ballots must be received by Election Day, focusing on a Mississippi law that allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted up to five business days later. According to Bloomberg Law, during more than two hours of arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned both sides about how a ruling overturning the law could affect early voting, while Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh raised concerns about late-arriving ballots fueling claims of stolen elections. Justice Sonia Sotomayor emphasized that election rules are generally the domain of states and Congress. 

President Donald Trump, along with several cabinet members, attended a Memphis Safe Task Force roundtable, according to the Daily Memphian. In remarks that also touched on foreign and domestic policy, Trump praised Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Memphis Mayor Paul Young — who was not in attendance — for their efforts, noting the decline in the city’s homicide rate. The Commercial Appeal reports that the task force has made 7,240 arrests and seized 1,188 firearms. Trump was joined on the visit by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, were on hand to represent the state. The task force has been working in Memphis since September 2025 and has added more than 1,500 federal personnel to the city’s law enforcement presence. Watch the remarks from USA Today. Congressman Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, was set to hold press conference prior to the president’s event according to News 5, while state Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, held a protest rally and Mayor Young released a statement after the visit.