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Reverse Discrimination Claim by Heterosexual Plaintiff Upheld in Supreme Court Ruling 19 Schooled in Ethics
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Dicta
DICTA is published monthly (except July) by the Knoxville Bar Association. It is designed to offer information of value to members of the local bar association. The news and features should illustrate the issues affecting the bar and its members. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Knoxville Bar Association.
All articles submitted for publication in DICTA must be submitted in writing and in electronic format (via e-mail attachment). Exceptions to this policy must be cleared by KBA Executive Director Tasha Blakney (522-6522).
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Matthew R. Lyon
Robin McMillan
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TENNESSEE CHAPTER
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Adrienne ANDERSON (865) 249-8011
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By: Jonathan D. Cooper Knox Defense
PRINCIPLES OF LAW SHOULD BE WRITTEN, NOT DECREED
We hold that the trial court got it right. In this case, the same plaintiff filed suit against the same defendant for the same claims on behalf of the same putative class based on the same common questions. Our collateral estoppel doctrine exists to prevent this type of second-chance relitigation.
So wrote Justice Dwight Tarwater in Emergency Med. Care Facilities, P.C. v. Bluecross Blueshield of Tenn., Inc., 715 S.W.3d 273, 276 (Tenn. 2025). It is a simple, clear statement that is straightforward and easy to understand. Justice Tarwater applies a principle of law to the facts in dispute and explains the application of this principle in an opinion that spans 20 pages.
Written opinions explain the ruling of a court beyond a simple command to “overrule,” “vacate,” “grant,” or “deny.” Older opinions tend to be written using formal language. I was introduced to the newer style of conversational opinions about ten years ago by Judge Amul R. Thapar, then United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, now Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit:
The Court will therefore just cut to the chase: Has the government pursued inconsistent theories of prosecution against the defendants here and the seven defendants who have pled?
It has not.1
Since the first day of the first year of law school, we have been trained to locate, analyze, and apply written legal opinions to cases and causes in dispute. But as any professor or scholar will tell you, written opinions represent more than a mere tool for lawyer advocates. They are, in fact, the written representation of the rule of law.
Of course, beautifully written appellate opinions are not simply the product of a brilliant jurist. The issue or issues before the appellate court were carefully and expertly narrowed and conveyed to the court by lawyers who litigated the case in a trial court, then spent hours crafting their narrative and argument in a legal brief. This argument was refined and tested in oral argument. The process is repeated if the appeal proceeds to the Supreme Court. The written opinion relies on this refinement, and the author has the benefit of clerks who aid the structure and wordsmithing of the final product.
Because opinions are in writing, our state and nation receive meaningful language that becomes part of our culture. For example, “Prior to any questioning, [a] person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.”2 The so-called “Miranda warning” was not created by a legislature, but by a court, and yet this principle is used every day by law enforcement and is an institution perpetuated by television and cinema. These words were authored by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren nearly 60 years ago, and they are now ingrained in both our legal and popular culture.
There are so many other judicially created phrases that are part of my legal lexicon: “plain view,”3 “fruit of the poisonous tree,”4 “abuse of
discretion,”5 “stop and frisk.”6 These legal principles were developed and published in opinions which serve our society. Because the principles are supported by written analysis, they may be easily challenged, updated, reinforced, or abandoned by subsequent opinions, with any modification supported by its own written analysis. This process is part of our nation’s rule of law.
Which is why the growing use by the U.S. Supreme Court of socalled “shadow dockets”7 has received criticism. This term refers to the use of an unsigned ruling by the Supreme Court to grant or vacate an injunction or stay, or to otherwise grant emergency relief with no written explanation or guiding analysis. This can be especially concerning when the case involves controversial issues which ordinarily require briefing, oral argument, and the majority’s written explanation for the ruling.8
One such ruling was issued on September 8, 2025, in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, 606 U.S. ___ (2025), which stayed an injunction ordered by a federal trial court in California and upheld by the 9th Circuit. The injunction prohibited seizures of persons based solely on race and ethnicity. Because the Supreme Court stay of this prohibition is made without a written opinion,9 the public is left with the impression that warrantless, suspicionless seizures may be justified by the color of a person’s skin, the language they are speaking, or their presence at certain locations.
The increasing use of the shadow docket by the Supreme Court creates confusion and uncertainty over the broader application of the Court’s decree and the principle which must be applied in future cases. “Even the judges who enjoined the government in the very case before the Supreme Court are sometimes left confused about what, if anything, remains in effect from their initial injunction.”10
Written legal opinions provide certainty and guidance critical for respect of the rule of law. We rely on them in our profession. For this reason, principles of law ought to be written, not decreed.
1 Minute Entry Order [Doc. 178], United States v. Hazelwood, et al., Case No. 3:16-cr00020-ART-HBG at p. 4-5 (E.D. Tenn. May 25, 2017).
2 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 1612 (1966).
3 Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032, 1050, 103 S. Ct. 3469, 3481 (1983); Sneed v. State, 423 S.W.2d 857 (Tenn. 1968).
4 Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 488, 83 S. Ct. 407, 417 (1963).
5 See State v. Harkins, 811 S.W.2d 79, 82 (Tenn. 1991) (abuse of discretion method of appellate review is applicable to issues which address the revocation of a community corrections sentence).
6 Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 10, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 1874 (1968); Hughes v. State, 588 S.W.2d 296 (1979).
7 William Baude, Forward: The Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket, New York University Journal of Law & Liberty (January 2015).
8 See, e.g., Dept. of Homeland Sec. v. D.V.D., Docket No. 24A1153 (June 23, 2025) (lifting trial court order preventing deportation of immigrants to countries not on their removal orders); Soc. Sec. Admin. v. American Fed. of State, County & Mun. Employees, Docket No. 24A1063 (June 6, 2025) (stay of injunction blocking DOGE access to SSA record systems); Trump v. Wilcox, Docket No. 24A966 (May 22, 2025) (overturning injunction preventing removal of commissioners from federal Boards).
9 To be clear, the application for stay was granted without written opinion. However, Justice Kavanaugh issued a 10-page concurring opinion, and Justice Sotomayor issued a 21-page dissenting opinion joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson. Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, 606 U.S. ___ (2025) (Kavanaugh, J. concurring); Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, 606 U.S. ___ (2025) (Sotomayor, J. dissenting).
10 Jan Wolfe & Nate Raymone, Judges vexed by Supreme Court ‘shadow docket’ rulings in Trump cases, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/legal/ government/judges-vexed-by-supreme-court-shadow-docket-rulings-trumpcases-2025-09-10/, September 10, 2025 (quoting Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis).
JUDICIAL PROFILE
By: Catalina L.C. Goodwin Ritchie, Johnson & Stovall, P.C.
WELCOME TO THE BENCH, JUDGE ABBOTT!
The Honorable Emily Faye Abbott was sworn in as the judge for Division I of the Knox County Criminal Court on Monday, August 18, 2025, by her friend and predecessor, the Honorable Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Steven W. Sword.
It was my pleasure to interview Judge Abbott, whom I have known for several years, over a cup of coffee during her first week on the bench. Judge Abbott is kind, insightful, and inquisitive, traits that will serve her well as our newest Knox County Criminal Court Judge. She cares deeply about her friends, her family, and her community.
Judge Abbott has been an active member of the Knoxville community for years, and Knoxville has welcomed her with open arms to the bench. A lifetime Tennessean, Judge Abbott grew up in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, a town near Nashville, and stayed close to home by attending Vanderbilt University for her undergraduate degree in English. Judge Abbott was Editor in Chief of the school magazine, The Hustler, and continues to be an involved alumna.
