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.

The Texas Supreme Court has ended the state’s reliance on the American Bar Association (ABA) to accredit its law schools, finalizing a rule that places the state’s high court in charge of that certification, Bloomberg Law reports. The court issued preliminary approval in September but continued to solicit public comments throughout the fall. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission weighed in with support in December, calling the ABA a monopoly. In its Jan. 6 order, the court said it intends to ensure that law degrees from Texas schools are portable to other states and vice versa, and does not plan to impose additional burdens on accreditation. The court added it would consider returning to a multi-state accreditation entity that is not the ABA “should a suitable entity become available.” In February 2025, the Trump administration threatened to pull the ABA’s accrediting power nationwide unless it ended its diversity requirements for law schools. The ABA agreed to temporarily suspend enforcement of its diversity and inclusion mandate. 

Texas’ move comes as the Tennessee Supreme Court is similarly examining whether to "modify, reduce or eliminate its reliance on ABA accreditation" as part of a broader review of legal education, licensure and regulatory structures, and whether there are any practicable alternatives that should be considered. Feedback on the court's order may be sent to TBA's newly formed Legal Access & Regulatory Reform Task Force at townhall@tnbar.org as well as directly to the court. Visit TBA's Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page for more information.

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. 

The number of Nashvillians killed, assaulted or robbed dropped sharply in 2025. Violent offenses were down nearly 14% from 2024, while reports of property crime fell by nearly 12%, the Nashville Banner reports. In some categories of serious crime, rates declined to their lowest levels in a decade or more. Nashville ended the year with 74 recorded homicides, nearly 28% fewer than in 2024, marking a reversal after five consecutive years with more than 100 homicides. The city also saw 35% fewer gunshot victims, and overall violent crime dropped to its lowest level since 2013. Police recorded 866 robberies, the fewest since 1969 and a nearly 26% decrease from 2024, while burglaries fell more than 13%, making 2025 a historic low year for that category as well.

The Tennessee Supreme Court disbarred Maury County lawyer Amanda Howell Castillo from the practice of law on Jan. 7 and ordered her to pay restitution to one former client. Based on two complaints, the court found that Castillo failed to represent a client in a diligent manner, reasonably communicate with a client, expedite a client’s litigation, comply with an order of summary suspension, respond to disciplinary complaints, and inform a client of her suspension from the practice of law and withdraw from representation. The court also found that in the second complaint, Castillo failed to set her client’s case for hearing, provide the professional services for which she was retained and return an unreasonable fee to the client. The court determined that these actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.16, 3.2, 3.4(c), 8.1(b) and 8.4(g).

The annual State of the Environment Law Conference will be held at noon CST on Jan. 21 at Vanderbilt University Law School and is free and open to the public. The program will begin with lunch and a panel examining the state of the environment in Tennessee, followed by four additional panel discussions on a range of environmental issues. The conference will conclude with a cocktail hour, providing attendees an opportunity to network with panelists and other participants. The event will allow ample time for audience questions and discussion, continuing a tradition of engaging and informative programming. See a detailed agenda.