Three candidates have stepped into the race to succeed Lt. Gov. Randy McNally in Senate District 5, following the senator's announcement last month that he will retire from the legislature. According to Knox News, former state Rep. Jimmy Matlock, the owner of Matlock Tire Service and Auto Repair in Lenoir City, picked up candidate papers to enter the Aug. 6 Republican primary. Former state Sen. Stacey Campfield, a Knoxville Republican, also picked up papers, but declined to confirm whether he plans to run. Finally, David Miller, a retired educator and Anderson County school board member, says he is running in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary. McNally, a longtime Republican lawmaker representing Anderson, Loudon and parts of Knox counties, announced Feb. 26 that he will retire after decades in office. The primary election is Aug. 6 and the general election is Nov. 3. March 10 is the deadline for candidates to enter the race.

The city of Murfreesboro recently announced the hiring of Smyrna Town Attorney Jeffrey L. Peach to be its next city attorney beginning in May. Peach has 17 years of experience as a Tennessee municipal attorney. He has served as town attorney for Smyrna since 2013 and was hired as a staff attorney in 2008. The Murfreesboro City Council voted to appoint Peach during a council meeting last week following a public interview at a council workshop in February. “Jeff Peach has faithfully served as town attorney and staff attorney for the town of Smyrna for more than 17 years, working on a number of important and complex legal matters, including civil litigation, employment, land use planning and zoning concerns, and other municipal legal issues,” Mayor Shane McFarland said.

More than 250 lawyers attended the 2026 Estate Planning & Probate Forum on Friday at the Marriott Cool Springs in Franklin. The program offered seven hours of continuing legal education, including one hour of dual credit, and featured sessions on litigation and estate planning, public receivership, a probate panel and a legislative update. Speakers included Estate Planning & Probate Section Chair Robert Malin as well as Rebecca Blair, Chancellor William Cole, Arthur Cook, Jennifer Exum, Donald Farinato, General Sessions Judge Toby Gilley, Zachary Glaser, Lisa Helton, Robin Miller, David Parsons, Al Secor, Andrea Sinclair, Jared Smith and Ashley Stearns. Attendees also were able to interact with 17 exhibitors who were on hand to promote services and products that benefit estate planning practioners. See photos from the event.

Murfreesboro attorney Dewey Russell Thomas died March 5 at age 73. Thomas was a personal injury litigator and operated his practice, The Thomas Law Firm, for more than 48 years. He also was a member of the Rutherford and Cannon County Bar Association and a former president of Andrew Jackson American Inns of Court. Funeral services were held today at Bradyville Church of Christ in Bradyville followed by interment at Thyatira Cemetery in Readyville. Donations may be made to Alive Hospice of Murfreesboro or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The TBA will host its 30th Annual Labor & Employment Law Forum on May 1 in Nashville. The daylong program, held at the Tennessee Bankers Association building, will feature sessions on return-to-the-workplace issues, Federal Trade Commission noncompete rules and trade secrets, wage and hour developments, and an ethics session addressing sexual harassment and assault. The program will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT and attendees may earn up to five general and one dual CLE credits. For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

A judge in Memphis will hear arguments this week on whether death row inmate Tony Carruthers is mentally competent to be executed, the Nashville Banner reports. Attorneys with the Federal Public Defender’s Office argue Carruthers suffers from schizoaffective disorder and psychotic delusions that prevent him from rationally understanding why the state plans to execute him. A forensic psychiatrist retained by the defense is expected to testify that Carruthers’ delusional beliefs — including that a conspiracy of judges and attorneys framed him and that his release from prison is imminent — render him incompetent for execution. Experts for the state are expected to argue he is fit to be executed. If the court finds him competent, Carruthers’ execution is scheduled to take place on May 21 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Carruthers was sentenced to death in 1996 for the kidnapping and murders of three people in Shelby County.

Feedback about the Tennessee Supreme Court's order considering a range of potential changes to regulation of the legal profession is due to the TBA Legal Access and Regulatory Reform Task Force by March 16. The task force will be reviewing responses submitted by email as well as comments submitted as part of a statewide survey and six virtual town hall events, which took place in January and February, and ongoing conversations with stakeholders. The task force then will make recommendations for any proposed action to the TBA Board of Governors. Members are encouraged to review the TBA's Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page to become familiar with the issues at stake. Feedback to the task force should be submitted via email to townhall@tnbar.org. Comments on the court order also may be filed directly with the court by April 30.

The Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers (TABL) and the TBA Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) Diversity Committee will hold a networking mixer on April 30. The free event will run from 5:30-7:30 p.m. CDT at Burch Porter & Johnson, 130 N. Court Ave., Memphis, TN 38103. Special thanks to the law firm for sponsoring this event. All are welcome but an RSVP is required by April 23. See a flyer for more information.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) has announced that three new members have joined its board of directors. Judge Kathryn W. “Katy” Olita has joined as an attorney board member and represents the Clarksville service area. Olita has been a circuit court judge in Tennessee’s 19th Judicial District since 2018, presiding over civil cases in counties including Montgomery and Robertson. Carletta L. Merritt has joined as a community board member, also representing the Clarksville service area. Wesley “Wes” Mack Bryant, a managing partner at Parks, Bryant & Snyder PLLC in Columbia, has joined as an attorney board member representing the Columbia office. “We’re proud to welcome Carletta, Wes and Katy to our board of directors,” said DarKenya W. Waller, executive director of LAS. “They bring different but equally valuable backgrounds that will be beneficial in focusing our services on those in Middle Tennessee who need legal assistance the most. We look forward to their input and advocacy and are grateful for their willingness to serve.” Read more about the new board members in a press release.

TBA YLD President-elect Jennifer Sneed-Perry has appointed six law students to serve as law student liaisons for the 2026–2027 bar year. The students will fill newly established roles on the YLD Membership Committee and be led by YLD Law Student Liaison Coordinator Lorne Hiller, who also serves as a young lawyer delegate to the TBA House of Delegates. The selected liaisons are: Drew Fowler from Belmont University College of Law, Carlee Sullins from Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, Marilyn Harrison-Bates from Nashville School of Law, Haley Crossley from University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Trent White from University of Tennessee Winston College of Law and Weslyn Harmon from Vanderbilt University Law School. Throughout the bar year, the law student liaisons will collaborate on a variety of projects, strengthen connections between the TBA YLD and Tennessee’s law schools, and engage with members of the YLD Board. The program will culminate with the students attending the TBA Annual Convention in Memphis in June of 2027, where they will present their final project.