The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed in Boatman v. Odziana that a trial court may order equal (50/50) parenting time, that trial courts must include provisions for holiday parenting time in residential parenting schedules, and that bans on a parent’s ability to obtain passports and travel internationally with minor children cannot be ordered absent a finding of “a credible risk of abduction” pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-604 (a). Marlene Eskind Moses and Ansley Owens Tillett explain in the Family Matters column.

Tennessee Bar Association members who have died recently are memorialized.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Sept. 16, 2025, issued an order inviting public comment on legal access and potential regulatory reform. In the order, the court noted it is reassessing how the profession is regulated “to ensure that all Tennesseans have access to affordable quality legal services.” These issues could have a significant impact on the practice of law in our state. The Tennessee Bar Association wants to hear directly from you. We invite you to share your perspective on the seven issues outlined in the court’s order by completing this brief survey. It should take less than 10 minutes to complete and all responses are anonymous. To help you prepare, the TBA has compiled background materials on a dedicated resource page. We encourage you to review those materials before submitting your responses. The survey will remain open until 11:45 p.m. CST on Feb. 20. The TBA also is holding a series of virtual town halls to gather feedback from the legal community. Each event will focus on one or two specific areas of potential regulation. See the list of events.

The Tennessee Bar Journal is accepting immediate submissions for publication, including articles (up to about 3,500 words), as well as specific subject-area, column-length (1,200 words) pieces. Articles should be of interest to Tennessee attorneys — detail a new state law or a complicated area of law, or take a larger issue and connect it to what it means for Tennessee attorneys and the justice system. Find a global issue within your particular experience or knowledge and tell about it and how it affects Tennessee law. We are especially looking for diverse voices — from BIPOC writers, from our friends in the LGBTQ+ community and from attorneys who have had diverse life and legal experiences. Get more detailed information in the TBJ's Writer's Guidelines or email editor@tnbar.org.

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