TBA’s Law Firm in a Box goes above and beyond with tips for your law practice. Resources, whitepapers, checklists, best practices and ethical considerations are offered for all stages of law practice, whether you are opening, building, managing, protecting or winding down a practice. Members also have free access to a team of tech gurus, and at no cost, can email tech questions to tbapmc@affinityconsulting.com.

The Immigration Practice Clinic at Vanderbilt University College of Law announced a collaboration with Visalaw.ai to use Gen, the first and only immigration law generative artificial intelligence (AI) legal research and drafting product. The clinic is the first anywhere to have access to the product. “We are excited about the potential this tool holds for our clinic’s operations and what it means for students to see the advantages of AI in the practice of law,” said Clinic Director Alvaro Manrique Barrenechea. The Immigration Practice Clinic at Vanderbilt Law offers legal representation to individuals seeking humanitarian-based immigration relief or benefits from entities such as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Memphis Immigration Court and other government bodies.

Join your colleagues on April 11 for Elder Law Basics. This program is designed for attorneys new to the practice, or those looking to brush up on their knowledge in this area. The topics will provide an overview of powers of attorney, pre-admission evaluations, real estate in elder law, how clients can find and afford health care in retirement, ethics and more. Elder Law Basics will take place from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. CDT via webinar.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee today announced that Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Mac Heavener will lead the efforts of the office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for Tuesday's primary election. AUSA Heavener has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO), and in that capacity, will be responsible for overseeing the office’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Make plans to join the Immigration Law Section for its annual forum, scheduled for May 31. The program will take place in Nashville and will feature sessions on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and updates from each of Tennessee's grand divisions. Don't forget that section members receive an additional discount on registration. Watch for more information to be announced soon!

CHAD A. READLER, Circuit Judge. A former restaurateur, Alma Reyes Galeana fled to the United States after several run-ins with gangs in Guerrero, Mexico. Once on United States soil, she sought asylum and withholding of removal. Reyes Galeana maintains that, as a Mexican business owner, she was a member of a “particular social group” that should be afforded relief from deportation under federal law. The Board of Immigration Appeals disagreed and denied her application. Reyes Galeana then petitioned this Court for review of the Board’s decision. Agreeing that “Mexican business owners” are not a particular social group, we deny her petition.

The TBA will hold an afternoon conversation with Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby and Justice Dwight Tarwater at Burch, Porter & Johnson in Memphis on March 7 from 2:30-4 p.m. CST. Moderated by attorneys Will Perry and Buck Wellford, the panel will discuss each justice's path to the bench, the importance of mentors, the manner in which the justices interact, the importance of the Rule of Law in our society, and more. The event will wrap up with a networking reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m. CST. Make plans today to attend this unique program and reserve your spot soon as space is limited. All members of the legal community are invited to attend the free reception. No reservation for the reception is required.

The Petitioner, Roderick Bates, appeals from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s denial of his post-conviction relief from his jury-trial convictions for especially aggravated burglary and first degree murder, for which he is serving an effective life sentence. On appeal, he contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying relief for his ineffective assistance of counsel claims. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Immigration Practice Clinic at Vanderbilt University College of Law today announced a collaboration with Visalaw.ai to use Gen, the first and only immigration law generative artificial intelligence (AI) legal research and drafting product. The clinic is the first anywhere to have access to the product. “We are excited about the potential this tool holds for our clinic’s operations and what it means for students to see the advantages of AI in the practice of law,” said clinic director Alvaro Manrique Barrenechea. The Immigration Practice Clinic at Vanderbilt Law offers legal representation to individuals seeking humanitarian-based immigration relief or benefits from entities such as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Memphis Immigration Court and other government bodies.

A Williamson County jury convicted the Defendant, Connie Reguli, of one count of facilitation of custodial interference and two counts of being an accessory after the fact. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of three years of probation after service of thirty days in confinement and denied the Defendant’s request for judicial diversion. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to support her convictions. She also asserts that the trial court erred by (1) failing to dismiss the indictment for its failure to include an essential element of the underlying felony of custodial interference; (2) failing to instruct the jury concerning the essential elements of custodial interference; and (3) failing to instruct the jury on the defenses of voluntary surrender and legal representation. Finally, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in imposing a sentence of split confinement and denying her request for judicial diversion. Consistent with our decision in State v. Hancock, 678 S.W.3d 226 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2023), we recognize that the principal’s actions in this case did not violate Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-306 at the time they occurred. As such, we hold that the Defendant cannot be guilty of facilitating the felony of custodial interference or being an accessory after the fact. Accordingly, we respectfully reverse the trial court’s judgments, vacate the Defendant’s convictions, and dismiss the case.