KBA News

The Network of Enlightened Women (“Petitioner”) has filed a petition asking the Court to amend the definition of “active practice of law” under Tennessee Rule 7, section 5.01(c)(1). First, the Petitioner asks that “full-time private or public practice as a licensed attorney” in section 5.01(c)(1)(A) be replaced with “representation of one or more clients in private or public practice as a licensed attorney.” Second, the Petitioner asks that “teaching law full-time at a law school approved by the ABA” in section 5.01(c)(1)(B) be amended by deleting “full-time.”

View the Comment Order

The Court hereby publishes the petition for public comment and solicits written comments on the proposed amendments from judges, lawyers, bar associations, members of the public, the Board of Law Examiners, and any other interested parties with respect to the attached proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7. The deadline for submitting written comments is July 25, 2022. Comments should reference the above docket number and should be e-mailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or mailed to: James M. Hivner, Clerk, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37219-1407.

The KBA Lawyer Referral and Information Service is a key tool for growing your practice.  The LRIS new fiscal year will start on July 1, 2022 - join now to benefit from a full 12 months of quality client leads at one low price.  Discounts are available for those practicing less than 5 years.  For more details about the LRIS, visit www.knoxbar.org/joinLRIS.  

The LRIS receives nearly 7,000 calls each year from potential clients and refers over 3,000 referrals annually.  Panel members have earned more than $2.27 million in attorney fees since in January 2020.  Potential clients who contact the LRIS are informed that participating attorneys provide a phone or office consultation at no charge, but that panel members independently set their own fees.

LRIS currently has 80 panel member attorneys in 26 practice areas.  The average LRIS member has practiced for 20 years.  We have attorneys in their first few years of practice all the way to 55 years in practice.

LRIS Panel Membership Application FY 2022-23
LRIS Policies & Procedures

 

For Immediate Release
Knoxville Bar Foundation Announces 2022 Fellows
 

The Knoxville Bar Foundation will recognize twelve esteemed members of Knoxville’s legal community at their Annual Reception on Thursday, June 9, 2022.  

 

Each year the Foundation inducts a new Fellows Class which is less than one percent of the active bar association.  The Fellows represent quality men and women practitioners in our community who have distinguished themselves in the practice of law and service.

 

The Foundation's Board of Directors reviews numerous nominations, and determines the inductees who have demonstrated superior legal skills and high ethical standards and service to the community.

 

Catherine W. Anglin, Paine | Tarwater | Bickers, LLP

George R. Arrants, Jr., Kramer Rayson LLP

John G. Brock, Brock Shipe Klenk

William J. Carver, Kramer Rayson LLP

William D. Edwards, Long, Ragsdale & Waters, P.C.

Robert B. Frost, Jr., Arnett, Draper & Hagood, LLP

Lisa J. Hall, Hodges, Doughty & Carson, PLLC

Raymond G. Lewallen, Jr., Baker, O'Kane & Thompson, PLLP

Magistrate Jill E. McCook, U.S. District Court

Eric J. Morrison, Lipsey, Morrison, Waller & Lipsey, P.C.

Jennifer B. Morton, Jennifer Morton Law, PLLC

L. Caesar Stair, IV, Bernstein, Stair & McAdams LLP

 

The Knoxville Bar Foundation is a not for profit foundation established to improve public awareness of the legal system in Knoxville, the administration of justice and the delivery of legal services through the distribution of its funds.

 

JOB LISTING: Programs & Communications Coordinator

The Knoxville Bar Association is an active membership association of approximately 2,000 local attorneys and law students. This position offers the right technology-adept individual the opportunity to execute membership communications, assist in updating the organization’s website, and support member partners and sponsors. The work includes communicating with members, coordinating publications, managing events, data entry, and managing digital marketing campaigns. Small, friendly and fast-paced office environment. Full-time, salary up to $37k depending on experience; health benefits and 401K offered.

 

 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, business, data management, or other related field

We are looking for someone who has the following demonstrated skills and abilities:

• Strong analytics, organizational, creative, and communication skills. Excellent Microsoft Office and digital editing software skills required and financial recordkeeping experience preferred.
• A creative eye with strong attention to detail. Graphic design experience preferred.
• Salesmanship and the ability to inspire and motivate volunteers
• Ability to manage multiple projects with competing demands, while maintaining a commitment to excellence
• High energy, positive, professional, “can‐do” attitude, flexibility, teamwork, and a high degree of initiative required

 

Interested applicants should submit resume, cover letter with 3 professional references, and salary history for the past 10 years by April 29 to mwatson@knoxbar.org or to Knoxville Bar Association, P.O. Box 2027, Knoxville TN 37901-2027. Applicants should include a detailed explanation of experience with communications and any and all prior involvement with non-profit organizations, volunteer coordination, and database management.

 

ADM2022-00281

On March 3, 2022, the Board of the Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection (“TLFCP”) filed a petition asking this Court to consider adopting amendments to Rule 9 and Rule 25 of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court. If adopted, the proposed amendments will increase the annual attorney registration fee from $170 to $185, increase the portion TLFCP receives from the annual registration fee from $10 to $25, modify the limitations on payments that TLFCP may make, and require TLFCP to publicize information about claims that are paid.

