Today, civil litigants routinely deploy — with little to no court oversight or involvement — a wide array of discovery tools to develop their claims or defenses. Criminal defendants have far fewer discovery tools at their disposal. In this issue's cover story, Joy Boyd Longnecker, Matthew Lybeck and David Raybin highlight these glaring disparities in criminal and civil discovery under Tennessee law and advocates for reform. While the civil rules allow litigants to freely investigate and gather evidence from a variety of sources to support their monetary claims or defenses, the criminal rules significantly limit the discovery available to individuals charged with a crime and often hinder their ability to prepare a defense.

The arrival of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has revived a familiar but often overstated fear in professional services: that efficiency will translate into job elimination. In law firms, paralegals are frequently identified as the most vulnerable role. University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law 2L JD/MBA candidate Brenden King considers how the paralegal role might be redefined by AI, in turn forcing a redefinition of attorneys' value proposition.

Newly installed TBA President Charlotte Knight Griffin shares her vision for the 2026-2027 bar year in her inaugural President's Perspective column.

Buddy Stockwell offers his final installment of "The Buddy System." Best of luck in your retirement!

In this installment of Crime & Punsihment, Wade Davies unpacks how "life in being" photographs can be used appropriately during homicide trials under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 403.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently affirmed in Ford v. Ford that there is no overarching presumption that siblings cannot be separated from each other when it comes to parenting time, and that such separation, although rare, may be in the children’s best interests in the context of high conflict divorces and when there is evidence of severe alienation exhibited by the other parent or a child’s siblings. Marlene Eskind Moses and Ansley Owens Tillett break down the case and its implications for family law practitioners in Family Matters.

As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of American independence, Russell Fowler looks back at one of the law-related reasons for the country's momentous separation from Britain.

This issue's Closing Statements features answers to the question "What's an underrated skill in the legal profession and why?"

This issue's "The Legal Life" recaps the TBA's Annual Convention held in Knoxville June 10-13. Memphis lawyer Charlotte Knight Griffin was sworn in as TBA's 146th president, taking the gavel from Knoxville lawyer Heidi Barcus. Read more about award winners honored, your new Board of Governors and updates from the Young Lawyers Division.

Tennessee Bar Association members who have died recently are memorialized.

Read about the lawyers who have recently been reinstated, disbarred, suspended, censured or transferred their licenses to disability inactive status.