Launching a new firm, whether fresh out of law school or starting a new career stage, can be exhilarating and terrifying. You can do everything the “right” way, but a lot of factors go into launching a business, and you probably haven’t thought about all of them. Let us help! Get checklists, white papers and technology advice in the Opening a Firm section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

Combining existing law firms into a single business involves a lot of moving parts and personalities. Use this list to make sure you don’t overlook anything important. Find this and more in the Opening a Firm section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

Attorney well-being and burnout remain pressing concerns across corporate legal departments and law firms, according to the latest Bloomberg Law Attorney Workload and Hours Survey conducted in the second half of 2024. The survey gathered responses from attorneys on key issues including the gap between hours worked and billed, job satisfaction, retention trends, burnout rates and workflow efficiency. The findings offer insight into the current challenges facing the legal profession. A copy of the survey results is available for download at Bloomberg Law.

TBA’s member benefit partner Clio has released the 2025 Legal Trends for Mid-Sized Law Firms Report, which examines key trends shaping mid-sized law firms and provides data and insights to navigate industry shifts. For the first time, this year’s report explored hourly rates by firm size, finding that mid-sized law firms charge higher average hourly rates than smaller firms for both lawyers and non-lawyer professionals, and see greater variation in the rates charged than smaller firms. The report also looks at the prevalence of AI, use of flat fee billing structures, marketing modes for lead generation and spending on software programs. Read more highlights or view the full report.

The TBA’s Practice Management Center is now “Law Firm in a Box” — a unique tool offering TBA members a host of resources for launching and growing a law firm. Checklists, buying guides, comparison charts and more are available in each of the tool’s six segments: Opening a Firm, Building a Firm, Managing a Firm, Protecting a Firm, Winding Down a Firm and Accessing Expert Advice. Don’t lose access to this valuable member benefit, which now can be found on the TBA website.

The TBA will launch an upgraded legal research tool for members on March 4 following the merger of longstanding TBA member benefit partner Fastcase with global legal intelligence platform vLex. The enhanced tool will continue to offer free and unlimited access to all materials currently available through Fastcase, but also include new benefits such as advanced citator features, integration with Microsoft Word and Google Chrome, a more user-friendly interface, customizable news feed and featured libraries. Following the transition, customer support will be handled by vLex and will be available by phone, email and chat. Fastcase users will not lose access to their work during the transition and no action will be required to enjoy the benefits of this upgrade after March 4. To help educate members about these improvements, the TBA will hold two webinars at which vLex Fastcase staff will demonstrate new features and highlight how to maximize the tool’s potential for legal practice. Sign up for one of these free webinars and learn more on the TBA website.

Tomorrow 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, get a quote today!

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty are accepting applications from candidates interested in an appointment as U.S. district judge for the Western District of Tennessee, or U.S. attorney for each of Tennessee's three grand divisions. Those interested in any of the positions should download and complete the appropriate application, all of which are available from both senators' websites. Access the district judge application or U.S. attorney application from Blackburn's site or all applications from Hagerty's website. Completed applications and a current resume should be submitted by email to both offices at appointments@blackburn.senate.gov and appointments@hagerty.senate.gov. Questions about the process also may be sent to both email addresses.

When it comes time to wind down a practice, legal and ethical obligations keep the client front-of-mind. Use this list as a guide to review your wind-down process and the many considerations involved. Learn more in the Winding Down a Firm section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

Affinity Insight is the “easy” button you’ve been waiting for. The Affinity Insight Standard Plan gives your team 24/7 access to in-depth, self-guided legal tech training. Offering over 150 hours of content covering more than 30 different software products, the on-demand training platform provides the kind of practical, real-world training staff need to grow and thrive. As an administrator, you can assign courses, manage users and generate progress reports quickly and easily. Learn more about these services in the Firm Training Section of the TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.