March 17, 2025 - March 21, 2025.

The TBA Board of Governors has filled several key positions that had been vacant after the filing period closed. Cookeville attorney Henry "Hank" D. Fincher was named 4th District governor. Knoxville lawyer Kelly Street with McAfee Armistead & Davis was appointed the East Tennessee grand division governor. And Alexandra "Alix" Rogers with Belmont University College of Law in Nashville was selected as Tennessee's young lawyer delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. The TBA is still seeking to fill vacancies in its House of Delegates for Districts 9, 14, 15, 24, 26, 28 and 31. Interested candidates are encouraged to visit the TBA’s election page for additional information and contact BarED@tnbar.org to be considered for any of the openings.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on March 25 about business tax deductions. The session will focus on the Tennessee business tax statutes and regulations that allow taxpayers to make various deductions that ultimately reduce their tax liability. Register for the webinar or see all upcoming educational events.

The 2025 Elder Law Basics program, designed for attorneys new to the practice or seeking to refresh their knowledge, will be held virtually on tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. CDT. The program will cover key aspects of elder law, offering insights from seasoned practitioners to help attendees stay informed about developments in the field. Speakers include Josh Bey with Takacs-McGinnis Elder Care Law, Amy Bryant with the Tennessee Office of Conservatorship Management, Drew Clements and Bryson Eubanks with Clements & Eubanks, Barbara McGinnis with Johnson McGinnis Elder Care Law & Estate Planning, Barbara Moss with Elder Law of Nashville and Pamela Wright with The Wright Law Firm. For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) will host a free webinar on March 25 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. "Disaster Legal Services: What Attorneys Should Know" aims to equip attorneys with the necessary knowledge to assist clients affected by disasters. Registration is available online.

The TBA Administrative Law Section is accepting submissions for its annual writing competition for law students. All students enrolled in a Tennessee law school during the 2024–2025 school year are eligible to enter. Submissions are due April 30. The section offers this yearly competition to promote an interest in and understanding of both state and federal administrative law, and to strengthen the relationship among administrative law professors, law students and practitioners in Tennessee. The winning submission will be published in the Administrative Law Section newsletter and the winner will be awarded $1,000. Get more information and competition rules in this handout.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office Division of Consumer Affairs and the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors warned consumers last week about home improvement fraud and provided tips in a press release to help recognize and avoid fraudulent contractors. "Home improvement scams top the list of consumer complaints received by our Division of Consumer Affairs," said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. "If you’re planning to renovate this spring, make sure your contractor really is licensed and bonded — don’t take their word for it. Do your due diligence before you trust anyone with your money."

On behalf of myself, the entire executive council, and the TBA leadership of the Administrative Law Section (ALS), I want to extend a warm thanks to all our members for being a part of this practice section. 

This is an active and exciting time in administrative law. Fiscal Year 2024-2025 has seen several circuit courts of appeals and SCOTUS rulings which are expected to have long-term ramifications for private citizens, businesses and government agencies. The Supreme Court’s drastic dilution, if not elimination, of Chevron deference may or may not have as great an impact as many are predicting, but it is almost certain to spark a significant volume of litigation and subsequent appellate court action. This is a great time to be part of a group of colleagues with similar professional interests in the field of administrative law.

The ALS and the TBA produce an annual CLE-qualified Administrative Law Forum. This year’s forum was well-attended and covered such current topics as the demise of Chevron, recent developments in the Tennessee Administrative Procedures Act and a professional ethics session highlighting the services of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP). The faculty included outstanding speakers from both the bench and the bar of Tennessee. The forum is held in December each year, and we look forward to another informative and exciting forum this year. We hope you will join us.

Another program the ALS sponsors is a legal writing competition which is open to any law student in Tennessee. Intended to help develop and strengthen future lawyers’ interest in administrative law, the legal writing competition allows the student to choose his or her own topic in the field of administrative law. The papers are judged by a panel of the ALS Executive Council, and the winners are awarded cumulative cash prizes of $1,000. The deadline for this year’s competition is April 20. For more information feel free to contact Brooke Leeton, our TBA staff liaison, at bleeton@tnbar.org.

Again, we appreciate all our colleagues who are members of the ALS, and hope you will renew your membership again this year. We also extend a sincere open invitation to anyone else who has an interest in administrative law and wants to avail themselves of the many benefits of ALS membership.

Jerry Taylor

The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury has released a report on Shelby County's criminal justice system following a request by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, more than a year ago. The report, which examined thousands of felony charges filed between 2018 and 2024, found that while Shelby County handles more felony cases than other major counties, it struggles with delays, with only 33% of felony charges disposed of within a year. According to the Commercial Appeal, investigators pointed to several factors contributing to delays, including turnover in the district attorney’s and public defender’s offices, a reduction in criminal court judges, and frequent changes in defense counsel, which often result in case resets. The report also fund that the court system has work to do in furthering transparency and making things accessible to the general public. Since taking office, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy has pushed for a public-facing database that could provide some of this data.

Montgomery Bell Academy of Nashville was named the 2025 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial champion last month after two days of preliminary rounds. The school prevailed over Agathos Classical School from Columbia. Tennessee State Supreme Court Justice Mary Wagner presided over the round, while members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) Executive Committee, TBA President Ed Lanquist Jr., TBA Vice President Heidi Barcus and TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright served as jurors. Earlier in the day, the top eight teams were announced, an MVP for each of the 16 teams was recognized, individual awards were presented to the best advocates and witnesses, and Sevier County High School of Sevierville was awarded the 2025 Sportsmanship Award. The top three artists in the inaugural Artist in the Courtroom Contest also were recognized and the first place winner was on hand to accept the award. 

Special thanks to YLD Mock Trial Committee Chair Ashley Tipton, Vice Chair Michael Holmes, Long Range Planning Coordinator Judge Zachary Walden and members of the committee for organizing this year's event, which involved 16 teams, more than 200 participants and more than 100 volunteers, including sitting Tennessee judges, lawyers and the YLD's Diversity Leadership Institute's law students. Montgomery Bell Academy now will represent Tennessee at the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Phoenix, Arizona, in May. The team is coached by attorneys Tracy Hancock, Wade Cowan and Marisa Combs Smith. Harper Cowart of Signal Mountain High School was selected as the top artist and qualifies to participate at the national championship as well. See photos from this event.