This week is Civic Learning Week and the American Bar Association and iCivics are celebrating by making resources available to help lawyers promote civics education. The designation of the week is designed to highlight the important role civics education plays in sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States. To learn more, visit civiclearningweek.org. In related news, the theme for this year’s Law Day celebration has been announced. “The Rule of Law and the American Dream” embodies the idea that no person is above the law — a founding principle that ensures the rights of people to live their lives as freely as possible and to pursue their dreams. Learn more in the recent Law Day Launch program, which can be streamed online.

In a filing Thursday, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee laid out the government’s justification for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention of Nashville journalist Estefany Rodríguez. The brief was submitted in response to a show-cause order from District Court Judge Eli Richardson. In it, the prosecutor argues that Rodríguez has not exhausted all administrative remedies because she has not had a bond hearing yet, that agents did not arrest Rodríguez without a warrant, and that the arrest was not in retaliation for her work as a journalist. Read more from the Nashville Banner. 

Birmingham-based law firm Bradley, with offices in Knoxville and Nashville, has launched an Outside General Counsel Services team to provide businesses with day-to-day legal and compliance support. Dallas-based Corporate & Securities partner Jeffrey M. Harvey will lead the team. In a news release announcing the move, Harvey says the team will bring “right-sized resources to emerging or mid-size businesses with limited or no in-house legal resources” and strengthen existing legal teams to “ensure continuity and scalability.” The team will draw on the expertise of the firm’s more than 750 lawyers to offer a range of services including entity formation, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, risk mitigation, trade compliance, securities obligations, employment matters, intellectual property protection, and litigation management.

The Tennessee Department of Treasury is encouraging Tennesseans to check ClaimItTN.gov for missing money after businesses and organizations across the state turned over an additional $248.6 million in unclaimed property since July 1, 2025. Each year, the Unclaimed Property Division mails tens of thousands of letters to individuals at the last-known addresses provided when businesses and organizations — unable to locate the rightful owners — report unclaimed funds to the state. Funds can be from utility or healthcare refunds, uncashed paychecks, credit balances for overpayments, rental deposit refunds, gift certificates, securities and abandoned bank accounts. “I encourage all Tennesseans to search their names each year, even if you’ve checked before,” said State Treasurer David H. Lillard Jr. Read more in a news release from the department.

A number of lawyers have been reinstated after being suspended for administrative violations. One lawyer has been reinstated after completing required continuing legal education hours in 2019 and 2020. Four lawyers have been reinstated after paying the annual registration fee to the Board of Professional Responsibility — two in 2025 and two in 2026. And 23 lawyers have been reinstated after paying the professional privilege tax. That includes one suspended in 2024, one in 2025 and 21 this year. See the updated lists at the links above. The TBA has records of all administrative suspensions and reinstatements going back to 2005. See all lists here.

Just in time for the “March Madness” NCAA Division I basketball tournament, TBA joins the fun with a full court press of webcast replays. Tune in at noon CDT to catch the most popular installments from the Young Lawyers Division’s Rookie Series including Exploring Different Career Paths with a Law Degree on March 19, Opening Your Own Firm on March 24, Making the Most of Mediation on March 27, and Family Law Trends and Challenges on March 31. Looking for another topic? Check out all Rookie Series installments now available on demand.

A news item in a previous issue of TBA Today, which highlighted leadership changes at Bass, Berry & Sims, has been corrected to reflect that Kerry Price's title is chief strategy and operations officer.

The Belmont Legal Aid Society will hold its Fourth Annual Putt for Pro Bono Golf Tournament on April 3 at the Towhee Golf Club — an Arnold Palmer-designed course — in Spring Hill. This event directly funds stipends that allow law students to provide pro bono legal work to Tennessee communities.The registration price will be $140 per golfer. Interested individuals can register as a team with up to four members. Individual registrants will be placed in a team of four. Check-in on the day of the tournament will start at 8 a.m. CDT and the tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. CDT. Lunch and awards will follow. Make plans now to join colleagues for a day of golf and camaraderie while raising funds to provide critical legal services to those in need. For more information visit the event website or see the event flyer.

The Tennessee Senate voted late Monday to approve a bill (SB1464/HB2506) by Sen. Jack Johnson, R- Franklin, that would allow law enforcement agencies to withhold information about immigration enforcement and punish elected officials who do not follow the bill. Specifically, the bill would allow agencies to keep private the names and addresses of officers involved in immigration enforcement, giving them more discretion than usually allowed under public records law. The bill goes next to the House State and Local Government Committee, WPLN reports.

A legislative push to double the number of students in Tennessee’s voucher program cleared its first hurdle this week with approval by the House K-12 Education Subcommittee on Tuesday and Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. Chalkbeat reports that Gov. Bill Lee has requested expanding the program from 25,000 to 40,000 students. The next scheduled vote on H2532/SB2247 will take place in the House Education Committee on March 17. The Tennessee Department of Education last month reported 58,000 students applied for the program next year, including 18,644 students currently enrolled in the program who have applied for a renewal.