At the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law, Judge Abbott’s aptitude and interests aligned in her criminal law courses, and she decided early on to become a prosecutor. After student internships with the District Attorneys’ Offices in Knox and Davidson counties, Judge Abbott began her career as an Assistant District Attorney General in Sevier County, where she lived and worked for nearly three years before joining the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office as a prosecutor. Working in Anderson County allowed her to move back to Knoxville in 2009. Judge Abbott was an Anderson County prosecutor for over 16 years until she took the bench last month. Judge Abbott has practiced extensively in Juvenile Court, General Sessions Court, and Criminal Court.
Governor’s Legal Counsel just after 10:00 am on Friday, August 15, 2025. She was sworn in the following Monday in front of a crowd of friends, family, and colleagues. Judge Abbott has been welcomed by the bench and is grateful for the mentorship of her fellow judges. The local bar has also warmly received her.
Judge Abbott is grateful for how Judge Sword and later Senior Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr., managed Division I, and remarked that the docket was left in a good place for her to catch up and learn about the cases before her. She has begun methodically reviewing the cases on her docket by reading the files and conducting legal research. Judge Abbott presided over her first jury trial just two weeks after taking the bench.
Judge Abbott has moved into Judge Sword’s former office. A portrait hangs above her desk of a forgotten Knox County judge, whose picture was found years ago in the City County Building. His name has been lost to time. Judge Sword hung the portrait in his office as a reminder that his name, too, will be forgotten. The portrait remains above Judge Abbott’s desk.
Judge Abbott loves Knoxville, but she grew up cheering on Vanderbilt athletics, the Atlanta Braves, and follows professional tennis. Locally, Judge Abbott is involved in the Junior League of Knoxville and Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee. When she’s not cheering on the Commodores, Judge Abbott likes to travel or stick her nose in a novel. You can also catch her at all the tastiest restaurants in Bearden or walking the loop at Lakeshore Park.
Judge Abbott got the call about her appointment from the
When asked about her courtroom style, Judge Abbott remarked that her goal was for the courtroom to be a place of kindness and respect, where defendants can be held accountable but also helped. Judge Abbott is keenly aware of the obvious intersection of drug abuse, mental health issues, and criminal justice. She understands the role criminal justice has in the larger context of treating addiction, while recognizing that addiction cannot always be jailed out of someone with coexisting issues. Judge Abbott was previously involved in Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County, Inc., and is continually impressed by Knox County’s commitment and available resources for individuals with substance abuse. She is interested in becoming involved in Drug Court as she settles into her new role, having already met with Knox County General Sessions Court Judge Chuck Cerny about the Knox County Drug Court.
Judge Abbott is the second woman to serve as a Knox County Criminal Court Judge.1 She will be on the ballot for retention in 2026.
Welcome to the bench, Judge Abbott!
1 The Honorable Mary Beth Leibowitz was the first woman to serve as Knox County Criminal Court Judge. She served from 1989 until 2014.
APPEALING
By: Robin McMillan Attorney at Law
DOMO ARIGATO, MR. ROBOTO
When a party is represented by counsel, Tenn. R. Civ. P. 11 requires that pleadings, motions, and other papers be signed by the attorney.1 The signature certifies that “the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions” in the document “are warranted by existing law . . ..”2
Lately, the legal landscape is filled with stories about attorneys who sign and file documents that cite AI-hallucinated cases. Clearly, the legal contentions in those documents were not based on existing law. And in some jurisdictions, judges have been forced to withdraw opinions when it was discovered that the opinions contained hallucinations.
But recently, I saw a story about AI output that made me laugh.3 Although the substance of this output was not legal, it provides a great example of important points about AI that do apply in the legal world. An AI model was asked to produce a poster depicting the letters of the alphabet each illustrated with a picture of an animal whose name begins with that letter. One might see such a poster hanging on the wall of a daycare or kindergarten classroom.
At first glance, the AI-generated poster appeared to satisfy the request. It showed squares, each containing a capital letter with a cartoon drawing ostensibly illustrating the letter. Below each drawing appeared a word to convey what the drawing depicted. The square for the letter A contained a cartoon drawing of an ant with the word ‘ant’ beneath. The letter-B-square contained an equally cute bat with the appropriate word beneath.
not understand that it was to refrain from making stuff up. AI can and is being trained to refrain from hallucinating, but it must be instructed not to hallucinate. Otherwise, the AI will do whatever it can to please, including making up answers. When asking AI to complete a task, one must be very specific with the instructions.
Second, AI has limitations. Do not expect to use it for every task you might wish to delegate. AI searches for and extracts information and pattern-matches. AI cannot think or reason. These limitations must be kept in mind. I’ve heard stories about AI failing at simple tasks such as calendaring. And there are differences between AI models. Some complete certain tasks well while other models struggle with the same task. Before asking AI to do something, think about whether the task is suitable for AI. And, if possible, compare outputs from different models.
Then things went downhill. The letter C had a drawing of a lizard, which was labeled ‘iguana.’ Closer inspection revealed that several letters, E, K, and N, were nowhere to be found. The letter X appeared twice separated by other out-of-sequence letters. Furthermore, neither of the pictures for X were of items whose names begin with the letter X. Three different letters were illustrated with cartoons captioned with the word ‘wolf.’ Let me be clear, the letter W was illustrated with a wolf, and two other letters of the alphabet also used a picture captioned ‘wolf.’ Some letters were illustrated with pictures of items other than animals. For instance, the letter T was illustrated with a tractor rather than a tiger or a turtle. To add insult to injury, a few of the cartoons were labeled not with the name of the item pictured but with a nonsense grouping of letters that not only failed to form an actual word but also failed to conform to the rules inherent in the English language with regard to the use of vowels and consonants. These are only the most noteworthy of the mistakes on the poster!
We can all laugh at the craziness of this AI-generated poster, but it serves to demonstrate three important points about the use of AI.
First, AI operates on the same principles as other computer programs. Chief among these is garbage in = garbage out. I do not know if the alphabet-poster-prompt was garbage, but it is clear that the AI did
Third, AI output must be carefully and thoroughly vetted. AI models want to please. If AI cannot find an answer, it will make up one that looks like the answer ought to look. This is where hallucinations enter into the mix. For the alphabet poster, the AI generated a cartoon for each of the letters it used and placed a caption beneath each drawing. The fact that not all of the letters of the alphabet were represented, that some of the cartoons did not properly illustrate the letters, and that some of the captions did not constitute actual words was immaterial to the AI. The AI model believed it was doing as asked. If one only glanced at the AI-generated poster, it appeared to satisfy the request. But it is not sufficient to glance at AI output or simply read the first few pages. The entire output must be carefully and thoroughly scrutinized.
The Rules of Professional Responsibility request that we “keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology” in order “[t]o maintain the requisite knowledge and skill” to practice law.4 AI, like other relevant technology, is a tool that can assist. But as with all tools, AI can be wielded for good or for bad. We learned to utilize other tools that changed the way law is practiced, such as computers, fax machines, email, and on-line legal research, just to name a few. We now must strive to learn how to utilize AI in order to serve clients without violating the rules.
1 Tenn. R. Civ. P. 11.01(a).
2 “or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law.” Tenn. R. Civ. P. 11.02(2).
3 In the interest of disclosure, I work for a large legal publisher as a subject matter expert evaluating AI output to better train their model. Despite this, I am far from being an AI expert. But I am learning!
4 Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 1.1, Comment [8].
By: Megan Bataille, J.D.
