The three attorneys practicing as Goodman Callahan Blackstone PLLC have joined Gullett Sanford Robinson and Martin PLLC. Joe M. Goodman, William E. Blackstone and Michael R. Griffin will practice in GSRM’s Wills, Trusts and Estates and Tax sections. Goodman and Blackstone will continue to operate out of their Franklin office at 725 Cool Springs Boulevard. Griffin will move to GSRM Law’s downtown Nashville office at 150 3rd Avenue South. Read the full press release here.

An item in yesterday's issue of TBA Today incorrectly stated the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in favor of a cap on payments to physicians. The court actually held the cap is void and has no effect because it needed to be implemented through the rule making process. Read the corrected story here.

The Tennessee Bar Association is closing today at 3 p.m. CDT and will remain closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. We will reopen at 8 a.m. CDT on Tuesday. Access staff email addresses and direct lines here.

Chattanooga lawyer Russell Fowler will receive the prestigious Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing on June 16 during the Tennessee Bar Association’s (TBA) Annual Convention in Knoxville. The award, which will be presented at the Lawyers Luncheon, was established nearly 40 years ago and is given each year to the lawyer who writes the most outstanding article published in the Tennessee Bar Journal for the preceding year.  Fowler is being recognized for his article "Tennessee Lawyers Impact America: A History of Advancing the Right to Vote" and companion piece "Dunn v. Blumstein: A Young Tennessee Lawyer Wins Expansion of the Right to Vote, which ran in the March/April 2022 issue of the Journal. Fowler is director of litigation and advocacy at Legal Aid of East Tennessee. He has written many pieces on law and legal history, and is a regular columnist for the Journal. Read the full release.

The Tennessee Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling today found that a $50 cap imposed by the Division of TennCare on reimbursements to certain health providers is a “rule” within the meaning of the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act. Because of that, the cap should have been handled through the agency’s notice-and-comment rulemaking process and, because it was not, it was found to be void. The decision reversed the Court of Appeals, which had found the cap qualified for an “internal-management exception.” TennCare had relied on that exemption to promulgate the change. Read more about the case from the Administrative Office of the Courts or access the opinion.

In an open letter to Gov. Bill Lee posted to the social media site Twitter yesterday, three Republican legislators urged Lee to abandon a special session on state gun laws and public safety scheduled for Aug. 21. In the letter, freshman Rep. Bryan Richey, R-Maryville, called Lee’s session an "expensive, disruptive, futile and counter-productive publicity stunt” that would invite “a national woke mob” to the capitol. Lee called the session after the 113th General Assembly adjourned for the summer without addressing Lee’s proposed Order of Protection Law which would have allowed a judge to remove weapons from those deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

Two Tennessee women are suing the state over its public employee health insurance plans that exclude coverage for gender-affirming care, claiming they are discriminatory and unconstitutional. Gerda Zinner and Story VanNess had scheduled surgeries to address their gender dysphoria and were denied insurance coverage. The University of Tennessee and Knox County Board of Education, as well as several Tennessee insurance committees, are named as defendants, reports the Commercial Appeal. VanNess worked as a special education teacher for Knox County public schools from 2016 until 2022. Zinner is currently an adviser at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  

In theory, we all want to do pro bono work, but we often beg off for a number of reasons. We’re too busy. We don’t do litigation. We don’t feel comfortable with the subject matter. And most often, we just don’t know where to start.

Well, let’s try to demystify pro bono.

The legal system was created by lawyers, for lawyers. The nuances of the constitution, its amendments, laws and ordinances were never intended to be navigated by laypeople. Additionally, in most states, the law forbids anyone other than a lawyer from offering legal advice or representation in court. The unauthorized practice of law can result in legal consequences that would discourage many from even trying. So, if you cannot afford an attorney in a civil matter, where can you turn for legal help?

Read more from DarKenya Waller, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.

The YWCA’s Stand Against Injustice program will host its 2023 Tennessee General Assembly Wrap-up virtual lunch on May 31 from noon–1 p.m. CDT. Panelists will discuss bills they advocated for and fought against as well as larger issues in the state and nation. Click here for more information and to register.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 today in favor of a 94-year-old woman who claimed that a Minnesota county violated the U.S. Constitution's Takings Clause by taking her $25,000 equity as profit when it sold her home in a tax foreclosure sale, reports Reuters. Writing for the court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. noted, "A taxpayer who loses her $40,000 house to the state to fulfill a $15,000 tax debt has made a far greater contribution to the public fisc than she owed.” Roberts added: “The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but no more."