Most lawyers turn to mentors when a problem arises — constantly playing defense. But what if they switched to an “offensive” mindset? Mentor and mentee pair Buck Lewis and Brock Willis offer a proactive, strategic approach that emphasizes regular engagement and long-term growth rather than reactive crisis management. By meeting regularly with mentors and following a professional development plan, both new attorneys and experienced lawyers can maximize the benefits of mentorship for both parties.

In this installment of President's Perspective, Heidi Barcus encourages lawyers to mentor others, not only because it strengthens the profession, it strengthens the community.

When Elvis Presley died in 1977, Shelby County Medical Examiner Dr. Jerry Francisco performed the autopsy, finding that Presley died of a heart attack and that there was no evidence of drug use. In History's Verdict, Russell Fowler describes the subsequent media frenzy and court cases that followed when reporters and others put aside the autopsy report in favor of scandal.

Tennessee appellate practice is a precision business. Absent rare exceptions, the record is settled before an appeal begins, and well-defined procedural rules restrict the claims that litigants may raise on appeal. Daniel Horwitz breaks down Tennessee’s waiver rules and explains how to defend against waiver claims — essential tools in the appellate practitioner’s toolkit.

The Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) continues to refine its program as one of the top-tier professional clinical support and monitoring providers in the nation. Buddy Stockwell shares highlights from 2025 in this installment of The Buddy System.

What does it mean to be competent to stand trial? What happens when a defendant is truly not competent? Crime & Punishment columnist Wade Davies walks us through the different ways competency can be evaluated.

Volunteers are needed for an expungement clinic on March 14 from 9 a.m. to noon CDT at Greenhouse Ministries located at 307 Academy St., Murfreesboro 37130. The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) will be collaborating with Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands to hold the event. To volunteer contact YLD District Representative Alyssa Fox. View a flyer for the event.

LARSEN, Circuit Judge. Dr. Lawrence Sherman was convicted at trial of one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances and nineteen counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances. He now appeals the judgment and the district court’s denial of his motion for new trial. Seeing no reversible error, we AFFIRM.

NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. Yardi Systems operates a website called PropertyShark. That website offers reports comprising useful information, like sales history and ownership information, about real estate. Patricia LaFleur and Michael Grose, Sr., aren’t happy that they— along with a proposed class of fellow Ohioans—appear in PropertyShark’s reports. So they sued Yardi, alleging that it violated their state-law right of publicity. The district court dismissed their claims because, among other problems, the plaintiffs failed to allege that their identities carried distinct commercial value—a required element of their claims. We agree, so we affirm.

ALICE M. BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge. Political candidates, including judicial candidates, have broad free-speech rights to “speak in support of their campaigns.” Williams- Yulee v. The Florida Bar, 575 U.S. 433, 457 (2015). But that right does not divest a duly elected government of its power to control certain speech by its confidential and policymaking employees. Jacqueline Gaines, then a domestic-relations court magistrate, contends that her court and its administrative judge, Denise Cross, abridged Gaines’s freedom of speech when Cross terminated her employment over her campaign speech that cast the court’s operations and Gaines’s fellow magistrate in a negative light. Because Gaines held a confidential or policymaking position within the domestic-relations court and spoke on political or policy- related matters in a manner that undermined the trust and confidence that Cross had in Gaines’s continued service, her termination did not violate the First Amendment. The district court’s dismissal of her claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is therefore AFFIRMED.