REVERSE DISCRIMINATION CLAIM BY HETEROSEXUAL PLAINTIFF UPHELD IN SUPREME COURT RULING
In a unanimous June 5, 2025, decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of a woman who sued her employer. The suit alleged that the plaintiff was passed over for a promotion, demoted, and later dismissed from her position in favor of candidates who identified as members of the LGBT community.1
Background
Marlean Ames had been employed by the Ohio Department of Youth Services since 2004. Over the course of her tenure, she held several positions within the agency. In 2019, she interviewed for a management role but was not selected. The position was awarded to a candidate who identified as lesbian. Shortly after, Ames was demoted and received a substantial pay cut, then ultimately dismissed from her employment with the Department. The position she held before her demotion was subsequently filled by a man who identified as homosexual.2
Ames filed suit in federal court, alleging that she was denied the promotion and demoted because of her sexual orientation as a heterosexual woman. Her complaint relied on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against “any individual” with respect to hiring, firing, promotion, or other terms and conditions of employment “because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”3
The Department moved for summary judgment, and the district court ruled in its favor. The court applied a judicial doctrine, developed by several courts of appeals, that imposed an additional evidentiary requirement on plaintiffs who belong to majority groups, such as white, male, or heterosexual employees. Under this “background circumstances” requirement, a majority-group plaintiff must produce evidence supporting the suspicion that the employer is one of the unusual entities inclined to discriminate against members of the majority.4
The district court concluded that Ames had not satisfied this requirement and therefore could not establish the first step of the burden-shifting framework described in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green 5 The McDonnell Douglas framework applies when a plaintiff seeks to prove discrimination through circumstantial evidence. At the first step, the plaintiff must present a prima facie case that permits an inference of discrimination. The burden then shifts to the employer to provide a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its action. If the employer does so, the burden shifts back to the plaintiff to demonstrate that the proffered reason was pretextual.6
Applying the heightened “background circumstances” test, the district court held that Ames could not meet the initial prima facie burden and granted summary judgment for the Department. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, agreeing that majority plaintiffs must make the additional showing. Ames then sought review in the Supreme Court, which granted certiorari.7
At the time, the courts of appeals were divided on the issue. This division meant that the viability of a reverse-discrimination claim under
Title VII depended in large part on the jurisdiction in which it was filed.8
Ruling
The Supreme Court unanimously reversed. In a majority opinion delivered by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Court held that Title VII does not draw any distinction between majority-group and minoritygroup plaintiffs. The Court emphasized the statutory language, which makes it unlawful “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” The Court concluded that because Title VII applies to “any individual,” courts may not impose additional evidentiary requirements on plaintiffs based on whether they belong to a majority or minority group.9
The Court vacated the judgment of the Sixth Circuit and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings under the standard McDonnell Douglas analysis. Ames will now be able to litigate her claim on the merits without first having to satisfy the background circumstances requirement.10
In the opinion, Justice Jackson noted that the background circumstances doctrine had no grounding in Title VII’s text and was inconsistent with the Court’s prior Title VII precedent. The decision resolved the conflict among the circuits and established a uniform national standard.11
Justice Clarence Thomas filed a concurring opinion, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch. The concurrence agreed with the Court’s conclusion that Title VII does not permit the background circumstances requirement. However, Justice Thomas criticized the McDonnell Douglas framework itself, describing it as “difficult for courts to apply.” The concurrence suggested that the framework has led to confusion in lower courts, though the concurrence did not provide an alternative test.12
The Supreme Court’s decision in Ames eliminates a judicially created evidentiary burden that had been applied unevenly across jurisdictions. With the background circumstances requirement rejected, majoritygroup plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs now proceed under the same standard nationwide. The case will return to the district court for further litigation consistent with the Court’s opinion.13
1 Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Servs., No. 23-1039, slip op. at 1 (June 5, 2025).
2 Id.
3 Id.
4 Id.
5 McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973).
6 Ames, at 1.
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Id. at p.3 n.1.
10 Id. at 4.
11 Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Servs., No. 23-1039, Thomas, J., concurring, slip op. at 1 (June 5, 2025).
12 Id.
13 Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Servs., No. 23-1039, slip op. at 3 n. 1 (June 5, 2025).
AROUND THE BAR
By: Hon. Zachary R. Walden Criminal Court Judge, 8th Judicial District
PLANTING ROOTS IN RURAL TENNESSEE: THE TBA YLD’S RURAL JUDICIAL FELLOWSHIP AND ITS KNOXVILLE FOOTPRINT
Many of us went to law school with a dream shaped more by To Kill a Mockingbird than by the hit television show Suits. We imagined ourselves as the courthouse square lawyer, like Atticus Finch, taking on all comers: a will on Monday, a criminal jury trial on Tuesday, an adoption on Wednesday. We pictured a life grounded in service, where the courthouse was the center of community life.
In rural Tennessee, that kind of practice still exists, but the number of traditional courthouse square attorneys is dwindling in East Tennessee towns as practitioners retire and fewer newcomers come to town to take their place.
This year, the TBA Young Lawyers Division established the Rural Judicial Fellowship as a pipeline program to combat Tennessee’s growing legal deserts. The program connects competitively selected law students with rural trial judges for a six-week summer placement. Fellows gain hands-on experience inside rural courtrooms, complete a community service project, and write a reflection on their time. The goal is simple: build a pipeline of young lawyers who see rural Tennessee as a place to build a career.
Six judges, with two in each grand division, agreed to mentor the inaugural class. Circuit Judge Caleb Bayless (22nd Judicial District), General Sessions & Juvenile Court Judge Lee Bussart (Marshall County), Chancellor Jerri Bryant (10th Judicial District), Circuit Judge Mark Hayes (29th Judicial District), Judge Blake Neill (25th Judicial District), and I (8th Judicial District Criminal Court) hosted law students from across the state, including four from our Knoxville law schools, who spent the summer immersed in a one-of-akind rural legal education.
From Manhattan to Madisonville
Tenth District’s local rules. In Cleveland, she volunteered at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore as part of her community service project. She noticed, somewhat to her surprise, that the Cleveland store had more donations and full-time staff than many urban stores she’d worked with elsewhere, a testament to the strength of community in the area.
“Although urban areas have tons of people,” Savannah wrote, “this experience has shown me there is more community in rural areas.”
Reframing the Narrative
Charlie Pritchett, a student at Duncan School of Law and a native of Fentress County, grew up in the 8th Judicial District but found new perspective through her placement in her home’s Criminal Court. “I once believed rural areas lacked care and attention,” she wrote, “but the court system I observed functioned like a living ecosystem.”
Savannah Grant, a Winston Law student, had previously interned in the Manhattan Criminal Courts. But it was in Southeast Tennessee where she first felt what she described as “a sense of community that I had not experienced yet in the legal field.”
From her very first day, Chancellor Bryant treated Savannah not like an outsider, but a future colleague. “When I mentioned I wanted to practice in a more rural community, she drove me by houses for sale on our lunch break,” Savannah wrote. Her summer included observing Chancery hearings, drafting judicial orders, and helping update the
Charlie spent time observing criminal dockets and specialty courts like Recovery Court and Mental Health Treatment Court. She also participated in a back-to-school outreach event aimed at educating local children about the court system. What stood out to her most wasn’t the logistics—it was the human connection. “Sometimes the connection or comfort that you can provide your client is more important than the issue at hand,” she reflected.
From Observation to Ownership
In West Tennessee, Judge Blake Neill welcomed Winston Law student Isabella Turner to a courtroom that values not just justice, but rehabilitation. “Judge Neill genuinely and passionately cares about individuals in Recovery Court,” she wrote. “Specifically, he is invested in their path to recovery and stated that his favorite part of his job is aiding in this process.”
Isabella observed courtroom proceedings, learned firsthand how Recovery Court functions in a rural community, and saw how the court system can be used as a tool for healing, not just punishment. Her takeaway was simple but powerful: “I greatly admire Judge Neill because he not only cares about these individuals themselves, but also the community in which they live.”
