The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments met in Knoxville to select nominees for an upcoming vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section. The vacancy will be created with the retirement of Judge D. Michael Swiney on Jan. 12. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the council selected the following three nominees: Rachel Park Hurt, a partner with Arnett Baker Draper & Hagood in Knoxville and president of the Knoxville Bar Association; 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court Judge William Erwin Phillips II in Rogersville; and 12th Judicial District Chancellor Melissa Thomas Willis in Jasper. Learn more about the nominees in the applications they submitted for consideration.

The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar recently released its annual law school report, documenting 2025 statistics such as enrollment numbers and demographics, tuition and living costs, financial aid, faculty demographics, and entrance tests being used to screen students. The data shows a 4% increase over 2024 in law student enrollment at ABA-accredited schools, a 7.9% increase in first-year students, and a 6.3% increase in students enrolled in LLM, master’s and certificate programs. For the first-year class of 2025, 55.1% were women, 42.5% were men and 1% cited another gender identity. Read more about the latest statistics in this ABA news release, view a one-page overview or search all data.

The city of Johnson City will pay more than $30.6 million to sexual assault survivors to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the police department of failing to properly investigate rape cases. Of that total, $4.2 million will go to nearly 400 women and minors who reported sexual assault cases between 2018 and 2022 and have claimed the police ignored those reports in exchange for bribes. The lawsuit, along with others, are tied to alleged serial rapist Sean Williams, who is accused of drugging and assaulting more than 50 women and children in his Johnson City condo. The city has acknowledged some failures but says investigations found no credible evidence of police corruption or criminal misconduct. Last year, Williams was sentenced to 95 years for producing child pornography and escaping from jail. He faces additional charges of drug trafficking and child pornography in North Carolina. Federal Judge Travis R. McDonough, who approved the settlement this week, called the settlement an “incredible resolution.” The Tennessean has more on the case.

Metro Nashville Legal Director Wally Dietz said Wednesday that his office will file its final brief to the Tennessee Supreme Court by Jan. 16 in the city’s challenge to a state law that would reduce by half the number of councilmembers. A hearing on the matter — and another Metro challenge to state law — is expected on Feb. 12. Dietz provided the update to the council’s Charter Revision Committee. “We think we’re going to win, but if we don’t win we have to be prepared for having an election in 2027 with a vastly different landscape,” he told the group, according to the Nashville Banner.

The TBA YLD has announced the opening of the 2026-2027 leadership appointment and election filing process. Those interested in an appointed position on the division's board should review available positions and complete the online application by Feb. 15. For positions subject to election, petitions should be filed with YLD Secretary Zack Walden no later than Feb. 15. Candidates for vice president, secretary, treasurer, East Tennessee governor, Middle Tennessee governor and West Tennessee governor must submit a written petition with 25 or more signatures from TBA members in good standing. During this election cycle, the vice president must reside in the Eastern Grand Division of Tennessee. Candidates for district representatives in even-numbered districts (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14) require a self-nominating petition (additional signatures are not required). For more information or to download the appropriate petition visit the YLD Election Guidelines webpage. Elections for contested races will take place between Feb. 23 and March 8 by electronic voting. 

Are you interested in serving with the TBA in 2026? Several positions will be voted on this spring. Available opportunities include a new vice president from the Eastern Grand Division, three district governors and six grand division governors (two from each division) on the TBA Board of Governors, and four positions representing Tennessee in the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates. Learn more about these positions in the 2026 Election Notice published in the November/December 2025 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal or download a nominating petition. Nominating petitions should be submitted no later than Jan. 15 to barED@tnbar.org. Questions? Visit the TBA’s election webpage for more information.

A Tennessee Senate panel has recommended a pilot program requiring detention officers at the privately run Trousdale Turner Correctional Center to wear body cameras following a 2025 riot at the facility, despite opposition from the state’s corrections commissioner, Tennessee Lookout reports. Lawmakers said body cameras could help protect officers and inmates and provide clearer evidence for criminal prosecutions, while Corrections Commissioner Frank Strada raised concerns about cost, privacy and the burden of reviewing video, instead promoting a central intelligence center using artificial intelligence and other technology. CoreCivic officials said the company would work with the state on policy but have not agreed to fund the equipment, as legislators continue to weigh oversight measures amid ongoing scrutiny of safety, staffing and violence at the prison.

Former Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, will avoid jail time for her role in the Phoenix Solutions affair, the Nashville Banner newsletter reports. After co-conspirators — ex-Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren — received presidential pardons, Smith filed a motion in federal court on Nov. 19 seeking reconsideration of her original sentence: eight months in prison and a $7,500 fine. Since turning government witness, Smith originally received a lighter sentence than Cothren (30 months, $25,000) and Casada (three years, $30,000). Prosecutors said in response to Smith’s motion that a year of probation with no conditions or fine was appropriate, and a federal court filing on Monday amended Smith’s sentence as such. She was originally scheduled to report to federal prison in West Virginia on Monday but will now remain free.

New Orleans-based McGlinchey Stafford has announced that it will cease operations. Established 52 years ago, the firm has 18 offices across the Southeast and Northeast, including in Nashville. According to the ABA Journal, equity partners voted to wind down operations after “assessing several strategic alternatives.” Deirdre McGlinchey, daughter of firm co-founder Dermot McGlinchey, was among recent departures, leaving along with several other attorneys for Jones Walker. McGlinchey’s Nashville office served corporate and individual clients with corporate formation, real estate closings, banking and regulatory compliance, trademark registration, entertainment, insurance defense, products liability defense, bankruptcy, loan workouts, and financial services and general civil litigation in all Tennessee state and federal courts.

For the second consecutive year, Gov. Bill Lee has opted out of a federally funded summer food assistance program that would serve hundreds of thousands of children from low-income families across Tennessee, the Nashville Post reports. The deadline for the state to enroll in the federal Summer EBT program was Jan. 1, and despite requests from lawmakers, religious leaders and food security advocates, Lee rejected roughly $84 million in federal funding. A spokesperson for the governor’s office told the Nashville Scene that Lee’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal will include additional investments in state-run programs.