YLD Programs

Programs for Young Lawyers


"Welcome to Tennessee" Resources
The TBA YLD is committed to providing members with practical resources that increase their membership value. The "Welcome to Tennessee Basket" offers a range of standard forms, helpful links, and suggested reading and practice guides. Be sure to be logged into your TBA account to check it out. If you have a really great form that you use on a regular basis and that you think other young lawyers could benefit from, we ask that you upload it to this link. You do not have to have personally created the form (although, if you did not create it, it does need to be either publicly available or a form you have permission to share). The form could be one that you frequently access online or one provided by the AOC for your practice area. We will go through all forms to review and edit for quality and formatting. Have another resource? Send it to YLD Coordinator Laura Labenberg.

Speaker Database
The TBA YLD values and seeks to promote diverse and inclusive participation in all TBA educational programs. The TBA YLD asks for your recommendations to help identify new, dynamic and diverse speaking talent that might not yet be known on a state-wide level. This databse may also be used for additional TBA conferences, panels, seminars, and events. Sign up here to be included.

Guardian Ad Litem Program
Practice materials for Guardian Ad Litem essentials. The mission of this program is to provide tools to help our young lawyers serve underrepresented youth, regardless of their practice area. Click here for more resources.


Programs for Law Students

 

Balancing the Scales: Voices of First-Gen Lawyers

Members of the TBA YLD board sat down to share their journey to the legal profession on a panel designed to provide advice and insight to first-generation law students and young lawyers. What does it mean to be a first-generation lawyer? What did they wish they knew? What are the pitfalls to avoid? Check out their unique, yet relatable stories here.

Beyond The Bar Exam: Career Choices for Those Who Do Not Want to Be Licensed Attorneys

There are numerous alternative career paths available for individuals with a legal background. Here is an overview of various career options that can leverage your legal knowledge and skills, allowing you to explore fulfilling and rewarding professional opportunities outside of traditional legal practice.

Beyond The Bar Exam: Resources & Opportunities for Those Who Do Not Pass

The TBA YLD is committed to helping those who were not successful on their bar exam. We recommend you read this resource guide to receive encouragement and information on what to do next.

Diversity Leadership Institute (DLI)

The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division's Diversity Leadership Institute (DLI) is a six-month leadership, professional development and networking program for all Tennessee law students in their second, third or fourth years of study. The program is designed to:

  • Develop skills to succeed as a law student and attorney;
  • Empower students to contribute more to the legal community;
  • Provide opportunities for law students to network with the YLD board consisting of young lawyers and judges from across the state;
  • Build relationships among students from all six Tennessee law schools; and
  • Promote an environment in which people with differing beliefs, experiences, viewpoints, and interests can interact with one another and seek to understand the perspectives of others and treat all individuals with respect.

Rural Judicial Fellowship (RJF)

The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (TBA YLD) is proud to launch the Rural Judicial Fellowship (RJF) in the summer of 2025. This program is designed to address the critical shortage of attorneys in rural Tennessee counties while providing law students with a meaningful and enriching clerkship experience. This initiative aims to give rising 2L, 3L and 4L law students an opportunity to spend 6 weeks of the summer as a judicial law clerk in a legal community in rural Tennessee. This program provides a $1,000 stipend and the opportunity to work directly with judges, gaining practical legal experience and fostering connections in underserved areas. Click here for more information on the 2025 program. Participating judges for the 2026 program to be announced in the winter. Click here for the application.
 


Pro Bono Projects


Essential Documents for Essential Workers
The TBA YLD is offering an "Essential Documents for Essential Workers" clinic this year to help first responders, health care workers and others provide for end-of-life planning through wills, advance directives and powers of attorney. To learn more or request a clinic in your area contact Levi Mauldin at levi@joneskinglaw.com.

Expungement Clinics
Expungement clinics help those with low-level criminal convictions remove criminal histories from their records and restore their voting rights. For more information on clinics contact yldclinics@tnbar.org.


Programs for High School Students


The Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition
The Mock Trial Competition strives to give students a fuller understanding of the American justice system by allowing them to experience the legal process first hand. Through role playing as lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, students develop an awareness and appreciation for the mechanism our society has chosen to resolve its disputes. Some students even have been known to choose a career in law based on their mock trial experience. The Tennessee High School Mock Trial Competition is organized, hosted and judged by members of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (YLD). As a public service project of the YLD, there is no charge for teams to compete in the state mock trial competition.

 

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