TBA YLD Health & Wellness Coordinator Patrick Morrison reminds us that as a young lawyer or law student, working and studying can often feel unrelenting, but maintaining your well-being is key to long-term success in our profession. As summer associate positions begin and summer months roll in — or if your fiscal year-end is approaching — take a moment to check in with yourself. Here are a few tips that may be useful:

• Create a Daily Routine: Structure your day with clear work hours, breaks and downtime.
• Use the "Two-Minute Rule": If something will take two minutes or less (like responding to an email), do it immediately. This can help you stay on top of small tasks without feeling overwhelmed. 
• Take Real Breaks: Take a walk, go to a fitness class, go to lunch with friends, read a book, or listen to music — anything to recharge. When you step way from work, do something non-work-related, even if it is for five minutes.

Taking small steps can make a big difference in preventing burnout and staying balanced. Check in with yourself and your goals. Your well-being matters just as much a your success.

Members of the newly appointed 2025-2026 Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Board met in Chattanooga to plan for the upcoming bar year. County Mayor Weston Wamp and District Attorney Coty Wamp welcomed the group to Chattanooga while Ross Smith provided updates from the Tennessee legislature during Friday's opening session. Senior U.S. District Court Judge Curtis Collier joined the YLD on Saturday morning for a presentation on civility. The group also got to know one another better with a dinner at Feed Table and Tavern and a morning wellness walk through the arts district led by Health & Wellness Coordinator Patrick Morrison. President-elect Alex McVeagh, who will be sworn in as president at the TBA Convention in June, provided an overview of the upcoming bar year as well as the expectations for all board members. He also introduced his initiatives for the year: Recovery Court and Leadership & Law Academy. District 7 Representative Alyssa Fox, a new board member, was presented with the disco gavel for being the most enthusiastic participant at the meeting. See photos from the event.

Members of the newly appointed 2025-2026 Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Board met in Chattanooga this past weekend to plan for the upcoming bar year. County Mayor Weston Wamp and District Attorney Coty Wamp welcomed the group to Chattanooga while Ross Smith provided updates from the Tennessee legislature during Friday's opening session. Senior U.S. District Court Judge Curtis Collier joined the YLD on Saturday morning for a presentation on civility. The group also got to know one another better with a dinner at Feed Table and Tavern and a morning wellness walk through the arts district led by Health & Wellness Coordinator Patrick Morrison. President-elect Alex McVeagh, who will be sworn in as president at the TBA Convention in June, provided an overview of the upcoming bar year as well as the expectations for all board members. He also introduced his initiatives for the year: Recovery Court and Leadership & Law Academy. District 7 Representative Alyssa Fox, a new board member, was presented with the disco gavel for being the most enthusiastic participant at the meeting. See photos from the event.

A majority of the Judges of this Court in regular active service has voted for rehearing en banc of this case. Sixth Circuit Rule 40(d) provides as follows: A decision to grant rehearing en banc vacates the previous opinion and judgment of the court, stays the mandate, and restores the case on the docket as a pending appeal. Separately, a majority of the en banc Court has voted to return the case to the original panel for entry of an amended opinion. ACCORDINGLY, it is ORDERED that the previous decision and judgment of this Court are vacated, the mandate is stayed, and this case is restored to the docket as a pending appeal. It is further ORDERED that the case be referred to the original panel for entry of an amended opinion that will issue forthwith.

Petitioner, Quaddariontae Burnom, appeals the denial of his petition seeking post- conviction relief from his 2022 guilty-pleaded conviction for second degree murder, for which he is serving an agreed twenty-five-year sentence. On appeal, Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel failed to adequately explain to him the significance of our supreme court’s decision in State v. Booker, 656 S.W.3d 49 (Tenn. 2022), before he entered his plea. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

In this appeal, we examine the privilege provided under Tennessee Code Annotated section 68-11-272, commonly referred to as the quality improvement committee or “QIC” privilege, and its application. Plaintiff filed this healthcare liability action asserting that CHI Memorial Hospital and other entities and physicians were negligent in providing care for her husband, who passed away shortly after being discharged from the hospital’s emergency room. Defendants sought a protective order based on the QIC privilege to prohibit inquiry into a meeting held by the hospital and the decedent’s family. The trial court denied Defendants’ motion. On interlocutory review, the Court of Appeals affirmed, finding that statements made in the meeting were not protected by the QIC privilege. Defendants appealed, arguing that the information sought related to QIC activities and therefore was privileged from direct or indirect discovery. We hold the QIC privilege applied to statements made during the meeting that were based on information obtained during the QIC process, but Memorial waived the privilege when hospital management voluntarily disclosed that privileged information.

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter died Thursday at age 85. Appointed in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, Souter gradually moved toward the court’s liberal wing and was part of the majority that upheld the essential holding of Roe v. Wade, which recognized a constitutional right to abortion, The Hill reports. He also sided with the court’s liberal justices on major issues including affirmative action and religion. Souter served on the court for more than 19 years before retiring in 2009. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he continued to hear cases on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by sitting by designation. “Justice David Souter served our court with great distinction for nearly 20 years,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. “He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service.”

The TBA will host its annual Real Estate Essentials CLE virtually on June 18 from noon to 3 p.m. CDT. This introductory-level program is designed for those new to real estate law and will cover commonly used forms in real estate transactions, followed by a session on the purpose and process of conducting title searches. The event offers a practical foundation for attorneys looking to build their knowledge in this area of law. For more information and to register, visit TBA’s website.

A Texas man was convicted by a federal jury for making violent threats to lynch and kill Nashville District Attorney (DA) Glenn Funk. David Aaron Bloyed of Frost, Texas, was found guilty of one count of communicating a threat in interstate commerce after posting a series of graphic threats targeting Funk following the arrest of a member of the antisemitic Goyim Defense League during a 2024 protest in Nashville, according to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The posts included a photo of Funk with the caption “Getting the rope” and other imagery referencing lynching and antisemitic violence. Officials from the DOJ and FBI emphasized that such threats against law enforcement and public servants undermine the justice system and will not be tolerated. Bloyed faces up to five years in federal prison. The FBI Nashville Field Office and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department are investigating the case.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Tuesday announced the official opening of the claims process to provide limited restitution to former patients of HRC Medical Centers, which deceptively advertised hormone therapy treatments. The Attorney General’s Office sued HRC in 2012, alleging the company made numerous misleading claims about its bioidentical hormone replacement therapy treatments. In 2017, the state obtained an $18 million judgment against HRC, and the office is now distributing the $1.5 million it has been able to collect to consumers harmed by the deception. Individuals who purchased treatments from HRC’s Tennessee locations in Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis may be eligible for restitution. More information about eligibility is available at this website.