Mentorship, Service, and Perspective
Jillian McGauley, another Duncan School of Law student, spent her
continued on page 15
HOW TO THRIVE
By: Emily Heird, LPC/MHSP Vantage View Coaching
THE INNER GAME OF LAWYERING: LESSONS FROM THE COURT TO THE COURTROOM
I’m sitting here watching Djokovic battle through another grueling match against a much younger player at the U.S. Open, and I can’t help thinking about the partner who called me last week—brilliant woman, twenty years of experience, completely paralyzed by perfectionism before a major appellate argument. Same battle, different arena.
As the world’s top players put their skills to the test under the brightest lights in tennis, I’m reminded of how much the inner battles of elite athletes mirror what I see with my clients every day. Both lawyers and athletes are required to have sharp thinking, emotional control, and the ability to perform when everyone’s watching. And both can be completely derailed not by their opponent, but by the voice in their head saying, “It’s not good enough. You’re not good enough.”
Here’s what changed everything for me—and for the lawyers I work with: understanding Timothy Gallwey’s concept from The Inner Game of Tennis. Two simple but revolutionary ideas that can transform how you practice law, the “Two Selves” and non-judgmental awareness.
The Voice vs. The Performer
Here’s what Gallwey figured out that revolutionized sports psychology:
Self 1 (the critic): That conscious, judgmental voice that tries to control every move, criticizes mistakes, and is never satisfied with your work.
Self 2 (the performer): The part of you that actually executes— drawing on your training, experience, and instincts without overthinking every move.
On the tennis court, Self 1 screams, “Keep your eye on the ball! Don’t blow this shot! That last one was terrible!” Meanwhile, Self 2 is simply swinging the racket with muscle memory built over thousands of hours of practice. The more Self 1 interferes, the more tense and errorprone the player becomes.
Sound familiar?
Look, lawyers live in Self 1 territory by design. We’re paid to find problems, spot weaknesses, think ten moves ahead. It’s literally in the job description. But here’s what I see in my practice every week: that same hyper-critical voice that makes you excellent at work is the one keeping you up at 2 AM, replaying every word you said in that deposition.
The lawyers I work with who’ve mastered this understand something crucial: just as an athlete must learn to quiet Self 1 so Self 2 can perform, you need to step back from the constant analysis and let your preparation and instincts do the work.
When Analysis Becomes the Enemy
Let me be clear—analysis is essential to good lawyering. But there’s a line between analysis and what I call “analysis paralysis,” and most attorneys crossed it years ago without realizing it.
Last month, a senior associate told me she’d rewritten a routine demand letter twelve times. Twelve. Not because it was wrong—because Self 1 convinced her it wasn’t perfect enough. Another client spent three
hours crafting a two-paragraph email to opposing counsel, rewriting it again and again because “something might be off.”
Here’s what over-analysis looks like in practice:
You finish drafting that motion and then reread it five more times because “something must be wrong.”
You replay that client meeting for days, second-guessing every response you gave.
You hesitate to send emails because you’ve revised them so many times they’ve lost all meaning.
Like a tennis player frozen mid-swing, you lose the natural flow that comes from trusting your training and practice. The critic is never satisfied—it always insists the work, or you, aren’t enough.
The Power of Just Noticing
Here’s Gallwey’s antidote, and it’s deceptively simple: replace judgment with awareness. Instead of labeling a tennis shot “terrible” or “perfect,” he taught players to simply notice: “The ball landed two feet past the baseline.” No drama. No self-attack. Just data.
This shift is liberating because, when you remove judgment, you reduce tension and create space for natural improvement. Awareness allows Self 2 to make adjustments without Self 1’s constant interference In my work with attorneys, this reframe is transformative.
Instead of: “I completely bombed that oral argument. I always choke under pressure.”
Try: “I spoke too quickly in the first five minutes and lost some control of my narrative.”
Instead of: “This brief is garbage. I’ll never get this right.”
Try: “I’ve got the issue-spotting solid, but my conclusion needs more work.”
See the difference? Non-judgmental awareness turns mistakes into learning opportunities rather than personal indictments. It removes the emotional charge and restores perspective.
Practical Tools That Actually Work
Here’s what I teach the lawyers in my practice:
Catch Your Critic in Action Start noticing the tone of your internal commentary. Is it harsh? Predicting disaster? Simply label it: “There’s Self 1 again.” Just naming the voice creates distance from it.
Shift to Observer Mode When you feel that judgmental spiral starting, consciously reframe:
• Replace “That was a disaster” with “That took longer than I expected.”
• Replace “I can’t handle this” with “I’m feeling anxious right now.”
This moves you from evaluation into awareness.
Trust Your Training Before walking into court or that highstakes negotiation, remind yourself: “I’ve done the work. I’m prepared. Now let it show.” Just like an athlete stepping onto the court, much of your performance depends on practice and preparation you’ve already
We all agree there have to be rules. Remember The Big Lebowski? We would submit it is the best bowling movie of all time, but per “The Ranker” list of The 20 Best Bowling Movies of all time, it is #2, behind Kingpin.1 Ironically, John Goodman is in 3 of the ranked movies. In The Big Lebowski, he plays the unforgettable character of Walter Sobchak.
The scene at the bowling alley is one of the most iconic and often quoted from The Big Lebowski. Walter and The Dude are partners in a league game against Smokey (and Jesus Quintana). Smokey positions himself at the back of the lane and with proper form, knocks down eight pins. Walter demands that he mark the frame a zero because his toe crept over the line. The Dude tries to assure Walter that letting Smokey have the eight is inconsequential in the grand scheme of life. But Walter Sobchak, ever mindful of the need for law and order, wonders aloud if he’s the only one who gives a—ahem— crap about the rules.
Walter Sobchak: “Smokey, this is not ‘Nam. This is bowling. There are rules. You mark that frame an 8, and you’re entering a world of pain.”
The Dude: Walter, ya know, it’s Smokey. So his toe slipped over the line a little? Big deal. It’s just a game, man. Walter Sobchak: Dude, this is a league game, this determines who enters the next round robin. Am I wrong? Am I wrong?2
Walter’s sentiment resonates with many of us, because nowhere is the respect and admiration for rules more ironically applicable than the legal profession. We turn our attention in this installment of Legal Mythbreakers to one rule in particular--THE RULE, in fact. When someone says “The Rule is in effect,” we know well that this shorthand refers to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 615. Rule 615 states:
At the request of a party the court shall order witnesses, including rebuttal witnesses, excluded at trial or other adjudicatory hearing. In the court’s discretion, the requested sequestration may be effective before voir dire, but in any event shall be effective before opening statements. The court shall order all persons not to disclose by any means to excluded witnesses any live trial testimony or exhibits created in the courtroom by a witness.3
In other words, witnesses must stay out of the courtroom so that their testimony isn’t, you know, tainted like a rug that really tied the room together.
But this is the legal profession, not ‘Nam, so there are rules within The Rule. Rule 615 continues by identifying exceptions to sequestration:
This rule does not authorize exclusion of (1) a party who is a natural person, or (2) a person designated by counsel for a party that is not a natural person, or (3) a person whose presence is shown by a party to be essential to the presentation of the party’s cause.4
And finally, Rule 615 also acknowledges that sometimes, the aggressive nature of The Rule cannot stand, man:
This rule does not forbid testimony of a witness called at the rebuttal stage of a hearing if, in the court’s discretion, counsel is genuinely surprised and demonstrates a need for rebuttal testimony from an unsequestered witness.5
Attorneys, for the most part, are familiar with the essence of The Rule. But the nuances found in the Advisory Commission Comments are, to some, lesser known and often overlooked.
