Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC, known as “Holtzman Vogel,” announced its expansion into Nashville with the addition of Brandon Smith as partner. Smith, the former chief of staff for Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, will lead the new office and join the firm’s national government, corporate investigations and political law practices. According to the firm, Smith brings extensive experience in government and regulatory affairs to his new position, having held senior state-level jobs across the South and Midwest. He also will join the Vogel Group, the firm's lobbying and government affairs arm. Smith earned his law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law. In addition to Nashville, Holtzman Vogel has offices in Arizona, Florida, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will delay enforcement of the TikTok sale-or-ban law for another 75 days. The order was announced as White House officials believed they were nearing a deal for the app’s operations to be spun off into a new company based in the U.S. and owned and operated by a majority of American investors, with China’s ByteDance maintaining a minority position, according to the Associated Press. The announcement came just one day before the ban was set to take effect, after Trump delayed it by 75 days when he took office in January. The law, signed by former President Joe Biden last year, mandates that TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, divest the app or face a ban due to national security concerns.

Brock Shipe Klenk PLC has announced that former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee has joined the Knoxville-based firm. The firm says that with her years of experience as a litigator, mediator and appellate judge, Lee will enhance its broad range of services to clients and the legal community in the areas of mediation, litigation and appellate advocacy. In a press release announcing the news, the firm says it is honored that Lee will continue her remarkable legal career by providing her knowledge and experience to its practice, and that it looks forward to Lee being an integral part of the firm’s continued growth. Lee can be reached at 865-338-9700 and slee@bskplc.com.

Don't forget to renew your TBA membership for the 2025-2026 bar year to continue your access to TBA Today, the Tennessee Bar Journal, three free hours of CLE and free legal research through vLex Fastcase, as well as savings on a range of products and services. Be sure to check out TBA's Preventing Legal Malpractice providers and Law Firm in a Box, and watch for more information this fall about TBA’s Group Health Insurance enrollment. Attorneys not participating in the TBA's firm billing program can log in and renew through their MyTBA dashboard. The TBA membership team will be working with firm administrators for those participating in firm billing so check with your firm administrator if you have questions about that process.

TBA’s 2025 Immigration Law Forum will take place April 18 in Nashville from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT. This seminar is specifically designed both for experienced immigration lawyers and those who are newer to the practice area. The first half of the seminar is focused on updates, while the second half will focus on activism and support. The schedule is packed with speakers who are leaders in their fields, so make plans to join this informative program! For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

Safeguard your firm's physical assets with TBA's comprehensive property and building insurance. Whether you own or lease your building, this policy covers damages from fires, storms, vandalism and other unforeseen events. Ensure your firm's continuity and peace of mind by protecting your property investments. Get more details or a quote online.

Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, is sponsoring SR120, urging the Tennessee Supreme Court to create a disciplinary body explicitly for elected district attorneys, similar to the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct, which oversees judges in in the state. Taylor told the Commercial Appeal, "If you have a complaint with a judge, you can file that complaint with the Board of Judicial Conduct. If you have a complaint with the district attorney, you have two options. You can either live with it or you can take the nuclear option and try to remove them. There's nothing in the middle." Taylor notes that the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) deals with "transgressions as it relates to being a licensed attorney" but the new board would focus "on the actions of performing their job as a district attorney or a public defender." Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, who has been a target of Taylor's was asked about the need for such a disciplinary body. He tells the paper, "It's too early to answer that question, because there have been no details worked out. One thing I can say is that the process should not be duplicated: either a person should be investigated by the BPR or by some new body, but not both."

A bill proposed by Rep. Shaundelle Brooks, D-Nashville, would hold responsible those who knowingly provide firearms to those who are not allowed to possess them. HB0947/SB1191, which is named "Akilah's Law" for Brooks' son who was killed in the shooting at an Antioch Waffle House in 2018, passed the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on March 26 with bipartisan support and no substantive debate. The bill would create a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a sentence of imprisonment not greater than 11 months, 29 days, or a fine not to exceed $2,500, or both, for those who sell, offer to sell, deliver, or transfer a firearm to a person knowing that the person has, within the previous five years, been admitted, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to a mental institution unless the treatment was voluntary and solely for an alcohol abuse disorder and no other secondary substance abuse disorder or mental illness. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider the bill tomorrow. The Nashville Banner has more on the proposal.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is terminating parole protections for roughly 985,000 people who entered the United States through the CBP One app during the Biden administration. The app allowed individuals to make appointments at ports of entry to then seek asylum. The Hill reports that DHS has begun sending email notices to affected migrants telling them to self-deport through the Trump administration’s version of the app, now called CBP Home. Those who entered the country as part of the Uniting for Ukraine program and Afghans who entered under Operation Allies Welcome were not impacted by the action.

TBA General, Solo, & Small Firm Section members are invited to a section networking happy hour event at East Nashville Beer Works in Nashville on April 22 from 5-7 p.m. CDT. While an RSVP is not required to attend, it does help to better track the expected number of guests. Thank you to Emma Elliott with Peregrine Law for sponsoring this event!