The TBA election results are in and Edward D. Lanquist Jr. of Nashville has been elected to the office of vice president. He will ascend to office of president-elect in 2023 and lead the organization as president for the 2024-2025 bar year. Mary Dohner Smith and William “Billy” Leslie also were elected as Middle Grand Division governors on the TBA Board of Governors. Lanquist, a co-founder and shareholder of Patterson Intellectual Property Law, is the TBA’s current general counsel. He also serves on the executive committee of the TBA Intellectual Property Section and is a member of the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows. Lanquist has been active in the American Bar Association and the Nashville Bar Association as well. He is a past chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division and a past president of the NBA. At Patterson, he focuses his practice on patent, trademark and copyright litigation, intellectual property counseling and technology law. Dohner Smith is a partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete where she handles employment compliance and litigation. Leslie is associate general counsel with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and the current TBA Young Lawyers Division president. All will take office at the TBA Convention June 15-18 in Nashville.

A reduction in the state’s professional privilege tax on attorneys is part of Gov. Bill Lee’s budget plan released this week. Paired with a grocery sales tax holiday, the reduction would cut the annual tax lawyers pay from $400 to $300, Knox News reports. Eliminating the tax has been a top legislative priority for the Tennessee Bar Association and seven other professional groups, who argue the 200,000 people working as lawyers, doctors, lobbyists, investment advisors and stockbrokers are unfairly singled out by the tax. “It is very discriminatory in who it reaches,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, says of the tax, which he favors eliminating either all at once or over a period of time. House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, said he also favors the cuts. While the General Assembly considers these and other cuts, the TBA is continuing efforts to have the tax completely eliminated.

Nashville attorney Lee Pope has left his position as Tennessee’s open records counsel to enter private practice, the Citizen Tribune reports. Pope has held the position since 2017. Comptroller Jason Mumpower plans to announce the new open records counsel on Monday, spokesman John Dunn said in an email Thursday.

Secretary of State Tre Hargett is highlighting the Safe at Home confidentiality program as the state enters Sexual Assault Awareness Month. “Safe at Home is helping hundreds of individuals and families protect themselves from becoming victims again by keeping their home address from becoming public record,” Hargett said. “I encourage Tennesseans of any age or gender who have experienced sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or domestic abuse to sign up for this free program.”

Memphis law firm Evans Petree PC is set to acquire Bourland Heflin PLC, forming a combination of two of the city’s top 25 law firms, the Memphis Business Journal reports. “It has taken hard work by many people at both law firms," said Scott Peatross, a member at Bourland Heflin. "The moving trucks show up tomorrow morning, and by Monday, we're going to be ready to hit the ground running." The combined firm will have 96 total employees. Joe Getz, president of Evans Petree, will lead the combined firm.

Crossville attorneys Steven C. Douglas and William T. Ridley have submitted their names to be considered as interim Cumberland County General Sessions judge, the Crossville Chronicle reports. Their names will go before the Cumberland County Commission at a special-called meeting Friday. The attorney selected will serve until the next general sessions judge is sworn in following the Aug. 4 election.

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is teaming up with Senator Cory Booker, D-NJ, to co-sponsor legislation that would place limitations on how the NCAA handles its investigations, the Nashville Post reports. “The NCAA has a well-established history of backroom deliberations that produce unfair punishments for athletes, coaches and universities,” said Blackburn. “With the emergence of new name, image and likeness (NIL) rules, it is more important than ever to address the systematic failures that have eroded league fairness.” Blackburn and Booker say their bill would tackle four new parameters for NCAA investigations: establishing due process; promoting fairness, consistency and accountability; enabling enforcement from the Department of Justice; and evaluating legal standing of any ongoing investigation.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law has been ranked among the top 20 law schools for African American students in the latest issue of preLaw magazine. Memphis Law was also included among the top schools on the magazine's annual "Diversity Honor Roll" for 2022. “Memphis Law offers one of the oldest and most successful pre-admission programs for diverse applicants in the nation,” said Dean Katharine Schaffzin. “We consistently enroll 1L classes with an extremely high percentage of diverse students, often 30% or more of the class.""

Former Department of Correction Commissioner Tony Parker is concerned that the truth in sentencing bill now moving through the state legislature would make it harder to incentivize positive behavior and programming inside our prisons. WPLN radio in Nashville looks at the criminal justice bill (HB2656 / SB2248) and analyses what it would mean for the state, its prison population and crime victims.

TBA Legislative Updates podcast is now streaming with TBA Public Policy & Government Affairs Director Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. This week, lawmakers and the Tennessee Supreme Court bid farewell to outgoing Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate, Gov. Bill Lee made three new judicial appointments and Brad gives an update on the professional privilege tax. To see a list of all of TBA’s bills, visit our online bill tracker. Legislative Updates airs every Thursday on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.