Louisville-based Stites & Harbison has appointed member Brenton Lankford as chair of its Nashville office’s family law service group, the firm reports. Lankford’s practice focuses on domestic relations, including divorce and post-divorce matters, child custody, child support, alimony and property disputes. He also negotiates and drafts prenuptial agreements and serves as a mediator. Lankford succeeds Gregory Smith, who led the group for more than 20 years. “We celebrate Greg’s many honors over the years and look forward to Brent leading the service group. We know he will do an excellent job managing the team while still running his legal practice,” firm chair Marjorie Farris said in a release.

Federal judges may address “illegitimate forms of criticism and attacks,” according to a new advisory ethics opinion from the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Codes of Conduct. According to the ABA Journal, Opinion No. 118 states that federal judges may publicly oppose the “persecution of lawyers and judges” but need to “favor reasoned discourse and respectful language over demeaning rhetoric or acerbic criticism.” The opinion also states that judges may make public statements about the need for judicial security, independence of the judiciary or the rule of law in general, including why these values are crucial to our system of government. The opinion concludes with this warning: “With respect to some particularly controversial topics, judges should be mindful that simply addressing certain topics might be viewed as taking a partisan position or reflecting a lack of impartiality.”

As part of its ongoing effort to gather feedback from Tennessee attorneys on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 order seeking public comment on seven areas of potential regulatory changes to the legal profession, the TBA’s Legal Access and Regulatory Reform Task Force is hosting a series of virtual town halls. Thursday's event will start at noon CDT and will focus on whether the court should consider modifying requirements for admission to the Tennessee Bar for those licensed in other states to promote interstate practice and mobility. There is no cost to attend but registration is required to receive the meeting link. Attorneys also are encouraged to review the TBA’s Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page before attending.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division's Mock Trial Committee is seeking attorneys to serve as volunteers for Round 4 at the 2026 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition, which will take place on Saturday, March 21, in Nashville from 12:30-2:30 p.m. CDT.  Teams will argue the criminal case of State of Tennessee v. Alex Callahan. The problem, rules and other competition information can be found on the TBA website. Those interested in helping at the state competition should indicate availability using this form.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) is continuing its program to address the critical shortage of attorneys in rural Tennessee counties, while providing law students an opportunity for meaningful and enriching clerkship experiences. The Rural Judicial Fellowship (RJF) will give six rising 2L, 3L or 4L law students attending Tennessee law schools the opportunity to spend six weeks of the summer as a judicial law clerk in a legal community in rural Tennessee. The program will provide a $1,000 stipend and the opportunity to work directly with judges, gaining practical legal experience and fostering connections in underserved areas. Fellows also will be invited to attend the TBA's Annual Convention in June. View a flyer and access the application for more information. The deadline to apply is Feb. 27.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is discontinuing gender-related surgeries for transgender adults, the Tennessean reports. The hospital cited “operational limitations and lack of surgical coverage” for ending one of its few remaining medical services for transgender patients. It will continue nonsurgical gender care for adults 19 and older. Vanderbilt’s transgender health clinic was at the center of a legal battle in 2023 over the release of patient medical records. The Tennessee attorney general’s office opened an investigation into the clinic’s comprehensive health records, and patients later sued Vanderbilt for sharing detailed records with the office, settling with the hospital last September.

The Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center could soon be governed and operated by Knox County Juvenile Court Judge Tim Irwin, Knox News reports. Knox County commissioners are scheduled to vote Feb. 25 on whether to place Irwin in charge. If approved, a final vote would be required in March. Irwin said he is prepared to take on the added responsibility with the support of newly trained staff. Under the proposal, Irwin would be accountable to an advisory board of experts he appoints, along with members selected by the county mayor and the chair of the Knox County Commission. The move follows improvements at the facility, which was certified Feb. 10 by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services for the first time in three years.

Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals announced Friday that he plans to take senior status beginning Oct. 1, Bloomberg Law reports. Sutton, who has served on the court since his 2003 appointment by President George W. Bush and became chief judge in 2021, has presided over major cases that later reached the U.S. Supreme Court and authored notable opinions addressing the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage bans. Before joining the bench, Sutton worked at Jones Day and served as Ohio’s solicitor general from 1995 to 1998. Trump now will have the opportunity to nominate a successor to the life-tenured seat, subject to Senate confirmation. The 6th Circuit covers the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee and is based in Cincinnati.

Knox County Chancellor Chris Heagerty on Friday denied a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by Joey Aguilar, the University of Tennessee’s starting quarterback. Aguilar was seeking an additional year of eligibility from the NCAA, Knox News reports. With the injunction denied, Aguilar is no longer eligible to play college football. Heagerty previously had granted Aguilar a 15-day restraining order against enforcement of NCAA rules and later extended it pending a ruling on the injunction. Aguilar initially joined Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA in federal court in November 2025 but withdrew from that case in January to pursue his own claim in Knox County.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and the TBA Young Lawyers Division will host High School Pre-Law Day on March 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT. This free program will give an inside look at law school and legal careers. For more information and to register see the attached flyer or contact lawadmissions@memphis.edu.