Gov. Bill Lee will deliver his annual State of the State address this evening before the Tennessee General Assembly, discussing the state’s past successes and future challenges, WBIR News reports. He will speak from the House Chamber, and the address will be streamed live on his official Facebook page and YouTube channel. The speech is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CST. In advance of the speech, the governor outlined his themes in a release and accompanying video.

A bipartisan bill in the state legislature aims to make it easier for Tennesseans convicted of crimes to present new evidence of their innocence in court, the Nashville Banner reports. The proposed reform, backed by the Tennessee Innocence Project, is sponsored by Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville, and Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga. The HB601/SB256 seeks to expand and simplify access to court for convicted individuals and prosecutors who have often struggled to get a hearing on compelling new evidence. It would close the gap between the treatment of scientific and non-scientific evidence and establish a process for district attorneys to present courts with new evidence of a wrongful conviction. Under current law, prosecutors are obligated to act on such evidence but have "little way to do so," the bill sponsors argue.

U.S. law firms saw an 11.5% increase in profits in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the previous year, reaching near-record highs, according to Reuters. The report found that while law firm services grew more than 3% in the quarter, demand slowed, lawyer productivity declined by 0.4% and both direct and overhead expenses increased due to year-end bonuses and significant technology investments. The Thomson Reuters Institute, which tracks financial metrics from 195 large and mid-sized law firms, suggested firms may face more challenges in 2025 as transactional growth may not offset declining demand in counter-cyclical and other practices.

The most recent installment of TBA's Indigent Representation Primer is now available. The post provides an overview of national organizations and agencies that provide support and advocacy for lawyers working in the criminal justice system, with a focus on resources for those who represent low-income or vulnerable clients facing criminal charges. These organizations provide education and training, research, best practices, advocacy and other resources to help these professionals effectively advocate for their clients. Read past primer posts.

Estate planning and trust expert Al Secor will provide a legislative update at this month’s TBA Estate Planning & Probate Forum. He will report on 2024 legislative actions of the Tennessee Legislature and the U.S. Congress, proposed 2025 Tennessee Legislative actions and other interest items. Secor has over 50 years of practicing law and authored "Tennessee Probate," a guide for lawyers and legal assistants in the administering of probate estates and Tennessee. Other topics at the forum include community property trusts, AI developments, a probate panel, ethics and much more. Learn more and register here.

EP Wealth Advisors recently announced the acquisition of Nashville-based wealth management firm Criterion Capital Advisors. The acquisition adds over $500 million in assets to the $31 billion currently under management by EP Wealth. Criterion was led by co-founder Allan Horner, along with partners Mark Pierce and Scott Freeman, who will manage the Nashville office. EP Wealth is a fee-only registered investment adviser and financial planning firm with more than 45 offices across 16 states.

The TBA will present a live webcast focusing on professional transitions in the new year on Feb. 21. Whether you are seeking a new position, stepping into a leadership role or considering new practice areas, “New Year, New Career” will feature tips on a successful transitions from experienced legal professionals. Participants include Chattanooga lawyer Ariel Anthony with Unum Law Department, Nashville lawyer Jaz Boon with Bridgestone Americas Inc., LMU Duncan School of Law Professor Mohamed Faizer and Nashville lawyer Kathleen Stranch with Stranch, Jennings & Garvey. One hour of dual CLE credit is available. The webcast is being presented by the TBA Diversity Committee.

TBA Estate Planning & Probate Section member Barbara McGinnis joined News Channel 5 Nashville's Bill Hall for a discussion on common estate planning mistakes. In the interview she provides insight on wills, trusts and monetary disbursement. McGinnis is an attorney and partner at Johnson McGinnis Elder Care Law & Estate Planning in Hendersonville, and an executive council delegate of the TBA Elder Law Section. View the discussion here.

TBA member and Tennessee licensed-attorney Thomas West is suing the state of Tennessee over the professional privilege tax. West, who resides in Kansas, argues that the tax should be declared unconstitutional facially, or at least a violation of the Interstate Commerce Clause when applied to attorneys living outside the state. The tax, a flat $400, applies the same to attorneys regardless of where they live. But, he argues, attorneys outside the state will not have nearly as much Tennessee business and therefore the authorization to practice law in the state is not as valuable. He cites Amer. Trucking Assns. v. Scheiner, 483 U.S. 266, 296 (1987), in which the U.S. Supreme Court found that “… imposition of the flat taxes for a privilege that is several times more valuable to a local business than to its out-of-state competitors is unquestionably discriminatory, and thus offends the Commerce Clause … If each State imposed flat taxes for the privilege of making commercial entrances into its territory, there is no conceivable doubt that commerce among the States would be deterred.” West filed his suit with a three-judge panel constituted to hear challenges to state laws. That panel ruled on Feb. 4 that the tax is constitutional. Read the decision. He now has appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals and filed a motion with the Tennessee Supreme Court, asking it to assume jurisdiction.

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. A jury convicted Quincy Taylor of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, Taylor challenges the district court’s limitation of his cross-examination of one of the government’s witnesses under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. Taylor also argues that the district court violated his due- process and jury-trial rights by not requiring the jury to find that Taylor committed certain prior offenses on different occasions for purposes of determining whether the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”) should have applied to him. Because the court’s cross-examination limitations violated Taylor’s constitutional right to confrontation and were not harmless, we reverse Taylor’s convictions and remand for a new trial.