First, the Advisory Commission Comments discuss what it termed a “realistic view” of the sequestration rule.6 If “The Rule” is to have any meaning, witnesses should not only be instructed to refrain from sharing their courtroom testimony outside, but lawyers and others present should also be admonished not to transmit witness testimony outside the courtroom.7 But note that a witness may review depositions of other witnesses before testifying.
Additionally, some witnesses may generally be permitted to sit in the courtroom and hear testimony. One example, provided by the Advisory Commission Committee, is an expert witness who will testify based on other testimony.8 This operates in tandem with Tennessee Rule of Evidence 703. It also makes logical sense—Just like Walter said, “Donny can’t wander in [to trial] and expect to understand what’s going on. This isn’t Vietnam, Donny! There are rules!”
But what if a witness is “OVER THE LINE?” In other words, what if a witness inadvertently and unintentionally hears some trial testimony? According to the Advisory Commission Comments, and much to the chagrin of Walter, “the sense of the rule would permit the judge to allow the witness to testify if fair under the circumstances.”9 Even if it is a league game.
But perhaps the most curious of all Advisory Commission Committee comments is the statement that The Rule applies only at trial.10 Tennessee Rule of Evidence 101, a rule that, like a rug, “really ties the room together” states that Evidence Rules apply to rulings in “trial court.” “Strictly speaking, Rule 615 is intended to apply only to sequestration of witnesses at trial. A lawyer who wishes to exclude nonparties from oral depositions must resort to T.R.Civ.P. 26.03(5), allowing on motion a protective order “that discovery be conducted with continued on page 15
OF LOCAL LORE AND LAWYERS
By: Joe Jarret, J.D., Ph.D. University of Tennessee
THE OLD BAILEY: THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT OF ENGLAND AND WALES
“I’ll be bound there is not such a Court in the universe as this – not in the kingdom, and the whole British empire.”
William St. Julien Arabin, Sergeant at Law, The Old Bailey, (1843)
Introduction:
On a recent trip to London, Amanda and I visited The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to by members of the British Bar as “The Old Bailey.” The London barrister who graciously gave us a backstage tour, if you will, informed us that the Old Bailey is named after the street on which it stands. The street right outside the courthouse steps follows the route of the ancient wall that once surrounded London, which was part of the fortification’s “bailey,” or fortified wall.
An Imposing Presence:
The Old Bailey is an imposing, wonderful building that sports a dome upon which stands the bronze statue of Lady Justice.1 She holds a sword in her right hand and the scales of justice in her left. The statue is said to exemplify blind justice, but the figure is not blindfolded. The courthouse brochures explain that this is because Lady Justice was originally not blindfolded, and because her imposing form guarantees her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant.2 Once inside the Old Bailey, one can’t help but marvel at the grandeur of the architecture. As you walk down the steps leading to the courtrooms, you are confronted with magnificently stained glass, oak paneling, and white tiles. Running around the entire hall is a series of axioms. A sampling follows.
“The law of the wise is a fountain of life.”
“The welfare of the people is supreme.”
by the end of King Charles II’s reign, wigs were fully accepted by judges.4
Today, wigs are only mandatory during criminal trials. While speaking with a barrister who was between trials, we learned that although wigs have traditionally been made from horsehair, there has been a shift in the materials and manufacturing of the wigs worn by judges and barristers to meet the socially and environmentally conscious attitudes of the modern day. Today, barristers can opt for a plant-based wig made from hemp.
A Word About Courtroom Decorum:
“Right lives by law and law subsists by power.”
“Poise the cause in justice’s equal scales.”
“Moses gave unto the people the laws of God.”
A Word About Wigs:
Like most American lawyers, Amanda and I were fascinated about those iconic symbols of British law, namely, the white wigs worn by barristers3 in courtrooms across the UK. This formality, we agreed, lends a certain sense of solemnity to the entire proceeding.
According to legal historian Grant Longstaff, wigs became a popular fashion item in the UK during the reign of King Charles II (1660-1685), especially among the upper classes and aristocracy of the time. The wig was seen as a symbol of authority, and lawyers would wear their wigs in the courtroom, as well as outside of it, to show their status and power. Despite evidence suggesting some lawyers were hesitant to wear the wigs,
Thanks to our guide, Amanda and I were able to observe a portion of a criminal trial. We were immediately captivated by the polite, almost gracious manner in which the barristers conducted themselves, and treated one another, without surrendering the zealous representation of their respective clients. Clearly, we aren’t the first American lawyers to witness such professional conduct. In 1944, an American Army Officer and attorney stationed in London, observed a trial at the Old Bailey. He had this to say: “The most remarkable thing, to me, about the whole trial, was the superior decorum and propriety with which the proceedings were conducted. All persons in the room seemed to contribute to an atmosphere of candid desire to do justice. There were no cynical asides, such as one hears in our criminal courts, most often as sophisticated tribute to well-known practicalities. I find it hard to visualize an American Assistant District Attorney recommending acquittal when there exists a single shred of evidence upon which to hang a conviction. Here I saw no rudeness between counsel, and no attempt to get in objectionable evidence. These barristers were thorough masters of the good rules of evidence, and the result of that and good faith was the most orderly trial I have ever heard.” 5
Summary:
Needles to say, if you are ever in London, a trip to this enduring symbol of British Justice is well worth your time. After all, how many courthouses greet entering lawyers with the words, “Defend the Children of the Poor & Punish the Wrongdoer”?!
1 The Statue of Lady Justice, simply dubbed “Justice Statue” was created by British sculptor F.W. Pomeroy between 1905-1906.
2 History of The Old Bailey Courthouse, The Digital Humanities Institute at the University of Sheffield, 2022
3 In Great Britain, trial lawyers are referred to as “barristers,” while transactional lawyers are referred to as “solicitors.”
4 Longstaff, Greg, “Why Barristers Wear Wigs,” 2023, Legal University Blog entry.
5 Gaines, Stanley, The Old Bailey, an American View, 88 Solic. J. 401 (1944), Issue 49.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Civil Rights. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, “These are the rights that are granted to every citizen of the United States by the constitution and all of its amendments.”1 According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, civil rights are “guarantees of equal social opportunities and equal protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other personal characteristics.”2 According to Wikipedia, they are “a class of rights that protects freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations and private individuals. They ensure one’s entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of society and the state.”3
So do “civil rights” include the right of bystanders to not be wounded by stray police gunfire when the police are attempting to make an arrest?
