The Tennessee legislature is back in session, and lawmakers are focused on your issues. The Tennessee Supreme Court recently announced its intention to ask the governor and General Assembly to increase compensation for court-appointed attorneys in the juvenile and criminal courts. Court-appointed attorneys, who represent the indigent, including children, are grossly underpaid in Tennessee. Because of this, fewer and fewer attorneys can afford to take cases representing the indigent, resulting in a crisis in our legal system. It’s time for Tennessee attorneys to convey to their elected legislators how serious this problem is and the toll it is taking on the entire judicial system. Learn more from the TBA Government Affairs team and then reach out to your legislators and ask them to support increased funding for indigent representation (find your Tennessee legislators here). Also, please respond to this survey and join TBA’s Grassroots Advocacy efforts to receive action alerts as relevant policy issues arise, including indigent representation. Finally, please sign up to join us for TBA Day on the Hill on March 20.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic in law, and the TBA is creating a new AI Task Force to educate and provide guidance to Tennessee lawyers on issues surrounding this technology. Some of the goals of the task force will be to help inform lawyers about the proper use of AI in the substantive practice of law, the potential risks of using AI, and the beneficial use of AI in the administrative practice of law. The group also will review AI tools and contribute new information to the TBA's online practice management resources. If you are interested in participating in this new task force, please email TBA Coordinator Chelsea Bennett before Jan. 31.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic in law, and the TBA is creating a new AI Task Force to educate and provide guidance to Tennessee lawyers on issues surrounding this technology. Some of the goals of the task force will be to help inform lawyers about the proper use of AI in the substantive practice of law, the potential risks of using AI, and the beneficial use of AI in the administrative practice of law. The group also will review AI tools and contribute new information to the TBA's online practice management resources. If you are interested in participating in this new task force, please email TBA Coordinator Chelsea Bennett before Jan. 31.

Today is your last chance to lock in savings with the TBA's group health insurance. The TBA BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee plan is guaranteed issue, and has no health questions and no pre-existing condition exclusions. And new this year, plans include the added benefit of a $15,000 life insurance policy for each insured. Don’t delay, sign up today!

Learn what 150,000 legal professionals already know: LawPay is the superior solution for secure, streamlined legal payment processing. Why trust your hard-earned dollars to anyone other than the leader in legal payments? LawPay complies with IOLTA guidelines, is vetted by the ABA, and can get you paid 32% faster, saving you three billable hours daily. TBA members who sign up with LawPay this month will get up to $500 in processing fees covered through January 2024.

Don't miss the opportunity to lock in savings with the TBA's group health insurance. The deadline to enroll is Friday. The TBA BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee plan is guaranteed issue, and has no health questions and no pre-existing condition exclusions. And new this year, plans include the added benefit of a $15,000 life insurance policy for each insured. Don’t delay, get a quote today!

TBA member benefit partner Fastcase, now operating as vLex Fastcase, has rolled out a new citation tool. According to the company, the new service, known as Cert, brings together “more than 100 years of collective editorial expertise with intelligent technology” to ensure lawyers can “identify cited cases with confidence, ensuring they are indeed good law.” Lawyers who utilize Fastcase through their TBA membership can start accessing Cert for federal circuit court and U.S. Supreme Court cases. State cases are limited to Alabama, Florida and Georgia supreme court and district court of appeal decisions, but additional state courts will be added eventually. Sign in to Fastcase through the TBA to start using Cert.

TBA’s Group Health Insurance, provided by BlueCross BlueShield, offers guaranteed issue coverage, with no health questions and no pre-existing condition exclusions, at a significant savings. Here is what TBA member Gail Vaughn Ashworth says about the program: “When the TBA started TBA Member Insurance Solutions (TBAMS) with group health insurance coverage in 2020, our small firm immediately priced it against our longstanding group health insurance plan and compared the benefits in both plans. We were very pleased and surprised that by switching to the TBA group health plan we saved over $30,000 the first year and we had great group health insurance benefits. That is a huge savings, which we have taken advantage of each year since the beginning of the program — not only for the continued cost savings but for the great plan benefits. The TBAMS staff is very helpful, and the transition was very smooth. Renewing every year is also seamless. I recommend using the online quote tool on the TBA website or calling TBAMS at 800-347-1109 to find out how you can take advantage of this great member benefit. We all have TBA Past- President Sarah Sheppeard to thank for getting this wonderful health insurance benefit in place.” Don’t lose out on your savings! Open enrollment runs through Dec. 15.

Time to update and check-in on the digital YOU. If you moved, have a new photo, or need to change your practice areas or profile — now is the time to update. You also can customize your contact information with TBA’s address preferences, which means you can choose different addresses for your directory listing, where you receive mail and where you receive membership and billing notices. Your TBA profile helps clients and colleagues find you so be sure to keep it current. Watch this tutorial on how to update your information. Looking for a fellow TBA member? Search our online directory.

TBA Talk is an online discussion forum where members can post questions, request referrals, share knowledge, ask procedural questions and more. The platform offers many of the same benefits of the now-replaced TBALink-Talk list serve, plus additional features for accessing posts online and conducting searches of past questions and responses. TBA Talk is free to all members. Learn more and sign up online.