The Court hereby publishes TLFCP’s petition for public comment and solicits written comments on the proposed amendments from judges, lawyers, bar associations, members of the public, and all interested parties. The deadline for submitting written comments is June 10, 2022.

No. ADM2022-00355

ORDER
On March 21, 2022, the Tennessee Trial Judges' Association ("TTJA") filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to consider adopting amendments to Rule 10B of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court. If adopted, the proposed amendments will provide for summary denial of improper repetitive recusal motions, give the appellate court a means of supplementing the factual record, and codify existing case law on the scope of expedited interlocutory appeal and the procedures to be followed on remand from orders reversing trial court orders denying recusal motions.

The Court solicits written comments on the proposed amendments from judges, lawyers, bar associations, members of the public, and all interested parties. The deadline for submitting written comments is
May 23, 2022 (60 days). Written comments should reference ADM2022-00355 and be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov.

KBA Member Survey Results Released Evaluating Judicial Candidates on the ballot for the May 3 Primary Election
For Immediate Release

The Knoxville Bar Association today released the results of its Candidate Member Survey for the races related to the judicial system on the May 3 ballot. The Survey asked each member of the Knoxville Bar Association to carefully assess whether the candidates have demonstrated the knowledge, skill, experience, training, education, professional ethics, and temperament to fulfill the duties of the offices to which they aspire. The candidates were rated according to the following options: Strongly Recommend, Recommend, Do Not Recommend, Strongly Do Not Recommend and, Do Not Know Candidate. If an attorney did not know the candidates’ qualifications or had no opinion, he/she was instructed to mark “do not know candidate.”

“The intent is not to endorse any particular candidate, but rather to inform the public of the opinions of many of the attorneys actively practicing in East Tennessee regarding candidates’ fitness to serve in the judicial and related offices to which they are seeking election. The Knoxville Bar Association is pleased to provide this service to members of our community who have few if any encounters with the court system,” said Knoxville Bar Association President Jason H. Long about the KBA’s Membership Survey policy. “An informed electorate is vital to the efficient administration of justice.”

The Survey was conducted electronically from February 25 to March 11, 2022.

As a service to the community, the Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) has developed a “Get To Know Your Judicial Candidates” section on its website to provide information about state court candidates running for judge in Knox County at https://www.knoxbar.org/?pg=Election2022Home. The site includes educational resources so voters will know what to look for in a judicial candidate and can make an informed decision at the ballot box. But the primary focus of the site is the biographical profiles and a link to a video interview of the individual candidates to provide a convenient way for voters in Knox County to obtain non-partisan information about candidates. When reviewing the candidate profiles, carefully consider if the judicial candidate has the breadth of experience relevant to the position he or she is seeking.

View PDF of survey results online at https://www.knoxbar.org/docDownload/1922339.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order today which immediately eliminates the three-foot distancing retirement between persons in courtrooms. It leaves in place the provisions of all other orders not affected by this Order.

View Order

For a comprehensive list of all of the Court's COVID-19 Orders, please visit this link: https://www.tncourts.gov/Coronavirus.

The KBA's Candidate Member Survey for the May 3 primary will be released to the membership on Friday, February 25 and the deadline is March 11. All candidates, whether opposed or not, will be evaluated so we encourage members to participate. The Survey will ask each KBA member to carefully assess whether the candidates related to judicial system have demonstrated the knowledge, skill, experience, training, education, professional ethics, and temperament to fulfill the duties of the offices to which they aspire. The Survey is designed to provide a measure of guidance to voters who might otherwise be unfamiliar with the candidates.

• The KBA Candidate Member Survey has been designed to ensure the anonymity of each member's ballot and to permit only one ballot per KBA member. We know that it is critically important that no one be able to determine how any individual KBA members voted in this Survey. Survey Monkey, the electronic voting software, will confidentially "mark" the member records of those who have participated and disallow further attempts to vote.

 

• Due to firewalls that many law firms, government agencies, and companies have in place, you may find that the email invitation to participate in the Survey will be treated as spam, and the email will be blocked. Make sure to revise your settings to add the Survey Monkey domains (*.surveymonkey.com) to your list of safe senders in your email program. Read more. If you have ever opted out of a survey through Survey Monkey, you can opt-in by clicking this link.

• The Survey asks members to evaluate each candidate's overall suitability for the offices related to the judicial system on the ballot for the May 3 Primary Election. For each candidate, the survey results will report the total number of responses for each of the following options: Strongly Recommend, Recommend, Do Not Recommend, Strongly Do Not Recommend, and Do Not Know Candidate. Each candidate will receive an overall weighted score. The "Do Not Know Candidate" is given a value of "0," so it does not affect the weighted score.

The intent is not to endorse any particular candidate but rather to inform the public of the opinions of attorneys actively practicing in East Tennessee of candidates' fitness to serve in the judicial and related offices to which they are seeking election.

Learn more about the candidates by viewing the 2022 Judicial Election pages here.

The KBA Office closed at 3 pm due to inclement weather. The office will reopen at 9 am.