The July 25 Elder Law Forum will feature a session on law practice management. Attorneys and proprietors Barbara McGinnis and John Toy will discuss ways to make your firm more efficient, covering traditional practices, ways to integrate AI and other ideas for you to implement for your business. Additional topics at the forum include undue influence, Medicaid/TennCare, VA benefits and ethics. TBA Elder Law Section and General Solo Section members receive a discounted rate to attend. Learn more and register here.

The 2025 TBA Topgolf Estate Planning Tee-off will take place Friday, Sept. 12. This annual favorite offers three general CLE credits followed by two hours of Topgolf gameplay. The event also provides a perfect team-building exercise for your group or firm. Topics  include trusts, income tax, estate planning for the “middle-rich” and more. Breakfast and lunch are provided. Space is limited so register now before it's too late!

The list of candidates seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Mark Green continues to grow, the Nashville Banner reports. State Rep. Bo Mitchell of Nashville became the first Democrat to say he’s running for the 7th Congressional District seat, which encompasses parts of Davidson, Montgomery and Williamson counties., which spans parts of Nashville to Clarksville near the Kentucky border. State Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, announced a run today acccording to the Nashville Post. The Republican side of the race is more crowded. State Reps. Jody Barrett of Dickson, Jay Reedy of Erin and Lee Reeves of Franklin have filed paperwork to run. Other contenders include Matthew Van Epps, who resigned his role as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services to run; Jason Knight, a Montgomery County commissioner and former Clarksville City Council member; and U.S. Army veteran John Thorp. The Tennessean reports on Thorp's candidacy.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division will continue its CLE Exploration Series this fall with the addition of the inaugural "Does it Please the Court?" program. On Oct. 10, join Tennessee State Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby and Justice Mary Wagner at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park outside Memphis. Don't miss this unique opportunity to meet with the justices and learn from other speakers — all while networking and enjoying the natural beauty of one of Tennessee's state parks. The program will begin at 9 a.m. CDT with sessions running from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The program will include lunch and a ranger-led hike. Save the date! Registration will be available soon.

Tennessee Bonding Company, Inc., d/b/a Action Bail Bonding (“the Bonding Company”), appeals from the trial court’s denial of its petitions to obtain bonding privileges in the Twenty-Sixth Judicial District. The Bonding Company contends that (1) the trial court improperly held a hearing without counsel present, (2) the trial court erroneously considered certain evidence without the required necessary authentication or identification in violation of the Rules of Evidence, and (3) the evidence did not support the trial court’s denial of approval to write bonds. After review, we affirm.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has hired Nashville attorney Masami Tyson to be his new chief of staff. Tyson will succeed Marjorie Pomeroy-Wallace, who ran O'Connell's 2023 campaign and has been his only chief of staff. Pomeroy-Wallace will remain with the O'Connell administration in the newly created position of chief strategy officer. Nashville Business Journal reports that Tyson is a former senior counsel at Franklin-based Nissan Americas who then spent almost four years as Tennessee’s top official recruiting business investments from foreign companies. Most recently, Tyson opened a Nashville office for Womble Bond Dickinson, where she was a partner. A native of Yokohama, Japan, Tyson received her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2000. Read more in a press release from the mayor's office.

The Defendant, Brandi Michelle Adams,1 pled guilty to the offense of second degree murder as a Range II, multiple offender and received a sentence of forty years. She later filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, arguing that she was a Range I, standard offender and did not agree to be sentenced in an enhanced range. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the motion, and the Defendant appealed, asserting three issues: (1) that she could not legally be sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender; (2) that her plea was involuntary; and (3) that the trial court exhibited bias in denying her Rule 36.1 motion. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has named attorney Joe Byrd as interim executive director of the newly established Office of the Appointed Counsel Commission (AOC), which will coordinate statewide indigent representation in child welfare cases and criminal cases where district public defenders have conflicts. Byrd previously served as lead attorney for the AOC's indigent services team. Gov. Bill Lee’s amended budget, approved in the 2025 legislative session, included funding for the new office to address challenges in delivering indigent defense. “Joe Byrd is a trusted and seasoned attorney with the expertise required to lead this new office,” Chief Justice Holly Kirby said in a release. “The Supreme Court appreciates the support of the Governor, the legislature, judges, attorneys, the Tennessee Bar Association and the work of our team at the AOC. We are taking a transformational step forward to safeguard the fair and impartial administration of justice in Tennessee." Before joining the AOC, Byrd was an assistant attorney general in Tennessee, disciplinary counsel at the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility and a municipal attorney in both Tennessee and Florida. Byrd previously worked as an associate at Logan Thompson PC, where his general practice included court appointments representing indigent clients in child welfare and criminal cases.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) has agreed to delete the booking photo of a Muslim woman, photographed without her hijab, from its database in response to a pending lawsuit. In May 2024, Layla Soliz was arrested during pro-Palestinian protests on the campus of the University of Tennessee College of Law. She filed a lawsuit in October claiming that her religious freedoms had been violated because KCSO took the photo of her and published it, violating KCSO policy. In March, she settled the monetary damages portion of the lawsuit. On June 3, KCSO certified that it had expunged the uncovered booking photo of Soliz and all videos from its internal database. On July 7, the office moved to dismiss the case. Knox News has the story.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. Robert Cox sued Total Quality Logistics, Inc. and Total Quality Logistics, LLC (together, “TQL”) for negligence under Ohio law. Mr. Cox alleged that TQL, in its capacity as a freight broker, negligently hired an unsafe motor carrier, resulting in a motor vehicle crash that killed his wife, Greta Cox. The district court dismissed the action on the ground that Mr. Cox’s claims were preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration and Authorization Act (“FAAAA” or “the Act”), 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c). For the reasons set forth below, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.