The latest episode of BarBuzz is out! In this installment, TBA Communications Coordinator Azya Thornton interviews fellow staff members Director of Education and Professional Development Jennifer Vossler and Senior Education and Professional Development Coordinator Jarod Word. They talk all things continuing legal education (CLE), from TBA's many online courses to the annual section forums. Thornton also talks with Estate Planning Section Chair Rob Malin and speaker Ashley Sterns at the section’s annual forum in March. Listen to this episode on the TBA’s website or directly here. Did you miss a past podcast episode? Catch up here. To access TBA's on demand CLE library or see upcoming events visit the CLE website.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is currently accepting applications to fill a vacancy in the 26th Judicial District Chancery Court following the elevation of the Steven W. Maroney to the appellate bench. Applicants must be an attorney licensed in Tennessee who is at least 30 years of age, a resident of the state for five years, and must reside in the judicial district, which covers Chester, Henderson and Madison counties. Applications should be submitted by noon CDT on May 6. Access the application and instructions on the court’s website. A public hearing with applicants for the position will be held June 10 at 9 a.m. CDT.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) has launched its 2026 Equal Justice Campaign, an annual effort to expand access to civil legal services for low-income individuals and families across the region. This year’s campaign has a goal of $2 million. Wendy Longmire, co-managing partner at Ortale Kelley, will serve as the 2026 campaign chair. Other campaign committee members are Ann Ralls Brown, Stites & Harbison; Blair Durham, Bart Durham Law; Elizabeth M. Adams, HCA Healthcare; Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Lynne Tyler Ingram; Julie Bhattacharya Peak, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani; Kathy Pennington, H.G. Hill Realty Company; Pooja Bery, Bery Law; and Katherine Crosthwaite and Laura Niewold, community volunteers. The campaign's signature event, the Equal Justice Fall Gala, will be held Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. CDT. Read more about the campaign in this press release. Contact Christina Sanders at csanders@las.org with questions.

New York City-based criminal defense firm Meister, Seelig & Schuster has joined with Nashville firm Hodde & Associates to open a Nashville office. Kimberly S. Hodde will join the national firm as a partner, co-chair of the White Collar & Criminal Defense Group, chair of the National Criminal Defense Practice and managing partner of the Nashville office. Hodde, a graduate of the Nashville School of Law, has more than three decades of experience representing individuals and business clients in complex federal and state criminal matters. The firm, previously known as Meister Seelig & Fein, says it plans to expand the Nashville office by upwards of a dozen attorneys over the next few years. Other offices are located in Connecticut, California and New Jersey. Read more in a press release from the firm. The Nashville office will remain at 40 Music Square E., Nashville, TN 37203. It can be contacted at 615-242-4200.

The Tennessee Bar Association is accepting nominations through next week for its Fourth Estate Award, which honors courageous reporting on justice and the law. Nominees must be Tennessee-based journalists who have shown exemplary courage in exercising First Amendment rights in the promotion of public understanding of how the law and our legal system works, or how it should work, as demonstrated by a story or series of related stories published in 2025. Read more about the award in TBA's press release. Submit nominations for the Fourth Estate Award online by April 30. Access the submission form at the link above.

The federal government has purchased a 22,000-square-foot property on Georgia Avenue in downtown Chattanooga for $4.1 million. It was the last parcel needed to build a new federal courthouse on Vine Street, Local 3 News reports. Planners say that location offers the best schedule, cost, security, constructability and compliance. In February, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced it had settled on the Vine Street location.

The U.S. Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules voted last Thursday to abandon a key part of a proposed rule governing the disclosure of who finances friend-of-the-court briefs. Reuters reports that committee members took the action after key judges expressed concern the measure could interfere with the privacy of advocacy groups. The panel previously had endorsed a rule requiring organizations that file amicus briefs to name donors who provide more than $100 for preparation of a brief if those individuals had joined the organization less than 12 months ⁠earlier. Opponents argued that requiring advocacy groups to disclose members’ names would violate their First Amendment rights. Current rules already require organizations to disclose ⁠support from nonmembers. The judiciary had been considering the rule change since 2019.

Five former Memphis police officers who faced criminal charges connected to Tyré Nichols' beating after a traffic stop in January 2023 have been dismissed from a civil lawsuit, according to the Commercial Appeal. An order filed Friday allows attorneys representing Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, to dismiss Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith Jr. from the case. Wells' attorneys say they requested the dismissal in an attempt to keep the case on track for trial. Three of the five are seeking a new federal criminal trial and Chief Judge Sheryl Lipman paused discovery related to them until those criminal matters are resolved. Wells' attorneys also are seeking to dismiss the police chief from the suit.

Gov. Bill Lee last week signed into law a measure (SB2118/HB2498) that bars TennCare from covering any gender transition treatments, surgeries or hormone therapies. Those already undergoing gender transitions may continue to receive care covered through TennCare through March 31, 2027, if a physician deems that stopping the treatment would be harmful. And TennCare will continue to cover treatments for congenital conditions, early puberty, disease and physical injuries. A 2024 law banned the Tennessee Department of Correction from using state funds to offer hormone replacement therapy and sex reassignment surgeries for inmates. Lawmakers banned gender transition treatments for minors in 2023, a law that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025 after a yearslong legal challenge. The Tennessean has more on the new law.

Nashville yesterday celebrated its first Z. Alexander Looby Day, which will be marked each April 19 to commemorate the prominent attorney and civil rights activist. On April 19, 1960, the home of Looby, who was a sitting city councilmember, was bombed. That led to a march of 4,000 people to City Hall, where student activist Diane Nash confronted then-mayor Ben West about segregation. Davidson County historian Dr. Learotha Williams Jr. led the effort to establish the day to recognize Looby and his legacy. At an event yesterday, he read the mayor’s proclamation designating the day in what is now known as Diane Nash Plaza. He also noted the significance of reading the proclamation on the Public Square, a place where African Americans were once bought and sold, and where Native Americans passed through on the Trail of Tears. The Nashville Banner has more on the event. Also yesterday, the city marked the 4th annual Diane Nash Commemorative March according to WSMV.