Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby is retiring from the court on June 30, and Access to Justice Committee Chair Linda Warren Seely sat down with her to discuss Kirby's thoughts on leadership over the course of her career. Read this profile on Kirby in the cover story of the Access to Justice issue of the Journal.

For more than 50 years, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has served as the primary federal funder of free, civil legal aid for low-income Americans. Created by Congress in 1974, LSC distributes grants to nonprofit legal aid organizations in every state and the territories, helping ensure that people who cannot afford an attorney still have access to representation in critical civil legal matters. Today, LSC supports 130 independent legal aid organizations operating more than 800 offices nationwide. Laura Brown, executive director of Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS), gives an update on LSC funding for Tennessee's LSC-funded legal aid organizations: Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) and West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS).

"A slave is not in the condition of a horse or an ox. His liberty is restrained, it is true. … But he is made after the image of the Creator. He has mental capacities, and an immortal principle in his nature, that constitute him equal to his owner but for the accidental position in which fortune has placed him. … [T]he laws under which he is held as a slave have not and cannot extinguish his high-born nature nor deprive him of his many rights which are inherent in man." Read more from Russell Fowler.

In her final installment of the President's Perspective column, Heidi Barcus reflects on the need for compassion in the legal profession and the importance of making connections.

Personal jurisdiction and venue are quintessential 1L concepts — bedrock principles of civil procedure grounded in physical geography, territorial sovereignty and traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. But how do these long-standing principles apply to more modern concepts like, for example, a remote workforce? In this installment of "The Law at Work," Ward Phillips and Brandon Morrow examine how remote work affects where an employment dispute lawsuit should be filed.

John Day unpacks Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hospital Inc., the Tennessee Supreme Court decision that dramatically changed Tennessee wrongful death law, in this "Day on Torts" column.

In this issue's "Where There's a Will" column, Eddy Smith looks back at his nearly 30 years of practice as a trusts and estates attorney to share some of the common mistakes he's seen and a better approach for each.

This issue's Closing Statements features answers to the question "Who is your favorite TV or movie lawyer and why?"

This issue's Legal Life highlights 2026 Mock Trial results, a retiring Journal columnist, TBA Board of Governors appointments to vacant seats, June swearing in ceremonies and more.

Tennessee Bar Association members who have died recently are memorialized.

Read about the lawyers who have recently been reinstated, disbarred, suspended, censured or transferred their licenses to disability inactive status.