Dan Holbrook begins his column this month with a short quiz about estate tax and valuation. He points out a "valuation mismatch" that, without proper planning, can cause an estate tax surprise for your clients. "The good news," he writes, "is that the mismatch problem can usually be avoided with thoughtful planning and in fact can be used affirmatively to save estate taxes." Of course, Holbrook explains how in "The Great Estate Tax Mismatch."

In 2020 as all organizations learned to adapt, TBA Sections began providing free, remote roundtable discussions on practice-specific topics. For example, the TBA Estate Planning and Probate Section provided an open meeting on remote online notarization and witnessing, leading to a task force that influenced state policy. The Disability Law Section has provided 10 roundtables to date, and the Litigation Section organized a panel of judges from each grand division to discuss practical tips for virtual hearings. Legal concerns regarding important social issues were also addressed, with the Entertainment & Sports Law Section holding a webinar on controversies surrounding confederate statues; the Local Government Section sponsoring a police-use-of-force discussion; past, current and future female presidents of the TBA highlighting the impact women have made on the legal profession; and numerous Sections promoting diversity dialog among members.

The Tennessee Bar Association was recently named one of Nashville’s 2021 “Best Places to Work” by the Nashville Business Journal. Now in its 18th year, the rankings recognize Nashville companies for their teamwork, mutual respect among employees and leadership. The list is assembled after a nomination process and an employee survey that measures team effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, manager effectiveness and more. Organizations are then ranked and winners are chosen in each size category by their composite score. The TBA was honored in the “Small (10-24 employees)” category.  

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