Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC, known as “Holtzman Vogel,” announced its expansion into Nashville with the addition of Brandon Smith as partner. Smith, the former chief of staff for Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, will lead the new office and join the firm’s national government, corporate investigations and political law practices. According to the firm, Smith brings extensive experience in government and regulatory affairs to his new position, having held senior state-level jobs across the South and Midwest. He also will join the Vogel Group, the firm's lobbying and government affairs arm. Smith earned his law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law. In addition to Nashville, Holtzman Vogel has offices in Arizona, Florida, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will delay enforcement of the TikTok sale-or-ban law for another 75 days. The order was announced as White House officials believed they were nearing a deal for the app’s operations to be spun off into a new company based in the U.S. and owned and operated by a majority of American investors, with China’s ByteDance maintaining a minority position, according to the Associated Press. The announcement came just one day before the ban was set to take effect, after Trump delayed it by 75 days when he took office in January. The law, signed by former President Joe Biden last year, mandates that TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, divest the app or face a ban due to national security concerns.

Brock Shipe Klenk PLC has announced that former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee has joined the Knoxville-based firm. The firm says that with her years of experience as a litigator, mediator and appellate judge, Lee will enhance its broad range of services to clients and the legal community in the areas of mediation, litigation and appellate advocacy. In a press release announcing the news, the firm says it is honored that Lee will continue her remarkable legal career by providing her knowledge and experience to its practice, and that it looks forward to Lee being an integral part of the firm’s continued growth. Lee can be reached at 865-338-9700 and slee@bskplc.com.

Don't forget to renew your TBA membership for the 2025-2026 bar year to continue your access to TBA Today, the Tennessee Bar Journal, three free hours of CLE and free legal research through vLex Fastcase, as well as savings on a range of products and services. Be sure to check out TBA's Preventing Legal Malpractice providers and Law Firm in a Box, and watch for more information this fall about TBA’s Group Health Insurance enrollment. Attorneys not participating in the TBA's firm billing program can log in and renew through their MyTBA dashboard. The TBA membership team will be working with firm administrators for those participating in firm billing so check with your firm administrator if you have questions about that process.

TBA’s 2025 Immigration Law Forum will take place April 18 in Nashville from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT. This seminar is specifically designed both for experienced immigration lawyers and those who are newer to the practice area. The first half of the seminar is focused on updates, while the second half will focus on activism and support. The schedule is packed with speakers who are leaders in their fields, so make plans to join this informative program! For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

Vanderbilt University Law School has moved up five spots from 19 to 15 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings released last month. New rankings for other Tennessee law schools include the University of Tennessee College of Law at 55 (down from 52 from last year), Belmont University College of Law at 84 (up from 91 last year), University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at 146 (down from 140 last year), and Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law at 169 (down from 165 last year). According to Reuters, the U.S. News rankings have traditionally been viewed as the single-most influential measure of the law schools among prospective students, but that may be on the decline. In a new survey of law school admissions officers by test prep company Kaplan, 62% said they believe the rankings “have lost some of their prestige over the last couple of years.” View the full list of rankings.

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Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, is sponsoring SR120, urging the Tennessee Supreme Court to create a disciplinary body explicitly for elected district attorneys, similar to the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct, which oversees judges in in the state. Taylor told the Commercial Appeal, "If you have a complaint with a judge, you can file that complaint with the Board of Judicial Conduct. If you have a complaint with the district attorney, you have two options. You can either live with it or you can take the nuclear option and try to remove them. There's nothing in the middle." Taylor notes that the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) deals with "transgressions as it relates to being a licensed attorney" but the new board would focus "on the actions of performing their job as a district attorney or a public defender." Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, who has been a target of Taylor's was asked about the need for such a disciplinary body. He tells the paper, "It's too early to answer that question, because there have been no details worked out. One thing I can say is that the process should not be duplicated: either a person should be investigated by the BPR or by some new body, but not both."

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