The Tennessee Bar Association will be closed Friday for Employee Appreciation Day. The TBA's office will reopen on Monday at 8 a.m. CST. Visit the TBA.org website for information on CLE or other TBA programs and for staff contact information. Thanks to the TBA staff for the fantastic job they do!

Williamson County lawyer Melissa Ann Baker was reinstated to the active practice of law on Feb. 28 by the Tennessee Supreme Court, conditioned on continuing compliance with the terms and conditions imposed by the court on Feb. 6, 2023. Baker previously was suspended for three years with one year to be served on active suspension. Baker filed a petition for reinstatement on Jan. 12. The board found the petition was satisfactory and submitted an order of reinstatement to the court.

The Tennessee Access to Justice Commission and the Belmont Law Legal Aid Society will host a Free Estate Planning Clinic on March 23 at the Hard Bargain Community Center, 608 Mt. Hope St., Franklin 37064 from 9 a.m. to approximately noon CDT. No registration is required. Lawyers interested in volunteering can email Anne-Louise Wirthlin or Brooke Wanser.

On Feb. 28, the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Johnson County attorney Perry Lee Stout from the practice of law until further orders of the court pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 22.3. Stout entered a plea of guilty and was adjudged guilty to one felony count of criminal conspiracy to possess Schedule VI-controlled substances and one felony count of money laundering in violation of Tenn. Code. Ann. §§ 39-17-417, 39-12-103 and 39-14-903.

TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is new with TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists, Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. They discuss HB1804/SB1690 which establishes a presumption of joint custody, HB2710/SB2254 the TBA conservatorship bill and HB2644/SB2633 which cleans up some current laws relating to adoption and foster parents. Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Two bills proposed by the TBA recently passed in legislative committees. The House Civil Justice Committee passed a bill drafted by the Tennessee Probate Study Group and sponsored by Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, in the House and Sen. John Stevens, R- Huntingdon, in the Senate. HB2710/SB2254 allows a medical or psychological report, required by the court to appoint a conservator, to be either notarized or declared under penalty of perjury as set forth in Rule 72 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. The reasoning behind the bill is that doctors’ offices do not always have access to a notary public. This bill would make the process of setting up a conservatorship faster and less expensive.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill drafted by TBA adoption law attorneys and sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Hail, R- Gallatin, in the Senate and Rep. Tom Leatherwood, R-Arlington, in the House. HB2644/SB2633 was amended by the TBA and those changes passed as the new bill. The TBA Adoption Law Section’s Executive Council drafted HB2644/SB2633 to ensure that changes made to the adoption code last session work better in practice and to clean up sections of the code addressing putative fathers and child witnesses. These changes will result in expediting adoptions, saving court resources, creating uniformity across the state in courts that hear adoption cases and avoiding delays in permanency.

The 17th Annual Napier-Looby Bar Foundation (NLBF) Barristers’ Banquet and Awards Program was held recently in Nashville. The annual event honors distinguished attorneys and judges and supports NLBF's law school scholarships and charitable efforts throughout the year. Awards were presented to Chancellor Russell Perkins, who received the Alexander Looby Lifetime Achievement Award; Dannelle F.W. Whiteside, vice president for legal affairs and organizational strategy at Austin Peay State University, who received the J.C. Napier Trailblazer Award; and Davidson County General Sessions Court Judge Marcus Floyd, who was presented the Justice A.A. Birch Outstanding Service Award. The late Honorable Judge Richard H. Dinkins was honored at a reception immediately preceding the banquet. See a photo from the event.

The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (TBA YLD) proudly announces the start of its inaugural Diversity Law Week with activities planned this week in Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. Under the leadership of YLD President Quinton Thompson alongside Diversity Law Week co-chairs Ariel Anthony, Kevin Christopher and Erin Shackelford,  the program is set to provide over 100 students from across the state with an invaluable educational journey into the legal profession. 

Special appreciation is extended to our venue sponsors: University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Unum and Vanderbilt University Law School. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the following firms and organizations for their contributions and commitment to this program:

• Baker Donelson (Nashville)
• Bass, Berry & Sims (Nashville)
• Belmont Law School
• Bowman and Brooke LLP (Memphis)
• Butler Snow (Memphis)
• Chancellor Anne Martin
• Chancellor Russell T. Perkins
• City of Memphis Law Division
• Davidson County District Attorney's Office
• Farrar and Bates
• Federal Public Defender (Nashville)
• Judge Arthur Bennett
• Judge Melissa Blackburn
• Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee
• Lewis Thomason P.C. (Nashville)
• Memphis Airport Authority
• Miller and Martin (Chattanooga)
• Morgan and Morgan (Memphis)
• Nahon Saharovich and Trotz (Memphis)
• Nashville Electric Service
• Ogletree Deakins (Nashville)
• Office of Conservatorship Management
• Shelby County Circuit Court Judges
• Shelby County District Attorney's Office
• Sherrard Roe Voight & Harbison (Nashville)
• Sheila E. Davis Attorney at Law
• Stokes Family Law, PLLC
• State Tennessee Department of Health
• Tennessee General Assembly-Office of Legal Services
• Tennessee Workers' Compensation Court (Judge Shaterra Marion)
• Tusca R.S. Alexis, Attorney at Law
• U.S. Attorney's Office (Memphis)
• Western District Bankruptcy Court (Judge Denise Barnett)

More than 50 volunteer lawyers and judges are dedicating their time to provide high school students with a unique opportunity to learn firsthand from legal professionals. This week's programming includes shadowing legal experts, immersive experiences at law school campuses, and observations of local court proceedings.

By uniting to enhance diversity and inclusion within our profession, we look forward to the impactful experiences and insights these students will gain. This initiative not only highlights the TBA's commitment to the community and education but also the collective support of our partners and volunteers statewide.

SCOTT W. DALES, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Judge. Had the principal witness in this matter survived his deposition long enough to submit to cross-examination, the adversary proceeding to disallow or recharacterize the claim at issue may have turned out differently. The key witness, however, did not survive long enough to complete his direct examination, let alone submit to cross-examination. So, in an unremarkable exercise of its discretion under the rules, the Bankruptcy Court declined to admit his incomplete testimony. Such are the risks of litigation.

Consequently, after trial in the underlying adversary proceeding, the Bankruptcy Court entered judgment allowing Proof of Claim No. 1 originally filed by Cecelia Financial Management, LLC (the “Claim”) over the objection of chapter 11 debtor-in-possession Insight Terminal Solutions, LLC (“ITS”). The court found that ITS failed to rebut the presumption of validity and amount of the Claim that arose under Bankruptcy Rule 3001(f), rejecting ITS’s effort to disallow the Claim (1) for want of consideration, or (2) as a disguised equity contribution. ITS appealed from the judgment and, finding no reversible error, we AFFIRM.

This matter involves an interlocutory appeal as of right, pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B, from the Washington County Circuit Court’s denial of a motion to recuse filed by the appellant. Having reviewed the petition for recusal appeal and other filings submitted by the appellant, we determine that the appellant failed to comply with the mandatory requirements of Rule 10B. We therefore affirm the trial court’s ruling.