The TBA announced today that open enrollment for its group health insurance has been extended to Dec. 15. Due to strong enrollment, member interest and requests for additional time to review coverage options, TBA Member Insurance Solutions has negotiated a one-time extension. After Dec. 15, enrollment will be closed until Fall 2026. The plan, offered through BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, is available exclusively to TBA members and offers guaranteed issue coverage with no health questions or pre-existing condition exclusions. For rates, plan details and enrollment information, visit the TBA website.

In 2026, California will become the first U.S. state to require attorneys to take an annual civility oath to “conduct themselves with dignity, courtesy, and integrity,” Reuters reports. The new requirement was proposed by a 2021 task force, approved by the state Supreme Court in September and finalized by the State Bar of California last month. Brian Currey, a retired California appeals court judge and chair of the task force, says, “Incivility is ‘sand in the gears’ of the legal system. When lawyers waste their time and energy sniping at each other, it makes resolving disputes or issues more difficult.” In 2018, the Tennessee Supreme Court amended the oath that new Tennessee lawyers take, swearing that they will conduct themselves "with honesty, fairness, integrity, and civility."

Apperson Crump, self-proclaimed as the oldest continuously operating law firm in Memphis, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Commercial Appeal reports. The reporting was based on filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee in Jackson. According to the paper, the firm voluntarily filed to reorganize on Dec. 1. A meeting with its creditors is set for Jan. 5, 2026. Apperson Crump opened its doors in 1865, founded by Charles W. Metcalf, grandfather of the late Charles Metcalf Crump, who served multiple terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives. The firm did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication, according to the paper.

Memphis could receive additional law enforcement resources and funding for technology to combat cargo theft under a legislative proposal from Tennessee's Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the Daily Memphian reports. In a statement Blackburn said, “Cargo theft is a pressing issue impacting businesses in Tennessee, and we need to shut down these organized crime groups that steal essential goods from Tennesseans to traffic drugs and weapons.” The bill, co-sponsored by Minnesota Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar, would equip six American intermodal facilities with funding for more technology or law enforcement resources. Blackburn wants to locate one of those facilities in Memphis, according to the paper. The Greater Memphis Chamber is supporting the effort. Chamber President Ted Townsend said that Memphis, a gateway city that links eastern and western railroad tracks, ranks second for cargo theft in America.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) will hold its Annual Meeting and Elections on Dec. 12 at 8:30 a.m. EST. At the annual event, KBA President Jonathan Cooper will pass the gavel to incoming President Rachel Hurt. Members also will vote to elect Ursula Bailey as president-elect, Cathy Shuck as treasurer, M. Samantha Parris as secretary and four members of the KBA Board of Governors. The event will take place in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building, 400 Main St., Knoxville 37902.

The next legal clinic for veterans in Knoxville will take place Dec. 10 from 12-2 p.m. EST at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919. This is a general advice clinic sponsored by the Knoxville Bar Association, KBA Barristers, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, the University of Tennessee College of Law, the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office and the local Veterans Affairs office. Attorneys and law students are needed for the in-person clinic. Attorneys also may help clients by phone. Sign up to volunteer here.

A split federal appeals court held last week that Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC was wrongly denied qualified immunity for its role acting as outside counsel for Nashville’s local government in a First Amendment suit. Bloomberg Law reports on the decision from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Read the opinion.

Vanderbilt University reportedly is still in talks with the Trump administration around a proposal that would provide preferred access to federal grants in exchange for the school implementing a series of government mandates, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The proposal had an original deadline of Nov. 21 for the school to respond. At that time, the university’s chancellor released a campus-wide message reiterating the school’s commitment to “academic freedom, free expression and independence” and belief that grants should be merit based. The paper reports that the university issued a statement saying: "We do not currently have a November 21st deadline, nor a directive to accept or reject the compact" and highlighting its track record of "principled, bipartisan dialogue with the federal government."

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, 2026 to barED@tnbar.org. Questions? Visit the TBA’s election webpage for more information.

Douglas Malcolm Carey, a 2023 graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, died Nov. 27 at his home in Crozet, Virginia. He had been working as a civil litigator for The Crone Law Firm in Memphis. Carey grew up in Virginia and New York. He attended the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs where he focused on track, theater, the circus arts and martial arts. He attended SUNY Oswego and graduated with a dual major of philosophy and biochemistry in 2016. Outside of work, he was a certified personal trainer and was passionate about power lifting and running. A memorial service is being planned at the University of Virginia Chapel in Charlottesville, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the TSC Alliance of Silver Spring, Maryland.