Franklin attorney and TBA YLD President-elect Sean Aiello announced the members of his 2024-2025 YLD board this week. Those members serving on the executive committee are:

• Sean Aiello — President
• Alex McVeagh — President-elect
• Jennifer L. Sneed — Vice President
• Ross Smith — Secretary
• Darius Walker Jr. — Treasurer
• Zack Walden — East Tennessee Governor
• Alix Rogers — Middle Tennessee Governor
• Faith Watson — West Tennessee Governor
• Quinton Thompson — Immediate Past President
• Billy Leslie — Past President

Other elected positions are:

• District representatives: Caroline Rogers (1), Amanda Howard (2), Mari Jasa (3), Alexandra Jones (4), Mary Frances DeVoe (5), Amber Vargas (6), Morgan Hanna (7), Grace Burnett (8), Savannah Quintero (9), Jack Wagster (10), Charles Ferguson (11), Shelby Combs (13) and Rod Watson (14)
• TBA House of Delegates: Logan Threadgill, Princess Rogers and Brian Mounce
• ABA YLD representative: Alex McVeagh

Beyond service to its members, the YLD provides multiple programs a year across the state including expungement clinics, essential documents for essential workers, debt relief, immigration and pro bono service clinics. The YLD also sponsors the Tennessee State High School Mock Trial competition — the largest public service project for the TBA. Aiello appointed the following TBA members to various committees to undertake the significant public and membership initiatives of the YLD.

• Diversity Committee: Jennifer Safstrom, Brande Boyd and Cole Harrell-Morris
• Membership Committee: John Murphy, Paul Estep, Alexander Bunn, Billy Leslie, Samantha Ellis, Kristen Walker, Julie Chapman, Patrick Morrison, William Ross and Lee Bussart
• Publications Committee: Lorne Hiller and Ginny Blake
• Mock Trial Committee: Ashley Tipton, Michael Holmes and Zack Walden
• Public Service Committee: Savannah Oliver and Matt Knable
• Long Range Planning Committee: Jennifer Sneed, Cole Harrell-Morris, Patrick Hillard, Melody Shekari, Ariel Anthony, John Wilks and Amanda Howard

Join us in Nashville on May 15 for the TBA's annual Business Law Forum. The day will begin with an interesting dual credit session for business lawyers which offers observations on professional responsibility and ethics using characters, transactions and business dealings from HBO Max's Succession. Next, we will hear from Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti who will offer an overview of important cases and developments that effect the practice of law, consumers and private business in Tennessee. After lunch, attendees will take a deep dive into the much discussed Corporate Transparency Act. The last session of the day will take a look at the nonprofit and for-profit legal entities comprising the business of OpenAI (the developer of ChatGPT). A casual networking reception will occur at the end of the program. Register now!

As the chair of the TBA Business Law Section, I want to thank you for being a member of the section and supporting our work. Over the past few years, the section has emphasized providing top-notch learning opportunities for business law practitioners at our annual Business Law Section Forum. Past forum videos can be found in the TBA CLE course catalog. 

Our section has been instrumental in providing valuable feedback on pending legislation to the Tennessee General Assembly. Our executive council members’ insights and expertise have been crucial in shaping these discussions. Over the years, our collective efforts have contributed significantly to the legislative process. Our executive council members also regularly publish insightful content in the TBA Business Law Section Connect email newsletter and collaborate with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s offices on new initiatives or addressing members’ concerns.

In addition to our legislative work, I am excited to announce this year’s TBA Business Law Forum will be held in Nashville on May 15. These events have always been a platform for learning and networking, and this one promises to be no different. We are finalizing a lineup of esteemed speakers who will share their knowledge and experiences, providing valuable insights into various business law topics. Registration is open, and we will announce the topics and agenda in the near future. 

Our executive council consists of a diverse group of active practitioners and academics from different regions across Tennessee. We highly value open communication within our section, so please share your ideas, questions or concerns regarding business law matters with me or any other member of the council. A list of all executive council members can be found here.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

—Alex Davie, TBA Business Law Section Chair

TBA members can get their legal technology and law practice management questions answered at tbapmc@affinityconsulting.com. This email address is specifically for TBA members and will be answered by Affinity consultants for expert advice on best practices, technology, management and process. For more resources for managing and protecting a law firm visit the TBA's Law Firm in a Box.

When the time comes to retire or move on, attorneys have responsibilities both to their clients and to their state’s oversight authority to make sure that clients are not left “in the lurch.” How should you go about winding down or merging a practice? Get started with resources from the TBA's Law Firm in a Box. The materials in the “Winding Down A Firm” section will start you down the right path and make certain that vital considerations are not overlooked.

A federal judge on Friday rejected a challenge by Republican-led states to a Biden administration program that allows hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for emergency entry into the United States, reports Reuters. The states argued that the federak government's authority to use parole is "exceptionally limited" and can only be applied on a case-by-case basis. They also claimed they faced irreparable harm because arriving migrants increase the cost of public services. U.S. District Court Judge Drew Tipton said the 21 states, led by Texas and including Tennessee, lacked standing to pursue the suit because they could not show that the "parole" program, which allows up to 30,000 people per month to enter the U.S., caused them any injury. "The court has before it a case in which plaintiffs claim that they have been injured by a program that has actually lowered their out-of-pocket costs," he wrote.

The American Bar Association (ABA) online pro bono program ABA Free Legal Answers has released a nationwide list of lawyers, law firms, corporate law departments, law schools and other legal organizations that handled the most online questions in 2023. The list includes 10 Tennessee attorneys: Kevin D. Balkwill, Richard B. Gossett, Bryan C. Hathorn, Mary Jo Middlebrooks, Bruce A. Ralston, Caraline E. Rickard, Moriah C. Rue, Carl E. Seely, Yasmin K. Stiggons and Alissa N. Watson. The nationwide program was originally developed by the ABA and the law firm of Baker, Donelson, which worked to consolidate web programs in Tennessee and other states. Free Legal Answers has emerged as a no-cost way for income-eligible participants to obtain basic civil legal guidance. Since 2019, pro bono lawyers have fielded more than 40,000 inquiries annually for a total of 330,221 answered legal questions since the program's inception.

KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge. These are two consolidated appeals—one from the Western District of Michigan, the other from the Southern District of Ohio—in which the parties disagree about how pizza-delivery drivers should be reimbursed for the cost of providing their vehicles for work. The Michigan court agreed with the plaintiffs (the delivery drivers) that they should be reimbursed using a mileage rate published by the IRS; the Ohio court agreed with the defendants (the drivers’ employers) that a “reasonable approximation” of the drivers’ costs will do. We respectfully disagree with both courts and vacate their decisions.

Under the Rules of Professional Conduct, attorneys and legal support staff have obligations to protect client data. The TBA's Law Firm in a Box has resources to help meet those ethical requirements. The Protecting a Firm section includes information on creating secure backups of client and business information, protecting sensitive client data and fending off ransomware and other cyber attacks.

From document management to cybersecurity to managing your money, the day-to-day task of keeping a law firm operating at its maximum potential can be daunting and exhausting. The TBA's Law Firm in a Box has resources to help. Take advantage of checklists, white papers and more to keep your operations humming. The Managing a Firm section includes information about cybersecurity, disaster preparedness, document automation, financial management, technology and more.