The U.S. Senate confirmed four Trump nominees to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board last week. Senators voted 53-47 to confirm Knoxville attorney Jeff Hagood, Memphis hospital CEO Mitch Graves, Florida chemical engineer Arthur Graham and Alabama insurance agency owner Randall Jones, according to Knox News. The moves gives the board a quorum for the first time since April. President Donald Trump also had nominated Nashville businessman Lee Beaman to serve on the board, but that nomination stalled in committee.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has sued online gaming platform Roblox, alleging the company violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act by misleading consumers about safety risks to children on its platform. The lawsuit claims Roblox has for years deceived Tennesseans about serious dangers to minors, prioritizing profits over child safety. “Roblox is the digital equivalent of a creepy cargo van lingering at the edge of a playground,” Skrmetti said in a news release. The attorney general’s office is working with the Nashville-based law firm Stranch, Jennings & Garvey PLLC, including founding and managing member J. Gerard Stranch IV, to prosecute the case on behalf of the state.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division, in partnership with the TBA’s General, Solo & Small Firm Section, is offering a new Rookie Series CLE program in January aimed at helping attorneys build practical skills early in their careers. “The Rookie Series: Opening Your Own Firm” webcast will take place Jan. 29, 2026, from noon to 1 p.m. CST. The session will cover key steps, common pitfalls and available TBA resources for lawyers interested in launching a solo or small firm. For those who missed the last installment in the Rookie Series, "Making the Most of Mediation” will run as a webcast replay on Dec. 22. In this session, Nashville mediator Susan McDonald provides guidance on ethical and effective mediation preparation using neuroscience-based strategies, risk assessment and client engagement tools.

The TBA is offering 1-Click packages organized by practice area,  a convenient year-end option that allows attorneys to quickly find relevant programming across 33 different practice areas. The on-demand packages are designed to help lawyers efficiently earn CLE credit before the end of the year while tailoring coursework to specific fields of practice. Check out the specific courses included on the TBA CLE website. Looking for something else? TBA also has six, eight, 10, 12 and 15-hour packages based on specific topics, live webcasts and on-demand video all month long. Explore all the Year End options to complete your CLE requirement by Dec. 31.

The TBA and its Health Law Section this year lost a great friend and supporter. David L. Steed died Sept. 22 at the age of 69. A Vanderbilt University Law School graduate, Steed worked at the Nashville law firm of Cornelius & Collins for 41 years, first as an associate, then as a partner and finally as of counsel. Steed focused his practice on representing physicians and physician groups in matters ranging from healthcare liability defense, credentialing issues and third-party payor recovery matters. He also worked extensively with the Tennessee Medical Association. Steed was honored by longtime friend and colleague Yarnell Beatty at the the recent TBA Health Law Forum. Read a statement from Steed's firm regarding his life and legacy.

TBA Health Law Section Immediate Past Chair Imad Abdullah welcomed new leadership for the 2025-2026 bar year at the section’s annual forum. Section Chair Travis Lloyd is a member at Bass Berry & Sims in the firm's Nashville office where he focuses on complex health care regulatory matters and represents a broad range of health care industry clients. Lloyd has has served as regulatory counsel for some of the nation’s premier healthcare companies in numerous high-profile deals and is a fixture at the section's annual forum, assisting with its annual Regulatory Fraud and Abuse Update session. Section Chair-Elect Jesse Neil is a partner at the Nashville office of Foley & Lardner. Neil has served as in-house counsel for a hospital company, assistant attorney general for the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and as an advisor to former U.S. Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist. Learn more about your leaders using the respective links.

This year’s Health Law Forum took place Nov. 13-14 at the Music City Center in Nashville. The event was attended by more than 250 lawyers who enjoyed presentations from seasoned health care attorneys, medical professionals and public sector leaders. The forum also featured a networking reception, allowing attendees to meet with colleagues from across the state. 

The TBA would like to thank Health Law Section Immediate Past Chair Imad Abdullah and the section’s executive council for another stellar seminar. View photos from the forum here.New leaders also took office at the forum. They are:

Immediate Past Chair: Imad Abdullah, Regional One Health
Section Chair: Travis Lloyd, Bass Berry & Sims
Section Vice Chair: Jesse Neil, Foley & Lardner

Eastern Delegates
Amanda Busby, Bernstein Stair & McAdams
Christie Burbank, CHI Memorial
Ian Hennessey, CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services
Karin Anderson, PYA
Kelly Street, Egerton McAfee
Mark Cunningham, Chambliss Bahner & Stophel

Middle Delegates
A.J. Bahou, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
Bill Young, Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Ethics Committee
Brian Roark, Bass Berry & Sims
Ellen Bowden McIntyre, U.S. Attorney’s Office
JD Thomas, Barnes & Thornburg
Julia Morris, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Kim Looney, K&L Gates
Mark Ison, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison
Rachel Coleman, HCA Healthcare 

Western Delegates
Ann Lundy, West Tennessee Healthcare
Kate Dowd, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Kathy Steuer, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Scott Shanker, Bass Berry & Sims
Walt Schuler, University of Tennessee Health Science Center

NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. Joe’Veon Penson Willis operated a drug house with his half-brother. The government found out, raided the house, and arrested the brothers. Willis pled guilty and received a below-Guidelines sentence for drug and firearm offenses. Now he asks us to reverse his drug sentence as illegal and unreasonable. He’s wrong on both fronts, so we affirm that part of his sentence. Separately, the government uncovered an error in his firearm sentence. But because the error didn’t affect the overall sentence, we affirm that part of Willis’s sentence too.

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. About a week after a student opened fire at a high school in Oakland County, Michigan, eighth-grade student H.H. allegedly made comments during class at another Michigan school about either having a gun or bringing a gun to school. School and law- enforcement officials questioned H.H. about his comments in the school’s office and searched H.H., his backpack, and his locker. They found nothing. But the school district expelled him for making a threat of violence. H.H.’s parents, Charity Halasz and Thomas Halasz, sued the school district and several of its officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. They contend that school officials unlawfully seized H.H. when they questioned him and unlawfully searched him for a firearm. They also contend that the expulsion hearing violated H.H.’s due-process rights. And they bring tort claims against the defendants. Because the Halaszes cannot show that the defendants violated his constitutional rights and because the defendants are immune from liability for the tort claims, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants.