The 2026 TBA Annual Convention kicked off today at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Knoxville with a meeting of the TBA House of Delegates, followed by a welcome reception and group dinners for attendees. On-site registrations are still available — including tickets for tomorrow's Tech Showcase — at the TBA Registration Desk on the Mezzanine level of the hotel. A full schedule of convention events and CLE programming is available on the TBA website.

Thank you to the sponsors who have helped underwrite the costs of this year's TBA Convention! Thank you to Platinum Sponsor Miles Mediation & Arbitration; Silver Sponsors Lexitas, SoFi and TBA Member Insurance Solutions; Bronze sponsors Clio, Easy IT Guys, JAMS, LexisNexis, Pinnacle Financial Partners and The Bar Plan; and Copper sponsors Conservatorship Association of Tennessee, Duck Hunts Medical Records Retrieval, Esquire Deposition Solutions, Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) and Time Miner. Check out our sponsor page for more information on these companies and make plans to visit with many of them during this week's event in Knoxville. Pre-registration has closed but on-site registration will be available.

Thank you to the following technology companies that are participating in this year's Tech Showcase set for Thursday in Knoxville: Arbor AI, Big Cloud Consultants, Clio, Digital Ideation Group, Easy IT Guys, LexisNexis, Lexitas, Our Family Wizard, Paladin, Scipio Technologies, Verbotics AI and Writly. Check out our sponsor page for more information on these companies and make plans to visit with them during this week's event. Pre-registration has closed but on-site registration will be available. Can't make the full convention? TBA also is selling day passes for Thursday. A showcase ticket includes 3.5 hours of legal tech CLE, lunch, choice of Lunch & Learn break out session and access to vendors in the Tech Showcase Exhibit Hall. Day passes can be purchased at the TBA Registration Desk on the second floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The TBA’s 145th Annual Convention will kick off Wednesday in Knoxville. Pre-registration has closed but on-site registration will be available at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Knoxville. The TBA Registration Desk will be located on the second floor of the hotel. Tickets also will be available for individual events and Thursday’s Tech Showcase, which will include 3.5 hours of legal tech CLE, lunch and choice of Lunch & Learn breakout session. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the state!

Thank you as well to the sponsors who have helped underwrite the costs of this year's convention! Thank you to Platinum Sponsor Miles Mediation & Arbitration; Silver Sponsors Lexitas, SoFi and TBA Member Insurance Solutions; Bronze Sponsors Clio, Easy IT Guys, JAMS, LexisNexis, Pinnacle Financial Partners and The Bar Plan; and Copper Sponsors Conservatorship Association of Tennessee, Duck Hunts Medical Records Retrieval, Esquire Deposition Solutions, Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) and Time Miner. Check out our sponsor page for more information on these companies and make plans to visit with many of them this week.

Next week’s TBA Convention will include a new element for lunch on Thursday. After grabbing a boxed lunch, attendees will be able to choose one of three Lunch & Learn opportunities. In the Summit Ballroom, Josh McIntyre, an attorney and senior manager of bar partnerships at Clio, will present “Increasing Law Firm Productivity with AI.” The session will focus on productivity, highlighting how AI streamlines workflows and scales operations without compromising the essential human touch or quality of work. In Salon C, Melanie Watson, a judicial education coordinator with Our Family Wizard, will present “Co-Parenting in the Digital Age: Improving Outcomes & Reducing Litigation with Our Family Wizard.” Watson will discuss the all-in-one co-parenting app that allows families to share a schedule, track expenses and stay connected. Finally, in Salon B, the TBA Attorney Engagement & Opportunity Committee will hold a session to hear from lawyers and answer questions about its work. Make plans now to join one of these informative breakouts next week!

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas A. Varlan with the Eastern District of Tennessee will be honored with the 2026 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award from the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court. The award will be presented at the TBA’s Lawyers Luncheon set for June 12 as part of the group’s Annual Convention in Knoxville.

Varlan will be honored for his long tenure on the bench, including handling many of East Tennessee’s most publicized and significant trials, and exhibiting the highest level of integrity and professionalism in his work. Presentation of the award this year is timely given that Varlan has announced he will take senior status this fall. In a letter supporting Varlan for the award, the other judges of the district court praised his judicial temperament and selflessness exhibited while serving as chief judge of the district. In particular, they point to his decision to end his term as chief judge six months early so his colleague, the late Judge Pamela Reeves, could become the first female chief judge in the history of the district. Had Varlan served his full term, Reeves would not have been age-eligible to succeed him.

In announcing this year’s recipient, TBA President Heidi Barcus said: “Throughout his judicial service, Judge Varlan has exhibited the ideals embodied in this award, demonstrating character and integrity as well as dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the legal profession. The fact that he served with Judge Reeves and sacrificed his own interests to see her rise to the position of chief judge makes presentation of an award named in her honor all the more poignant.” The professionalism award honors a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the legal profession in Tennessee. It is named in honor of the late Judge Pamela L. Reeves, former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the first recipient of the award. Reeves was an active leader in both the American Inns of Court and the TBA, where she was elected the first female president in 1988. Read more about Varlan's selection in a press release from the TBA.

The 2026 Convention CLE lineup will offer 8.5 hours of credit, including a presentation from Livingston lawyers Emily and Evan Wright with Wright & Wright LLP. The pair will provide a practical overview of how attorneys can use AI tools effectively while maintaining independent judgment and meeting ethical obligations. Emily and Evan are managing partners of the firm. Emily handles civil, real estate, probate, criminal and juvenile law. Evan handles civil, real estate, probate, criminal and juvenile law. The firm also serves as counsel for Pickett County. Learn more about the convention and register here. Can’t make the full convention? Day passes for Thursday’s Tech Showcase are available and include access to this CLE session.

Can't join us for the full TBA Convention this month? Or maybe you need to add a guest ticket for a specific event? Individual tickets now are available for purchase for the following events: Wednesday's opening reception; Thursday's Public Service Breakfast, University of Tennessee Winston College of Law Breakfast, TBA's Tech Showcase and the evening reception at Smokies stadium; and Friday's breakfast and Lawyers Luncheon. Buy tickets here.

Each year the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor these award recipients at the 2026 Public Service Breakfast set for June 11 as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. One of the awards, the CASA Volunteer of the Year Award, will be presented to Tracy Farmer who has worked with Williamson County CASA for the past 14 years. The award is given each year by the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD). This year, it will be presented by TBA YLD Middle Tennessee Governor Alix Rogers, who is the assistant dean for career and professional development at Belmont University College of Law. Read more about Farmer in TBA's press release.

Each year the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor these award recipients at the 2026 Public Service Breakfast set for June 11 as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. The Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year Award will be presented to Jennifer Egelston, an attorney in the Knoxville office of Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET). Egelston was selected for her work on several complicated family law cases and for using her experience handling cases involving Abrial’s Law to educate other attorneys on utilizing the protections it offers to parents and children. The Law Student Volunteer Award recognizes the efforts of a student enrolled at or recently graduated from a Tennessee law school who provided dedicated and outstanding pro bono service while working with an organization primarily engaged in providing legal representation to indigent clients. This year, TBA is honoring Sierra Sidoti, a student at the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law. Since the summer of 2024, Sidoti has served as a pro bono law clerk in the Knoxville office of LAET. Read more about both of these award winners in the TBA's press release. Learn more about the awards and see past recipients on the TBA website.