A total of 445 youth spent at least one night in the offices of the Tennessee Department of Children's Services (DCS) in 2025. The Tennessean reports that the average office stay was around a week, while the longest topped out at 102 days. DCS says that an influx of high-need cases and the closure of several transitional homes contributed to the 400% increase over 2024 numbers. The issue has been under scrutiny since 2021 when it was first revealed that hundreds of kids were spending the night in offices. In early 2023, the department told lawmakers that childen were no longer sleeping in offices, save for a few in Shelby County who would be placed soon. The practice began again in November 2023 according to the paper.

The Putnam County Bar Association kicked off the new year with a meeting on Jan. 22. The following leaders were elected for 2026: President Russell Tribble, Vice President Taylor Beth Gothard, Treasurer Dale Bohannon and Secretary Rachel Moses. Tribble practices as an assistant district attorney with the Office of the District Attorney General for the 13th Judicial District. Gothard practices with the Law Office of Joy Buck Gothard. Bohannon practices with the Law Office of Dale Bohannon. Moses practices with the Legal Aid Society. All are in Cookeville.

The Tennessee Supreme Court currently is considering a range of potential changes to regulation of the state's legal profession. In response, the TBA has formed the Legal Access and Regulatory Reform Task Force to consider the issues, and make recommendations for any proposed action to the TBA Board of Governors. Members are encouraged to become familiar with the issues as well and provide feedback to the task force. Comments to the task force should be submitted via email to townhall@tnbar.org. Comments also may be filed directly with the court. Visit TBA's Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page to learn more about the areas the court is reviewing.

New Memphis Bar Association (MBA) leaders recently took office at the group’s Annual Meeting. They are: President and Shelby County Attorney Marlinee Iverson; Vice President Matt May with Rosenblum & Reisman; Secretary/Treasurer Justin Joy, a shareholder at Lewis Thomason; and Immediate Past President Lauran Stimac with Evans Petree. Six board members also took office: Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Taylor Bachelor, Will Gibbons with the City of Memphis, Mathew Jehl with Burch, Porter & Johnson, Charles Mitchell with Black McLaren Ryland & Griffee, Amber Griffin Shaw with Harris Shelton and Van Turner with Turner Feild Law. Read more in a news release from the group and see photos from the meeting.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division is hosting a Leadership and Law Academy in Chattanooga! The academy is for all high school students in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades. Qualified students must be interested in pursuing a legal career and be motivated learners who actively participate in school classes. The academy will take place during a teacher in-service day on March 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT.  Applicants must be available to attend the entire day and have parent permission to participate. The academy will provide students with an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge about the legal system, meet local judges and lawyers, and learn about legal careers. There is no cost to attend. Interested students should apply here by Feb. 20.

Gov. Bill Lee will deliver his final State of the State address to the General Assembly and Tennesseans at 6 p.m. CST on Feb. 2 during a joint session in the House chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol. “As we begin our final year together, I’m grateful for what we’ve accomplished and confident that the decisions we make today will help define Tennessee’s next chapter and our role in America’s future.” Gov. Lee said in a press release. The address will be streamed on Lee’s Facebook, YouTube and aired statewide.

The Murfreesboro City Council voted Jan. 22 to approve a process to select the next city attorney following the Dec. 19, 2025, resignation announcement of Adam Tucker, Rutherford Source reports. Tucker’s last day as city attorney is expected to be Feb. 17. The council approved a selection process set to begin in February that includes advertising the position, appointing an interim city attorney, prescreening candidates, and conducting executive team assessments and council interviews, with the goal of hiring a successor by the end of March.

Nearly 3,000 books are being pulled from public library shelves across Rutherford County following a letter from Secretary of State Tre Hargett prompting a review of juvenile collections across nearly all state public libraries, the Tennessean reports. Four Anne Frank biographies, more than 30 books focused on the Bible, five books on women’s history and suffrage, and books on ancient civilizations were among those removed for review. The request gave libraries 60 days to complete a full audit to avoid risking state and federal funding and has led Rutherford County librarians to flag 2,712 books for review. Hargett’s office has disputed that the letter was an order, saying the review was voluntary and decisions remain local, though librarians said the process caused staffing strains and temporary library closures. A federal judge has declined to block ongoing book bans in November after students sued the Rutherford County Board in April. The books will remain unavailable until a Feb. 2 county library board meeting determines to return them to shelves, relocate or remove.

At its January meeting this past weekend, the TBA Board of Governors certified election filing results. One contested election will be held this year for the office of vice president. Knoxville attorney Mary Elizabeth Maddox and Johnson City attorney Deborah Yeomans-Barton are running to become TBA’s president in 2028-2029. Read a statement from each of the candidates. Electronic voting will begin on Jan. 30 and close on Feb. 13. Watch for an email with a link to the ballot from Intelliscan Inc.

Also this weekend, the board declared election results for uncontested seats with 11 individuals deemed to be elected because they were the only duly qualified candidate to file. It also declared 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. See the full list of certified candidates and vacancies on the TBA website.

On Feb. 12, the Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for its February docket in Nashville. The proceedings will be held at the Supreme Court building and livestreamed to the YouTube page. At 9 a.m. CST, the court will hear three with the first two cases involve the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County challenging the constitutionality of 2023 state laws affecting the size of Metro’s legislative body and the governance of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, raising questions under the Tennessee Constitution’s Local Legislation, Exemption and Anti-Ripper clauses. The third case centers on whether a hospital may pursue an unjust enrichment claim for post-stabilization medical services provided to TennCare patients without prior authorization. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more about each case.