In honor of National Consumer Protection Week, the Tennessee Attorney General’s (AG) Office Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) on Monday announced the top 10 complaint categories for 2025. In addition, DCA announced that it helped Tennessee consumers recover more than $3.6 million in cash, merchandise and services in 2025 through its voluntary mediation program. Last year, DCA received 9,938 formal consumer complaints and worked to route each to the appropriate agency or mediate disputes directly between consumers and businesses. The division’s informal mediation process provides a free, good-faith pathway to resolve disagreements involving purchases of products or services for personal or household use. “Our goal is simple — help Tennesseans resolve disputes and protect their hard-earned money,” said AG Jonathan Skrmetti. “In 2025, that work translated into real results for thousands of families across the state.” Read more in a press release.

Three candidates for Knox County General Session Court, Division 6, judge recently were profiled by Knox TN Today. The candidates — Andrea Kline and Rhonda Lee on the Republican ballot and Ben Houston II as the sole Democratic candidate — share their views on why they want to serve on the bench, what their top three priorities are for the court, how they will make good use of taxpayer money and more. The primary will be held May 5. The winners will face off in the general election on Aug. 6.

Shelby County attorney Handel R. Durham Jr. received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on March 3. The court found that Durham mistakenly believed that an existing client had retained both him and another attorney for a separate matter and that the representation would be under the same arrangement as the existing representation. There was no written fee agreement executed for the new matter. The attorneys then improperly attempted to collect a contingency fee of approximately 33.3% from the client. These actions were found to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5(c), 7.1 and 8.4(a).

The family of Matthew De'Marcus Williams, a 22-year-old shot and killed during a Memphis Allies SWITCH program meeting on April 9, 2025, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Youth Villages seeking $35 million in damages. SWITCH enlists people whom it identifies as being at the highest risk for engaging in gun violence; Williams was a participant. The Daily Memphian reports that attorneys for Williams' family allege the organization ignored multiple warning signs — including a known conflict between rival gang members attending the same sessions and the shooting death of another participant just two days prior — and failed to take additional safety precautions. In a statement, Youth Villages maintained that safety has always been a top priority, noting that metal detectors, armed security and other measures were in place that day, and that the organization has evaluated and enhanced its security protocols since the incident.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on March 2 publicly censured Union County lawyer Anthony Marvin Avery for actions during representation of a client in a partition action. During the representation, the court found that Avery failed to provide his client with copies of relevant pleadings and following termination, failed to provide the client with her file. Upon termination of services by the client, Avery delayed his withdrawal and while still counsel of record, attended litigation related matters and failed to protect the interests of his client. The court found that Avery violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.3, 1.16 and 8.4(a).

By now, you probably are aware of the Tennessee Supreme Court's order inviting public comment on legal access and potential regulatory reform. In the order, the court noted it is reassessing how the profession is regulated “to ensure that all Tennesseans have access to affordable quality legal services.” Since these issues could have a significant impact on the practice of law in our state, the Real Estate Law Section Executive Council wants to hear directly from section members. We invite you to share your perspective on the seven issues outlined in the court’s order by completing this brief survey, which should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Thank you for your feedback!

Thank you for your continued support of our Real Estate Law Section. As a reminder, we are working on planning our annual basics-level CLE — Real Estate Essentials — which is expected to take place in June. Keep an eye out for the date and topics to be announced soon. You won't want to miss this informative program, especially since your section membership includes a discount on all Real Estate Section-sponsored CLE!

In the meantime, you do not have to wait to connect with colleagues. The section directory is a great resource for meeting other in-house attorneys or for referrals. We hope to see you at Real Estate Essentials, and if you have thoughts or ideas about future section initiatives, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Don't miss out on TBA’s 4th Annual Day on the Hill and the Big Shrimp legislative reception! This year's events will take place March 18 in Nashville, beginning at 10:30 a.m. CDT at the Cordell Hull Building with presentations from TBA’s lobbying team and members of the General Assembly. Attendees then will meet with various legislators throughout the day, focusing on building relationships, championing TBA’s legislative priorities and advocating for elimination of the professional privilege tax. After the day’s meetings, attendees are invited to join colleagues, lawmakers and legislative staff at Hotel Indigo Nashville from 5-7 p.m. for the perennial favorite Big Shrimp legislative reception. The hotel is located at 315 Union St., Nashville 37201. Register here or email govaffairs@tnbar.org with questions.

Less than 24 hours after announcing it would drop its appeals of rulings in favor of four major law firms that previously won rulings blocking President Donald Trump’s executive orders against them, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reversed course. Bloomberg Law reports that the DOJ notified the four law firms today that it would file motions to withdraw its previously filed dismissal of appeals in the cases against Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey and Jenner & Block.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Chattanooga Division, and the Chattanooga Chapter of the Federal Bar Association have announced the topic for their annual civics essay contest. This year, students will respond to the question, "Does the Fourth Amendment protect a cell phone user’s location data?" The contest is open to public, private and home school students in 6th to 12th grade in Bedford, Bledsoe, Bradley, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Lincoln, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Moore, Polk, Rhea, Sequatchie, Warren and Van Buren counties in Tennessee; and Dade, Catoosa and Walker counties in Georgia. Entries for the contest should be emailed to chattcivicsessay@gmail.com or mailed to Civics Essay Contest, Attn: Kelly L. Walsh, U.S. Courthouse, 900 Georgia Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37402 by March 27. Visit the court's website for more information.