Eight years ago, in May 2017, the Metropolitan Nashville Police was called to the Guirguis residence.4 It was early in the morning, and by all accounts, things were chaotic at best. The initial call had to do with a potential residential burglary, but then, it became known that the suspect was Mr. Guirguis, and his wife Jospheen had an order of protection again him. Someone from inside the house reported that he was trying to break into the home where Jospheen lived with her two daughters.5
The person who made the 911 call was Mariam, one of Jospheen’s daughters, and by the time the police arrived, they found Mr. Guirguis and Jospheen on the front porch “engaged in a struggle.”6 Jospheen’s younger daughter, 10-year-old Martena, was near the doorway.7 Jospheen said her husband fired a gun into the air when he saw the police.8 The officers present said that Mr. Guirguis pointed his gun at one of the officers after he was asked to drop the weapon.9
Either way, it was undisputed that both Mr. Guirguis and three of the four police officers on site fired their weapons multiple times. Jospheen stated, “They broke everything, windows, doors, I was telling you it was a war.”10 In the process, Jospheen and Martena were wounded by shots fired from the police officers, and Mariam, who heard and saw the gunfire, sustained emotional harm.11
Within the statute of limitations, Jospheen filed suit against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County for herself and on behalf of her daughters.12 Jospheen alleged that the officers were negligent in firing their weapons at Mr. Guirguis, knowing that she and her daughter were close by.13 The complaint also alleged that, because the officers were acting within the scope of their employment, the Metro Government was vicariously liable.14
After six years of litigation, including filing an Answer in which the Metro Government admitted that the Court had subject matter jurisdiction, the Metro Government reversed course. In 2024, it filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that the Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction – that Jospheen and her daughters’ claims were civil rights claims and therefore did not fall within one of the exceptions to sovereign immunity under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act (GTLA).15
It was an interesting theory. The GTLA generally affirms the wellsettled principle that governmental entities are immune from suit when they “are engaged in the exercise and discharge of any of their functions, governmental or proprietary.”16 However, the GTLA also identifies certain exceptions to this principle in which such immunity is abrogated, and one of those exceptions is when a person is injured by a “negligent act or omission of any [governmental] employee acting within the scope of his employment.”17 But, then there is an exception to the exception if
THREE STARS
By: Melissa B. Carrasco Carrasco Trump, PLLC
the “negligent act or omission” arises from “civil rights.”18 In other words, when a governmental employee negligently injures someone in the course and scope of his employment, the governmental employer can be sued, unless the injury arises out of “civil rights.”
“Civil rights” is not a defined term in the GTLA, so it begs the question of what constitutes “civil rights” for purposes of deciding whether a governmental entity is immune from suit when one of its employees negligently injures someone?
In Jackson v. Thomas, the Tennessee Court of Appeals held that the “civil rights” bar applies when a person’s negligence claims are “predicated on intentional tortious conduct involving the violation of [the plaintiff’s] civil rights.”19 In that particular case, Ms. Jackson asserted that her rights under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution were violated when a court clerk erroneously issued an arrest warrant, so the invocation of the civil rights exception was clear.20 No Rule 11 Application was filed. Since then, several cases involving claims of excessive force during arrest or assault during detention have reached the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and in all of them, the Tennessee Court of Appeals found that these claims sounded in civil rights and were thus barred by the GTLA.21
But none of them involved a situation like that of Jospheen and her daughters—bystanders who were not the intended subject of an arrest or detention but, nevertheless, were injured in the process. Does the GTLA bar this type of claim? The Tennessee Court of Appeals says it does. Why? Firing a deadly weapon is a “seizure” under Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. The act of firing a deadly weapon was an intentional act (no one claimed the weapon discharged accidentally). The only “unintended” part of this encounter was Jospheen and her daughters themselves. Therefore, they were “seized” for purposes of the Fourth Amendment, which means the predicate act for their negligence claims was an intentional act involving a potential violation of their civil rights, which also means the Metro Government is immune from their lawsuit under the GTLA.22 The fact that Jospheen and her daughters never filed a civil rights lawsuit or claimed a violation of their civil rights did not matter. The gravamen of the complaint is what matters in these cases.23 The fact that the Metro Government litigated for six years before bringing this up did not matter. After all, subject matter jurisdiction “cannot be conferred by consent or waiver.”24 We learned that our first year of law school.
What are civil rights? For purposes of the GTLA civil rights bar, they include tort claims sounding in negligence arising out of an intentional act that implicates a person’s rights under the U.S. Constitution and its amendments.
1 Black’s Law Dictionary, The Law Dictionary, Civil Rights, https://thelawdictionary. org/?s=civil+rights, last visited Sept. 8, 2025.
3 Wikipedia, Civil and Political Rights, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_and_ political_rights, last visited Sept. 8, 2025.
4 Jospheen Guirguis, et al. v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville & Davidson County, No. M2024-01310-COA-R3-CV p. 2 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 5, 2025), available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/membercentralcdn/ sitedocuments/tnbar/tnbar/0214/2853214.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIH KD6NT2OL2HNPMQ&Expires=1757340979&Signature=y%2BgIXsDmTq FYtf63QjDVLGbWfcI%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22guirguisj%5F090525%2Epdf%22%3B%20filename%2A% 3DUTF%2D8%27%27guirguisj%255F090525%252Epdf&response-content-
continued on page 15
HELLO MY NAME IS
By: Bridget J. Pyman Arnett | Baker
HANNAH CLYDE
This month’s Hello My Name Is column features Hannah Clyde, an Associate Attorney with McKinnish Law Group, PLLC, where her practice focuses on family law and civil law. A 2023 graduate of Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law, Hannah also holds a degree in Communication Studies from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is a member of the Knoxville Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, and Inns of Court, and currently serves as Co-Chair of the KBA Barristers’ Constitution Day & School Outreach Committee.
Hannah’s introduction to the legal profession came in an unexpected way. While working at a Smokies baseball game in 2019, she met the Honorable Suzanne Bauknight, who invited her to observe court. The experience confirmed her interest in law and set her on the path to practice. Today, she applies that same sense of purpose to her work with clients, noting that the most meaningful aspect of her role is the opportunity to assist people during difficult times.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy helping people. Most people do not reach out to an attorney unless they need assistance in some aspect of their life. I like that I can be of assistance and have an avenue to use my knowledge to help others.
Describe the person who had the most significant impact on your career.
I met the Honorable Suzanne Bauknight at a Smokies baseball game in 2019. I was working on the Rally Crew, where my job was to take kids down to the field to play games between innings. Judge Bauknight was waiting for a kid to race the mascot around the bases. The inning ended up being really long, so all of us Rally Crew girls got to talking with her. She asked if any of us wanted to go to graduate school. I mentioned that I had an interest in law school but was unsure if I was going to pursue it. That is when she gave me her business card and invited me to lunch. I was shocked, as I did not know she was a judge.
I took her up on the offer. We had lunch together, and she took me to watch Bankruptcy Court and Knox County Fourth Circuit Court. I had never been in a courtroom before, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I decided to go to law school, and here I am, an attorney, six
years later. Judge Bauknight had a huge impact on me, as she made me realize that becoming an attorney was achievable. If I hadn’t met her at that baseball game, who knows whether I would have decided to pursue law.
Tell me about your family.
I am getting married on November 1 to my fiancé, Aaron Malin, who has a degree in Audio Production Engineering and owns his own business, Synapse Sound. He is also currently in EMT school
the fire department. I also have a five-year-old Labradoodle named
In my free time, I like to hike, bake, crochet, and go to concerts. My favorite hikes are always the ones that end at a waterfall. In the kitchen, I love baking sourdough bread and cookies, and when I crochet, I make all
the last 12 months, LRIS
earned over $2.9M in fees
AROUND THE BAR,
fellowship in Marshall County with Judge Lee Bussart. There, she saw a legal system built on relationships. “Between the probation officers, law enforcement officers, court clerks, bailiffs, lawyers, and judges, there is a friendship and mutual understanding,” she wrote.
Jillian joined the probation office for a Saturday DUI School, where she helped lead a program designed to promote accountability and reflection. One exercise asked participants to write their values on balloons, then challenged them to keep those values aloft while juggling the demands of addiction. “These stories were particularly impactful to me,” she wrote, “because whether you are an addict or what many would consider a normal drinker, the consequences are the same.”
By the end of the summer, Jillian knew she wanted a legal career that extended beyond courtroom advocacy. “I do not want my service to my community as a lawyer to begin and end with representation,” she wrote. “I want it to extend beyond that, to making sure that people actually get the help they need.”
A Future Worth Investing In
The Rural Judicial Fellowship, though a new program, has already received national recognition. These Knoxville-area students left their placements not only more prepared but more likely to return. They now understand that practicing in a small town means being not just a lawyer, but a community leader.
Our hope is that this fellowship inspires the future lawyers and leaders of Tennessee’s vibrant rural communities. This summer, we may have just found six of those future leaders.
