The TBA will host a webcast replay of “Raising the Bar: The Unconventional JD — Exploring Alternative Legal Career Paths” on Feb. 16 from noon to 1 p.m. CST, featuring a panel of attorneys who have built careers beyond the traditional law firm model. Panelists include Meera Ballal, founder of Women’s Healthcare Initiative in Nashville; Julie Bennett, executive vice president, chief legal and governance officer and corporate secretary for Ballad Health in Johnson City; and Sara Beth Myers, deputy general counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Nashville. The program will explore career paths in nonprofit leadership, advocacy and policy, in-house counsel roles, government representation, board service, and entrepreneurship, while offering guidance on navigating a legal market that increasingly values flexible and diverse skill sets. To register visit the TBA website. 

After Winter Storm Fern left more than 300,000 Tennesseans without power and caused widespread damage, President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration on Feb. 6 — but only for public assistance, not yet for individuals. FEMA is still reviewing whether uninsured or underinsured residents will qualify for federal aid, and there is no timeline for a decision. The storm killed 29 people, caused prolonged outages in Nashville and led to significant infrastructure repairs, prompting state officials to urge residents to document damages and file insurance claims. So far, 15 counties have been approved for full public assistance and eight more for emergency protective measures. The Tennessee Lookout has the story.

The Napier-Looby Bar Foundation will host its 18th Annual Barristers Banquet and Awards Program on Feb. 26 at the Cal Turner Center, 1011 21st Ave. N. in Nashville. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. CST, followed by the banquet and awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. View the invitation or visit www.napierloobyfoundation.org to purchase tickets.

Positioning itself as "Tinder for Attorneys," ReferU.AI recently announced the official launch of its AI-driven attorney "matchmaking" platform nationwide. ReferU.AI pairs its AI with billions of court dockets, filings, opinions, transcribed oral arguments, and attorney and judicial analytics to match consumers with attorneys who have demonstrable experience representing cases similar to what they are interested in pursuing. Read more in a press release.

Beginning in August, the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) will no longer be offered online in an effort to boost test security. Reuters reports that the move away from remote testing, which the council first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, comes amid escalating concerns over cheating. "We currently use a wide range of security measures before, during, and after testing to deter and detect potential misconduct," according to the announcement from the Law School Admission Council. The council went on to say that, "Moving to in-person testing will provide another important deterrent to anyone who tries to undermine the integrity of the test." Online testing will be offered to examinees with "limited" medical conditions and certain geographical hardships.

Carleton “Carl” Edward Knechtel, 86, of Dallas, Texas, died Jan. 23. Born in Fortaleza, Brazil, to missionary parents, he held triple citizenship at birth by virtue of being born in Brazil to a Canadian father and American mother. After a varied 20-year career, Knechtel received his law degree from University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1971. He worked for more than 31 years as an attorney in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel for the Criminal Tax Division, initially in Chicago for 15 years and then in Dallas for 16 years. Following his retirement from public service in 2003, Knechtel practiced law in the Dallas area on a limited basis and served as an expert witness in criminal tax trials. A visitation will be held on Feb. 14 at Chattanooga Funeral Home - North Chapel, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson 37343, from 1–2:30 p.m. EST with a services immediately following. Interment will follow at Hamilton Memorial Gardens, 5351 Highway 153, Hixson 37343. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Knechtel's memory to the Salvation Army or a local food bank.

Longtime Shelby County Democratic state representative John DeBerry, who served in the state legislature from 1995 to 2020, has announced his candidacy for Shelby County mayor in the Republican primary. “What folks want is basic,” he told Action News 5. “They want safe streets. They want good schools. They want to be able to take care of their families, and I think that’s not Democrat or Republican … that’s American.“ DeBerry, who currently serves as a special advisor to Gov. Bill Lee, joins Davis Henson and Gerald Kiner in vying for the Republican nomination. At least eight people have filed to run as Democrats. The countywide primary is May 5. After the May primary, Shelby County voters will return for the county general and statewide primary on Aug. 6 and the state and federal general election on Nov. 3.

Tennessee State University’s (TSU) College of Liberal Arts and the Metropolitan Historical Commission will host the 45th Annual Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture (NCAAHC) on Feb.13 at TSU's Avon Williams Campus. This year's theme is “From Roots to Resilience: Reclaiming Black Journeys, Stories, and Legacies Across Tennessee." Learn more and purchase tickets on the event's website. Across town, the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at Vanderbilt Law School has announced a series of events to celebrate Black History Month. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the admission of the first Black students to the law school. The theme is "From Pioneers to Progress: 70 Years of Black Legal Advancement in the Face of Resistance." The BLSA will host a panel featuring Vanderbilt Law alumni on Feb. 18. Kristen Clarke, who served as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2021 to 2025, will deliver the keynote address on Feb. 26. More information is available on the law school's website.

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) has released the first study of state court resources in 13 years. According to the Tennessee Journal, the study found that 25 of the state's 32 districts need more judges or magistrates, especially in fast-growing areas like Rutherford, Cannon and Knox counties. Under a 2022 law, a judicial redistricting task force must present recommendations by 2027, but past efforts to redistrict have stalled. According to the paper, consolidation of districts also could prove costly. The comptroller's study shows that each judge in the 8th District in rural northeastern Tennessee spent an annual average of 255 hours traveling between courtrooms, while those in the 25th District in the southeastern part of the state spent an average of 229 hours. By contrast, judicial officers in single-county districts like Blount, Knox and Anderson counties, reported no travel time. Any restructuring would need to be enacted before the next judicial cycle begins after the August 2030 elections. Read a press release from the comptroller's office. Download the full report here.

Electronic voting in TBA's election for vice president will close Feb. 13 at 11:59 p.m. CST. TBA members were sent an email on Jan. 30 with a ballot for the two candidates running for TBA vice president. The email was sent from Intelliscan Inc. Members also were sent an email with profiles of the two candidates running for vice president. That email was sent from elections@tnbar.org. If you did not receive either email in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If either email indeed was not received, please contact elections@tnbar.org to request that the missing email(s) be resent. The candidate profiles also are available on the TBA website. (An earlier version of this item in TBA Today listed the incorrect time for submitting ballots.)