The TBA Mentoring Committee, in collaboration with the TBA Young Lawyers Division, held a special event — "Developing Lawyers, Developing Leaders: A CLE on Mentorship and Professional Excellence" — last week at Belmont University College of Law. Marshall County General Sessions Court Judge Lee Bussart; University of Tennessee Winston College of Law professor Joan Heminway; Amy Schmisseur, chair of Belmont University's Department of Communication Studies; Sean Aiello of Schell & Oglesby; Billy Leslie of Wilson Elser; and Toyin Edogun of Bass Berry & Sims explored topics of mentorship, leadership and communication across one's legal career. The day of learning was followed by a networking event and the opportunity for participants to mix mocktails together. Mentorship Committee Chair Ross Smith and Vice Chair Alix Rogers organized the event as a kick-off to the TBA's new approach to mentoring. Throughout 2026, the committee will be promoting monthly "mentoring meet-ups" in the hopes that relationships will form organically through participation in activities, rather than the previous approach of assigning mentors. See the committee's updated website page for a list of upcoming mentoring meet-ups as well as helpful resources for mentoring. Those interested in joining the Mentoring Committee to help plan meet-ups should email llabenberg@tnbar.org. See photos from the Jan. 30 event.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairman today sent a letter warning law firms of “serious concerns” about their participation in a law incubator’s diversity program, Bloomberg Law reports. The group, Diversity Lab, has certified more than 360 law firms as having met standards for creating diverse hiring pools, according to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson’s letter to more than 40 of the firms. Ferguson said Diversity Lab may facilitate “potentially anticompetitive collusion” through the use of diversity, equity and inclusion metrics. The lab describes itself as “a team of talent experts, data scientists, and behavioral science scholars, including several former practicing lawyers, who architect and innovate processes, practices, and structures that create inclusive and equitable workplaces.”

The owner of a Hispanic cultural center in South Nashville was sentenced Thursday to three and a half years in prison, far below the 15 years prosecutors sought, following his fraud convictions, The Tennessean reports. Mark Janbakhsh, founder and owner of Plaza Mariachi on Nolensville Pike, was also ordered to pay $11 million in restitution after being convicted in August on 15 felony counts related to a $24 million bank fraud scheme at his former business, Auto Masters. Prosecutors said Janbakhsh and his brother, co-defendant Ron Janbakhsh, along with two other Auto Masters executives, falsified bookkeeping records to inflate the number of active car loans, allowing the company to secure additional bank financing. Some of the funds were diverted to Mark Janbakhsh’s other ventures, including Plaza Mariachi. Ron Janbakhsh, who pleaded guilty shortly after his indictment and testified against his brother, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison. Before sentencing, Mark Janbakhsh repaid about $10 million of the roughly $21 million he personally received through the fraud. The brothers were ordered to report to prison April 28 and will serve their sentences at separate facilities, while the other executives are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 29.

Unemployment rates remained below 5% in nearly every Tennessee county in December, with 91 of the state’s 95 counties reporting rates under that threshold, according to data released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Rates declined from November in 87 counties, increased in six and remained unchanged in two, while only four counties posted unemployment rates of 5% or higher, led by Maury County at 5.7%. Williamson and Cheatham counties recorded the lowest rates in the state at 2.6%, followed by Sevier, Wilson, Rutherford, Dickson, Macon, Sumner, Knox and Haywood counties at 2.7%. Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate was 3.6% in December, though county rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Knoxville paid $579,327.40 in total to litigate and settle a lawsuit brought by the family of Anthony Thompson Jr., who was shot and killed by city police inside an Austin-East Magnet High School bathroom in 2021, Knox News reports. A federal judge finalized the settlement Jan. 15 and canceled a scheduled jury trial in which officers would have had to defend why they did not provide medical care to Thompson. In an earlier ruling, a federal judge determined the family could not sue over the officers’ use of force or the lawfulness of Thompson’s arrest, a decision later upheld by an appeals court.

The latest episode of BarBuzz focuses on legislative advocacy and what Tennessee lawyers can expect from the Tennessee Bar Association during the 2026 session of the General Assembly, featuring TBA lobbyists Berkley Schwarz, Ashley Harbin and Brad Lampley. Hosted by TBA’s Communications Coordinator Azya Thornton, the episode covers key priorities for the second session of the 114th General Assembly, including indigent representation funding, adoption and family law proposals, probate legislation, the elimination of the professional privilege tax, as well as TBA initiatives such as the Public Service Academy, Day on the Hill and LAWPAC. The discussion also outlines how TBA members can stay informed and engaged as legislation moves forward. Beginning next week, the TBA’s weekly Legislative Updates Podcast is back providing regular updates from the Capitol and analysis of issues affecting Tennessee lawyers. Listeners can catch past episodes of the podcast anytime in the BarBuzz archive.

TBA members were sent an email today with a ballot for the two candidates running for TBA vice president. The email was sent from Intelliscan Inc. Members also were sent an email with profiles of the two candidates running for vice president. That email was sent from elections@tnbar.org. If you did not receive either email in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If either email indeed was not received, please contact elections@tnbar.org to request that the missing email(s) be resent. The candidate profiles also are available on the TBA website. Electronic voting begins today and will close on Feb. 13.

The Tennessee Bar Foundation has announced its 2026 grant awards have totaled more than $4 million — the largest grant amount in the history of the program. According to a news release, this year’s grants will go to 41 recipients, reaching residents in all Tennessee counties. Projects funded include individual legal representation, legal clinics and navigation, dispute mediation, housing advocacy, and specialized assistance for survivors of domestic violence. The funds, distributed through the IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts) program, provide critical resources for organizations that provide direct civil legal services to the poor and for programs that improve the administration of justice. With this latest round of funding, the foundation has awarded more than $34 million in grants since its inception. See the full list of grant recipients and read more in a news release from the foundation.

As artificial intelligence (AI) steadily seeps into U.S. courtrooms, a group of state and federal judges has joined forces to confront the technology, Reuters reports. The Judicial AI Consortium launched last week by U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell in Colorado, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in Texas and Judge Scott Schlegel of Louisiana’s 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The group aims to connect judges nationwide to swap ideas, discuss emerging risks and share how they are using AI on the bench. “GenAI is here, and we have to start thinking through proper use cases,” Schlegel said. According to Braswell, about 90 judges already have expressed interest. The group will hold its first meeting in February.

Christopher A. Call is the new clerk of court for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, according to Chattanoogan.com. He replaces William T. Magill, who retired over the weekend. Call has served as the chief deputy clerk since 2021 in the Chattanooga office. He previous clerked for Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge J. Steven Stafford, then-Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Jeffrey Bivins, U.S. Magistrate Judge Juliet Griffin and Bankruptcy Judge Shelley D. Rucker. Chief Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight thanked Magill for his more than 28 years of service to the court, including 11 years as clerk. She also announced that Caitlin Ray would succeed Call as chief deputy clerk. Ray joined the court’s Knoxville office as operations manager in 2022.