Eight months after his sister went into treatment for addiction, Buddy Stockwell sat on the side of his bed with a loaded pistol in his mouth. “The more I tried to control the drinking, the worse it got. I was going to take my own life,” he says. “I did not want to live in the pain.” In this issue, we talk to Stockwell, who is the new executive director of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program, which offers free and confidential help with depression, grief, loss, stress, burnout, substance abuse, process addictions, balancing practice and family, anxiety, anger management and cognitive impairment. Contact TLAP at 615-741-3238 or 877-424-8527.

"Not the year anyone planned," is how TBA President Michelle Greenway Sellers describes the last year, as she reflects on the work of the TBA and Tennessee attorneys in 2020. In her January/February column, she points out that this year of twists and turns provided an opportunity to demonstrate TBA attorneys’ resilience. 

In July 2016, the Tennessee General Assembly laid the foundation for a disagreement about the meaning of a common conjunction by adding a new statutory ground for terminating parental rights. Two panels of the Tennessee Court of Appeals reached opposing conclusions. Nashville lawyer Nate Lykins describes in this article the disagreement and argues that one of the interpretations is consistent with the principles of formal logic and, more importantly, the drafters’ intent. Indeed, before this issue went to press, the Tennessee Supreme Court had resolved this split with the same conclusion as the author.

Trust account violations can lead to disbarment, civil damages, and even criminal charges. Thankfully, attorneys today have a variety of tools and tips they can put into practice to maintain compliance and keep record keeping as simple as possible. That's why the legal payments and trust accounting experts at LawPay and TrustBooks put together a comprehensive guide to demonstrate how new technologies can help attorneys appropriately manage their trust accounts. DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE HERE