It's time for another round of #TeamTBA! Meet the people behind the scenes and learn more about the moving parts, projects and staffers of the Tennessee Bar Association. Lanny Brown is TBA's assistant executive director and he oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization. Lanny came to the TBA last year after serving as vice president of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee and as curator of the Nashville Zoo. (His behind-the-scenes stories of the zoo are fascinating.) He says his favorite part of his job is working with an amazing staff of professionals who don't take themselves too seriously. Lanny is an amateur dendrologist, he can stop his own hiccups after no more than two and he prefers function over fashion — cargo shorts all the way. The #TeamTBA series offers members a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the TBA and how each staff member makes the association run. Check back next week for a new staff profile in TBA Today and on the TBA's Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Feb. 27 suspended 16 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; eight of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. Recent reinstatements for fee or IOLTA violations include 11 in 2025, three in 2024, one in 2023 and one in 2015. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for fee and IOLTA violations in 2025 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has reinstated four lawyers who were placed on inactive status more than five years ago: South Carolina lawyer John Errett Buis was reinstated on Feb. 26; Virginia lawyer Shannon H. Chierichella was reinstated on Feb. 18; Georgia lawyer Courtney Christian Sharp was reinstated on March 3; and Shelby County lawyer John Rolfe Windsor Jr. was reinstated on Feb. 27.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has amended Rule 21, section 4.08, subsections (a) and (c) to clarify how continuing legal education (CLE) credit may be earned for various activities. The rule currently allows the CLE Commission to award up to half of the required credits to attorneys who serve on governmental commissions, committees or other governmental bodies involved in formal sessions for review of rules or regulations. The new language specifies that the commission may award up to six general credits and up to three ethics credits for this work. It also expands eligible activities to include service on local commissions, committees or other governmental bodies and to work involving the drafting of legislation. The new language also requires that CLE hours earned for pro bono work must be done with a Tennessee organization approved by the court.

Registration is now open for the next free advice clinic for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits, set for March 20 in Nashville. The clinic, sponsored by the Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts and Bradley, provides assistance with business formation and corporate governance, review of contracts and guidance in navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Register by March 17 to participate. Attorneys should email vlpa@abcnashville.org to volunteer.

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order naming one law firm, Perkins Coie, for specific activities and directing a federal review of other law firms over diversity and inclusion initiatives. The order directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to “review the practices of representative large, influential, or industry leading law firms for consistency with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including whether large law firms: reserve certain positions, such as summer associate spots, for individuals of preferred races; promote individuals on a discriminatory basis; permit client access on a discriminatory basis; or provide access to events, trainings, or travel on a discriminatory basis.” It also directs the U.S. attorney general, in coordination with the EEOC, to investigate the “practices of large law firms who do business with federal entities for compliance with race-based and sex-based non-discrimination laws and take any additional actions” deemed appropriate "in light of the evidence uncovered."

The Tennessee Supreme Court on March 5 suspended 52 attorneys who did not pay the annual professional privilege tax as required. The attorneys include those living in Tennessee as well as 11 other states. View the order or see the list with reinstatements noted.

HELENE N. WHITE, Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant Kim Davis, in her capacity as the clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, refused to issue a marriage license to Plaintiffs-Appellees David Moore and David Ermold. Plaintiffs sued Davis under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that Davis violated their constitutional right to marry. After several interlocutory appeals, the district court entered judgment for Plaintiffs on liability and a jury awarded them compensatory damages. Davis now appeals, arguing that she is entitled to qualified immunity, that she has affirmative defenses to liability under the Free Exercise Clause and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and that Plaintiffs’ evidence of their emotional distress was insufficient to support the jury’s award. We AFFIRM.

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Lamonte Brown pled guilty to two separate charges: conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He now appeals various aspects of his sentence. We affirm.

The Defendant, Royce Scott Earley, confessed to multiple acts of rape against his eight- year-old daughter, and a jury subsequently convicted him of two counts of rape of a child (counts one and three), two counts of incest (counts two and four), and one count of aggravated sexual battery (count five), for which he received an effective sentence of 104 years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant raises three issues for our review: (1) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his confession because it was not voluntary; (2) whether the State introduced sufficient evidence to corroborate his confession for counts three through five under the modified trustworthiness standard outlined in State v. Bishop, 431 S.W.3d 22 (Tenn. 2014); and (3) whether the trial court imposed an excessive sentence.1 After review, we affirm.