Don't miss out on TBA’s 4th Annual Day on the Hill and the Big Shrimp legislative reception! This year's events will take place March 18 in Nashville, beginning at 10:30 a.m. CDT at the Cordell Hull Building with presentations from TBA’s lobbying team and members of the General Assembly. Attendees then will meet with various legislators throughout the day, focusing on building relationships, championing TBA’s legislative priorities and advocating for elimination of the professional privilege tax. After the day’s meetings, attendees are invited to join colleagues, lawmakers and legislative staff at Hotel Indigo Nashville from 5-7 p.m. for the perennial favorite Big Shrimp legislative reception. The hotel is located at 315 Union St., Nashville 37201. Register here or email govaffairs@tnbar.org with questions.

Less than 24 hours after announcing it would drop its appeals of rulings in favor of four major law firms that previously won rulings blocking President Donald Trump’s executive orders against them, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reversed course. Bloomberg Law reports that the DOJ notified the four law firms today that it would file motions to withdraw its previously filed dismissal of appeals in the cases against Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey and Jenner & Block.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Chattanooga Division, and the Chattanooga Chapter of the Federal Bar Association have announced the topic for their annual civics essay contest. This year, students will respond to the question, "Does the Fourth Amendment protect a cell phone user’s location data?" The contest is open to public, private and home school students in 6th to 12th grade in Bedford, Bledsoe, Bradley, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Lincoln, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Moore, Polk, Rhea, Sequatchie, Warren and Van Buren counties in Tennessee; and Dade, Catoosa and Walker counties in Georgia. Entries for the contest should be emailed to chattcivicsessay@gmail.com or mailed to Civics Essay Contest, Attn: Kelly L. Walsh, U.S. Courthouse, 900 Georgia Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37402 by March 27. Visit the court's website for more information.

At its winter meeting last month, the TBA Board of Governors announced a vacancy in two board positions: West Tennessee Grand Division Governor (a one-year term) and 7th District Governor (a three-year term). The 7th District includes the counties of Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Madison, Obion, Tipton and Weakley. To be considered for either of these positions, email a statement of interest and resume to TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright at barED@tnbar.org by March 3. The board will consider nominees at its March meeting. Read more about the 2026-2027 election on the TBA website.

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) is planning to step away from court battles with four major law firms that previously won rulings blocking President Donald Trump’s executive orders against them, Bloomberg Law reports. The decision to drop appeals of the rulings would end litigation over the orders, which four federal judges struck down as unconstitutional in separate decisions last year. The decision is a win for the four firms challenging the orders: WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey. Trump’s orders had, among other impacts, revoked lawyers’ security clearances and barred them from entering federal buildings. At the time the executive orders were imposed, the president said he was fighting back against law firms that had “weaponized” the justice system.

Former U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is using a new book to make a closing argument for the value of public service. According to WBIR, in “The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump,” Alexander will reflect on more than 50 years in politics and encourages Americans who want change to seek elected office themselves. Alexander spoke on the campus of Maryville College and said those who want to create meaningful change should seek elected office or work for an elected official. Alexander, a former Tennessee governor, U.S. education secretary and three-term U.S. senator, reportedly will recount encounters with presidents from John F. Kennedy to Donald Trump and offer candid assessments of their leadership. The book is scheduled for release in May.

U.S. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn,  and state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, have released a letter on social media asking Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy for more information about a recent report from a local court-watch group. According to The Daily Memphian, Memphis Crime Beat alleged that three out of four felony cases prosecuted by the District Attorney General’s Office in December ended without prison time. The group analyzed 514 felony cases resolved in Shelby County Criminal Court that month, reporting that 144 were dismissed and 370 resulted in some type of sentence. In their letter, Blackburn and Taylor asked how many cases involved arrests by the Memphis Safe Task Force and why relatively few defendants received prison time. They asked Mulroy to respond by March 6. Mulroy said many of the cases involved nonviolent offenses or defendants without significant criminal histories and noted that some sentencing decisions were made by judges without his office’s agreement.

Nearly 120 years after a mob lynched Ed Johnson, he and other lynching victims have been memorialized with a historic marker in front of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. In 1906, Johnson, a Black man, was lynched on the Walnut Street Bridge before a crowd of about 100 people after being falsely accused of rape and sentenced to death despite testimony supporting his innocence. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued a stay of execution, but Johnson was killed before it could be enforced. His conviction was posthumously overturned in 2000, and a memorial was installed on the bridge property in 2021. The new marker recounts Johnson’s story and the broader history of lynching in America, noting at least five documented lynching victims in Hamilton County and more than 375 in Tennessee between 1865 and 1950.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee has announced the recent hiring and assignment of five new assistant U.S. attorneys. They are Jennifer Collins, Meghan Fowler, Raven Icaza, Gavin Smith and Irris Williams. He also announced one new special assistant U.S. attorney, Darrius Samples, and two new support staff positions in his office. “With the dramatic increase in our case filings since October, these new positions are much needed, and a welcome addition to our outstanding staff who effectively represents the United States, enforces the rule of law, and protects public safety in West Tennessee every day,” Dunavant said. Read more about the new hires in a press release.

Memphis attorney and TBA YLD President-elect Jennifer Sneed-Perry has announced the members of the 2026-2027 YLD Board who will take office at the TBA Convention in June. Joining her in leadership will be President-elect Darius Walker Jr., Vice President Zack Walden, Secretary Patrick Morrison, Treasurer Ashley Tipton, East Tennessee Governor Samantha Ellis, Middle Tennessee Governor Alix Rogers, West Tennessee Governor Faith Watson, Immediate Past President Alex McVeagh, and Past Presidents Sean Aiello and Billy Leslie. Sneed-Perry also announced those who will serve as district representatives and committee chairs. See the full list of members. During her year in office, Sneed-Perry plans to focus on educating attorneys on estate planning through continuing education and pro bono clinics across the state. She will expand the YLD's commitment to serving law students by appointing six law student liaisons to the YLD Board. Finally, she announced three vacancies that still need to be filled. Those interested in being considered as the district representative for the 2nd, 10th or 12th district should email a statement of interest and a resume to Laura Labenberg by April 1. Learn more about the openings.