LEGAL
MYTHBREAKERS, continued from page 11
no one present except persons designated by the court.”11
So, while everyone knows what “The Rule” means, many of us do not actually know what the rule requires and how it is supposed to work. And while the courtroom may feel like a high-stakes league game, the law allows for flexibility when fairness demands it. Sometimes a witness hears something they shouldn’t, and sometimes you roll a frame with your toe just barely over the line. As lawyers, we walk the line between precision and practicality every day. And when in doubt, remember the wisdom of The Dude:
“Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.”
1 Ranker Film, The 20 Best Bowling Movies of All Time, RankeR com (August 1, 2025), https://www.ranker.com/list/best-bowling-movies-list/ranker-film.
2 The Big LeBowski (PolyGram Filmed Entertainment 1998).
3 Tenn. R. Evid. 615.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 Tenn. R. Evid. 615 Advisory Committee Comments.
7 Id.
8 Id. citing Tenn. R. Evid. 703.
9 Id.
10 Tenn. R. Evid. 615 Advisory Committee Comments (1992).
11 Id.
HOW TO THRIVE,
completed.
continued from page 10
Use the 30-Second Reset Before any big moment—opening statements, difficult calls, challenging meetings—pause for thirty seconds. Breathe. Bring your attention to right now. Presence quiets Self 1 and lets Self 2 take the lead.
Master the Post-Game Review After major appearances, write down observations without judgment. Instead of “I was terrible,” try, “My pacing slowed in the second half—I’ll work on maintaining steady energy.” This builds both awareness and confidence over time.
What Champions Know That You Need to Learn
Watch the U.S. Open closely and you’ll clearly see players constantly battling their inner voice. Some spiral after a double fault, berating themselves until they’re completely unraveled. Others reset quickly—take a breath, bounce the ball, and focus on the next point.
The difference isn’t talent. It’s mastery of the inner game.
You face your own “tournaments” every day: high-stakes trials, demanding clients, partnership pressures. Success isn’t just about knowing the law—it’s about managing that voice that says nothing you do is ever enough.
The lawyers I work with who’ve learned to quiet Self 1 and cultivate awareness don’t just become more effective. They sleep better. They enjoy their work again. They show up as the attorneys they trained to be instead of the anxious perfectionists they’ve become.
The Truth About Peak Performance
Here’s what the best lawyers I know have figured out: Your inner critic isn’t protecting you from failure. It’s preventing you from showing up as the lawyer you already are.
The next time you feel that familiar voice taking over—whether you’re standing before a judge, negotiating with opposing counsel, or staring at a blank document—remember that tennis teaches us to trust your Self 2, notice without judgment, and let your training speak for itself.
Your clients don’t need you to be perfect. They need you to be present, prepared, and confident in the skills you’ve spent years developing. That’s the inner game of lawyering—and once you master it, everything else becomes easier.
THREE
STARS, continued from page 13 type=application%2Fpdf.
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Erika Lathon, Fox 17, Woman Claims Metro Officers Opened Fire Because Family Speaks Arabic, Seen as Terrorists (June 2, 2017), https://fox17.com/news/local/ woman-likely-shot-by-metro-police-during-domestic-situation-makes-shockingclaims, last visited Sept. 8, 2025.
9 Guirguis, No. M2024-01310-COA-R3-CV, p. 2.
10 Lathon, supra n.8
11 Guirguis, No. M2024-01310-COA-R3-CV, p. 2.
12 Id.
13 Id.
14 Id.
15 Id.
16 Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-201(a).
17 Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-205.
18 Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-205(2).
19 Jackson v. Thomas, No. M2010-01242-COA-R3-CV, 2011 WL 1049804, at *7 (Mar. 23, 2011).
20 Id. at *3, *21.
21 See Guirguis, No. M2024-01310-COA-R3-CV, pp. 7-8, discussing cases.
22 See id. at p. 10.
23 See id
24 See id. (quoting Recipient of Final Expunction Ord. in McNairy Cnty. Cir. Ct. Case No. 3279 v. Rausch, 645 S.W.3d 160, 167 (Tenn. 2022)).
DON’T WIND UP IN THE DOGHOUSE: ACCOMMODATING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WITH SERVICE AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS
Sunny’s chocolate soulful eyes beckon a passerby to give this sweet yellow lab a pat on the head while telling her, “good dog.” However, Sunny is a working dog, so most people today know not to interfere with her job of guiding her owner, who is blind. She warns of upcoming stairs and low hanging branches, and she also navigates her owner between tables stacked with good smelling plates in a crowded café. Sunny was specifically trained at a school to be a guide dog.
Rufus, a distinguished looking German Shephard mix, pulls his owner’s wheelchair when needed and warns his owner by nudging when he starts speaking very fast and loudly, indicating it may be time for him to take his mental health medications. He was trained by his owner and a family friend to do these tasks.
Fonda Sue is a Schnauzer that loves cuddling on her owner’s lap while watching television and being held while visiting around the community. Her owner said it makes her feel better and more relaxed having Fonda Sue with her for comfort. Recently her owner began having seizures which Fonda Sue seems to sense are coming. Her owner is considering getting Fonda Sue training on alerting to oncoming seizures and getting help. At this point, Fonda Sue’s person isn’t sure if she is able to reliably alert to oncoming seizures, so she is not currently performing this task and hasn’t been trained on this job.1
Let’s find out how to navigate the requirements on service and support animals as you advise clients with disabilities or those who need to know how to accommodate people with disabilities who use service or support animals. Think of Sunny, Rufus, and Fonda Sue and their people partners as we take a walk down the doggie (or miniature horse) path. Yes, I said miniature horse.
Federal Law and Regulations on Service Animals and Support Animals
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its implementing regulations consider a service animal to be any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual,
or other mental disability. The service animal’s care is the responsibility of the individual, not the entity. A service animal may be excluded if it is not housebroken or is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it. Under the ADA, a public entity or private business must allow a person with a disability to bring a miniature horse on the premises if it has been individually trained to work or perform tasks for the benefit of the individual with a disability if the facility can accommodate the miniature horse’s type, size, and weight. Titles II and III of the ADA do not consider emotional support or comfort animals as service animals. Other species of animals are not considered service animals even if a person has a note from a health care provider.2
The Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) covers service animals related to housing and uses the term “assistance animal” to include emotional support animals. The individual with a disability must show that the landlord, homeowners’ association, or local zoning boards were notified of the need for a modification of a no-pets policy. After they receive this request for modification, they may request information from a health care provider confirming the need for an assistance animal. The question under FHAA is whether the policy modification is necessary to allow a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy their property.3 Under the ADA, the questions are whether the person has a disability and whether the animal has been trained to perform specific disability-related tasks.4
Tennessee Laws Specific to Service Animals and Dog Guides
Tennessee has enacted several statutes that address service animals, with penalties for violations. Tennessee exempts private clubs if the members set the club policies and club facilities and services are not available to nonmembers. To knowingly or recklessly maim, inflict harm, or permit an animal within a person’s ownership or control to maim or inflict harm to a service animal is a Class A misdemeanor. To knowingly interfere with a service animal in the performance of its duties or permit an animal that the person owns or is in control of to interfere with a
service animal in the performance of its duties is a Class C misdemeanor. The court shall order full restitution for all damages that arise out of or are related to the offense, including incidental and consequential damages incurred by the service animal’s handler or the recognized training agency or school.5 In certain contexts related to housing and public accommodations, “misrepresenting” (which is defined as fraudulently representing that an animal is a support or service animal) is a Class B misdemeanor that shall also include 100 hours of community service for the person convicted.6
Tennessee law says that places of public accommodations, amusement, or recreation must allow “dog guides” but only when the person is blind, deaf, hard of hearing, or otherwise physically disabled. Failure to do so can result in a Class C misdemeanor. A person who uses a dog guide is liable for damage caused by the dog guide the same as a pet owner whose pet caused damage. Dog guides in training must also be allowed in places of public accommodation, and certain requirements apply. For example, the trainer may be asked what tasks the dog is being trained to perform, to demonstrate credentials, and whether the trainer is currently engaged in the training of the dog guide.7
Service animals accompanying persons with disabilities are allowed in food establishments but not in areas of food preparation. An animal whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support is not a service animal and therefore is not allowed inside food establishments in Tennessee.8
Sunny, Rufus, and Fonda Sue
Our three working dogs got a rest while we were looking at the federal and state requirements around service animals, support animals, and dog guides. Now they are back on alert as they could tell we were getting ready to discuss whether they are able to stay with their person in a business. Sunny is obviously a service animal/dog guide and falls under federal and state laws to allow her to accompany her person anywhere she goes with only minor exceptions. Rufus also works with a person who has an obvious disability, but it may not be immediately obvious that he performs a task for his person unless he is engaged in pulling the wheelchair. The task he performs to alert for medication needs is not obvious. The proprietor can ask only two questions under state and
COVER STORY
By: Sherry A. Wilds, Esq. K Altman Law
federal law: 1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and 2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Fonda Sue, at this time, is an emotional support animal to her person, not a service animal or dog guide. Other than federal laws on housing, places of public accommodation do not have to allow Fonda Sue to accompany her person. If Fonda Sue gets trained for a specific task related to her owner’s disability, including a mental health disability, she would be able to accompany her person to places of public accommodation.
