The TBA Book Club will hold its second discussion event on Jan. 11, 2023, from 4 to 5 p.m. CST via Zoom. Members chose Jodi Picoult’s “Small Great Things” as the group’s second quarter book selection. The novel focuses on a Black labor and delivery nurse who is assigned to a child of white supremacists. The TBA will welcome author, poet and African American literature and cultural history expert Darius Stewart to the meeting as a special guest who will provide context and insight into the book. Former TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson will lead the discussion. Register for the event here.

Applications for the TBA’s 2023 Scaling Small program are due on Dec. 15. Scaling Small Law is a three-month-long advanced program for entrepreneurial lawyers, solo practitioners and newly formed solo/small firms. This comprehensive business education and development program offers training in business planning, marketing, solo/small firm finance and budgeting, client service and experience, ethical considerations, and outsourcing and leveraging technology. To learn more, check out the syllabus and application process. The program launches on Jan. 10, 2023.

The legal services sector saw relatively flat job growth in November, adding 800 jobs to the economy, according to the U.S. Labor Department. That makes it the smallest monthly gain for the year. Total legal sector jobs in November reached 1.18 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read analysis from Reuters.

Husband and wife teams faced off against one another in the Knoxville Bar Association’s 16th annual Ethics Bowl last week. Congratulations to Elijah and Avery Lovingfoss who took first place. Both practice at the Knoxville firm of Brock Shipe Klenk. They will be presented with the coveted Ethics Bowl trophy at the KBA’s Annual Meeting on Friday. Other teams participating in the “Til Ethics Do Us Part” contest were Jason and Carol Anne Long, Summer and Greg McMillan, Katie and Nate Ogle, Kacie and Andrew McRee and Joy and Richy Robinson.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs reports that scammers may be targeting homebuyers by phishing for personal information from title companies. The office recommends a number of steps to protect against fraud. If a phishing email or text message is suspected, individuals should report it immediately to local law enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission and the Division of Consumer Affairs. Get more information on the attorney general’s website.

The University of Tennessee annually recognizes 40 alumni under the age of 40 who have excelled personally and professionally since completing their degree at the school. The list of 2022 class members was recently announced. Three graduates of the College of Law were included. They are: Chris Davis (class of 2019), Brittany Faith (class of 2012) and Kyle Hixson (class of 2008). See the full list.

The Nashville law office of New York-based Barton LLP has named Leslie Goff Sanders as its new managing partner. She joins the firm from Jackson Lewis and will work in labor and employment law. Barton also hired Daniel Crowell as a partner and Stephen Stovall as an associate — both from Jackson Lewis — doubling the firm’s presence in Nashville. “This is a huge opportunity for us,” Sanders said in a release. “The Nashville law firm landscape is rapidly changing ... We are excited to have found the Barton platform, which is known for providing a high-quality alternative to Big Law.” The Nashville Post has more.

Taylor Swift fans are fighting back against Ticketmaster after last month's ticketing debacle, WTVF reports. The suit, filed last week in California by 26 fans, alleges the company engaged in fraud, price fixing and antitrust violations. Some fans say they waited eight hours and still were unable to buy tickets, blaming Ticketmaster for allowing scalpers and bots access to the presale portal before them. The complaint seeks a civil fine of $2,500 per violation and attorneys’ fees. State and federal officials also have responded. The Tennessee attorney general previously announced an investigation into the matter while U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn has asked the FTC to combat the use of bots.

Four additional schools have announced they will boycott the U.S. News & World Report rankings, bringing the total number of schools to 14. Those most recently joining the group are University of California Davis School of Law, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and University of Washington School of Law. Four schools have publicly said they will stick with the review, according to Reuters. They are Cornell University Law School, University of Chicago Law School, University of Georgia School of Law and Washington University School in St. Louis School of Law.

Retired Davidson County Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle has joined JAMS, the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services worldwide, as an arbitrator, mediator and neutral evaluator. Lyle is based in Nashville but is available to conduct sessions virtually for attorneys across the country. Lyle served for 27 years as a chancery court judge and first judge of the Business Court Docket Pilot Project for complex commercial/business litigation. Prior to joining the court, she was a partner at the Nashville law firm Trabue, Sturdivant & DeWitt, and an associate at Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston.