As part of its ongoing effort to gather feedback from Tennessee attorneys on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 order seeking public comment on seven areas of potential regulatory changes to the legal profession, the TBA’s Legal Access and Regulatory Reform Task Force is hosting a series of virtual town halls. Thursday's event will start at noon CDT and focus on the role of paraprofessionals. There is no cost to attend but registration is required to receive the meeting link. Attorneys also are encouraged to review the TBA’s Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page before attending.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider eight applicants when it meets to select nominees for an upcoming vacancy on the Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section. The vacancy is due to the appointment of Judge Kyle A. Hixson to the Tennessee Supreme Court. The applicants include Bryce William McKenzie, Paul Othneil Moyle IV, Alex E. Pearson, Marshall A. Raines Jr., Hector Ian Sanchez, Stacy Lee Street, Thomas J. Tabor Jr. and Brennan Maureen Wingerter. Public interviews of the applicants will take place March 5 in the courtroom of the Knoxville Supreme Court Building, 505 Main St., Knoxville 37902. At the conclusion of the interviews, the council will vote to send three applicants to the governor. Read more in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Tennessee Supreme Court this week amended Rule 9, Section 32.1 to add the phrase "or as otherwise provided in an order of this Court" to language regarding confidentiality in investigations of attorney misconduct by the Board of Professional Responsibility. Read the order and see the amended language. The court also announced the addition of Rule 57 regarding sanctions, which may be imposed on an attorney, a law firm or a party for certain behavior before the court. Read the new rule.

Lawyers for Metro Nashville and for the state presented arguments Thursday in two cases before the Tennessee Supreme Court concerning a potential reduction in the size of the Metro Council and a possible state restructuring of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority. According to the Nashville Banner, the cases reflect ongoing tensions between the state legislature and the metropolitan government. One law would cut the 40-member Metro Council in half, while the other would shift appointment power over the airport authority board from the Nashville mayor to a group including the governor and legislative leaders. Attorneys for Metro argued the measures violate the Tennessee Constitution’s Home Rule Amendment by targeting Nashville specifically, while the state contended the laws address matters of statewide concern and apply broadly under legislative authority. Rulings are expected in several months.

A news item in yesterday's issue of TBA Today included the wrong link for Friday's virtual town hall meeting. The event this week will focus on non-lawyer ownership and fee sharing. There is no cost to attend but registration is required to receive the meeting link. The event is part of TBA's ongoing effort to gather feedback from Tennessee attorneys on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 order seeking public comment on seven areas of potential regulatory changes to the legal profession. Additional town halls will be held on Feb. 19, 23 and 26. Attorneys also are encouraged to review the TBA’s Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page before attending any of these events.

As part of its ongoing effort to gather feedback from Tennessee attorneys on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 order seeking public comment on seven areas of potential regulatory changes to the legal profession, the TBA’s Legal Access and Regulatory Reform Task Force will host a series of virtual town halls this month. Friday's event will start at noon CDT and focus on non-lawyer ownership and fee sharing. There is no cost to attend but registration is required to receive the meeting link. Attorneys also are encouraged to review the TBA’s Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page before attending.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently appointed three new members to serve on its Access to Justice (ATJ) Commission. Eric Osborne (left), a member at Sherrard, Roe, Voigt & Harbison in Nashville; Nathan Kibler, a shareholder in the Knoxville office of Baker Donelson; and Jennifer Sneed-Perry, in-house counsel for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, will begin two-year terms on April 1. In addition, the court named Osborne to serve as the next chair of the commission, replacing Joy Radice. The other new appointees will replace Monty Burks and Amber D. Floyd. All three members rolling off the commission are in their second three-year term, which will expire on March 31. They are not eligible for reappointment. Read more about the new appointees in a press release from the commission.

As part of its ongoing effort to gather feedback from Tennessee attorneys on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 order seeking public comment on seven areas of potential regulatory changes to the legal profession, the TBA’s Legal Access and Regulatory Reform Task Force will host a series of virtual town halls this month. Each town hall will focus on specific issues outlined in the order, starting with a discussion about Alternative Education and Licensure Pathways on Feb. 10 at noon CST. Additional sessions will address Nonlawyer Ownership and Fee Sharing on Feb. 13 at 11 a.m., Paraprofessionals on Feb. 19 at noon,  ABA Accreditation on Feb. 23 at noon, and Interstate Mobility and Reciprocity on Feb. 26 at noon. All times are central time zone. There is no cost to attend but registration is required to receive the meeting link. Attorneys also are encouraged to review the TBA’s Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page before attending.

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.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Tennessee courts lack jurisdiction to confirm arbitration awards when the parties agree that the arbitration occur in another state, according to a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts. In Berkeley Research Group LLC v. Southern Advanced Materials LLC, the parties entered into a contract providing that any disputes would be resolved through arbitration in Philadelphia. When a dispute arose, the parties conducted arbitration over Zoom with the arbitrator located in Philadelphia. The arbitrator ruled in favor of Berkeley Research Group, which then filed a case in Shelby County Chancery Court to confirm the arbitration award. The Supreme Court held that under the Uniform Arbitration Act, Tennessee courts do not have subject matter jurisdiction to confirm an out-of-state arbitration award.