Before You Leave to Take Your Dog on a Walk…
Here are a few general takeaways (check the statutes and regulations for nuances):
• Service animals are dogs or miniature horses that perform a task or tasks for a person with a disability.
• If the person has a disability and has a service animal that performs a task for them related to that disability, let them in!
• Review the federal and Tennessee statutes on service animals, dog guides, and emotional support animals.
• Don’t probe into the person’s disability (remember the only two questions that a business can ask if needed).
• You cannot charge for a service animal (a taxi once tried to charge a friend who is blind a separate fare for her service dog–NO, NO, NO).
• Except for housing, businesses generally do not have to allow emotional support animals as accommodation, BUT
• A person with a mental illness who has a support animal that performs a task for that person related to their mental illness must be accommodated. Remember not to delve into their disability. You can only ask the two questions.
• Tennessee has statutes with penalties for such violations as misrepresentation, harming a dog guide, and refusing to allow a dog guide into a business. The ADA has broader protections for persons with service animals that must be followed but does not have the same penalties as Tennessee statutes.
• And remember, take a walk with your dog whether it is a pet or on the job. Fresh air is good for us all.
1 The animals mentioned in this article are based on a combination of several service and emotional support animals I have known over my years practicing law and working with people with disabilities. The names of the animals have been changed for anonymity.
By: Wade H. Boswell II Tennessee Department of Human Services
WHAT THE F***?!
Can nothing belong to everyone? For more than the past 500 years, the word “F***” has belonged to us all.1 It is one of the most versatile words in the English language, even having a 504-page book dedicated solely to it.2 Our ability to share the use in whatever form or manner a person desires should not be usurped and constrained. Recently, that was called into question.
Beginning December 31, 1991, Erik Brunetti alleges that his predecessors-in-interest first used the “FUCT” mark and have since used it in commerce.3 On May 3, 2011, Mr. Brunetti applied to register “FUCT” as a trademark.4 The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or Board) ruled that the term “FUCT” comprises immoral or scandalous matter and denied it under section 2(a) of the Lanham Act.5 Mr. Brunetti appealed, and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals held that the immoral or scandalous provision of section 2(a) “impermissibly discriminates based on content in violation of the First Amendment.”6 The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court, which affirmed the Federal Circuit holding that “the ‘immoral or scandalous’ bar is substantially overbroad. There are a great many immoral and scandalous ideas in the world (even more than there are swearwords), and the Lanham Act covers them all. It therefore violates the First Amendment.”7
Before Mr. Brunetti even received the decision on the “FUCT” mark from the Federal Circuit, he pushed the envelope further and filed to register the “F***” mark, following up with four more “F***” mark applications prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling.8 The Examining Attorney suspended these applications while the immoral and scandalous bar was under appellate review. Once the Court’s decision was handed down, the applications were removed from suspension, reexamined, and refused on the basis that each “applied-for mark is a slogan or term that does not function as a trademark or service mark to indicate the source of applicant’s goods and/or services and to identify and distinguish them from others.”9
Bolstered by his appellate winning streak, Mr. Brunetti sought to once more negate the Board’s decision. And guess what? He won again.10 Well, sort of.
The Federal Circuit agreed with the Board’s determination that the mark is an “all-purpose word” based on its ubiquity as an “expression to convey a wide [] range of recognized concepts and sentiments.”11 In defense of his mark applications, Mr. Brunetti argued that other commonplace words have been registered and that the Patent and Trade Office was inconsistent as it had approved the mark for use in a snow globe and as gummies.12 The court acknowledges that there will be inconsistencies, as there were over 700 examining attorneys in 2022.13 However, each application is to be considered on its own merits.14 The Board is to examine all relevant data and articulate a satisfactory explanation for the actions it takes, “including a rational connection between the facts found and the choice made.”15 Further, the Board’s findings and reasoning must be sufficient to permit meaningful appellate scrutiny of both the law and the issues of fact. The court found that this guidance was missing.16 In place of an articulable viable registration
standard, the Board took an “I know it when I see it” approach.17 The Board relied upon prior third-party use of the applied-for mark for the applied-for goods and services, but this reliance “does not create a coherent standard.”18 The court found that the Board’s lack of clarity is “especially troubling given the increasing number of failure-to-function in recent years.”19 Without a clearer explanation from the Board, the court could not determine whether substantial evidence supported the failure-to-function denial.20
The court has remanded the matter to the Board to apply an articulable registration standard for commonplace words and to further develop substantial evidence for its failure-to-function determination. It is likely that Mr. Brunetti will not be as successful on this go-round. For those who want the ability to market goods and services under this mark, a Brunetti defeat will be welcome. A likely denial will allow the word to remain in the public domain for anyone to use as they wish. Well, except for snow globes and gummies.
2 Jesse Sheidlower, The F-woRd, 4th ed. (Oxford University Press 2024).
3 In re Brunetti, No. 85310960, 2014 WL 3976439, *1, n.1 (TTAB August 1, 2014).
4 Id. at *1, n. 2.
5 Id. at *6; 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a).
6 In re Brunetti, 877 F.3d 1330, 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2017).
7 Iancu v. Brunetti, 588 U.S. 388, 399, 139 S.Ct. 2294, 2302 (2019).
8 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Serial Number 87577812, Aug. 21, 2017; U.S. Serial Numbers 88308426, 88308434, and 88308451, Feb. 20, 2019; and U.S. Serial Number 88310900, Feb. 21, 2019. The initial 2017 mark application is not part of the subsequent appeal.
9 In re Brunetti, 2022 WL 3644733, *4 (Aug. 22, 2022).
10 In re Brunetti, Case No. 23-1539, ECF No. 95 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 26, 2025).
11 Id. at 13.
12 Id. The snow globes are available online, retail from $65-$80 dollars, and will make a memorable Christmas gift for years to come.
13 Id. at 15.
14 Id.
15 Id. at 17 (internal citations omitted).
16 Id.
17 Id. at 18.
18 Id. at 20.
19 Id.
20 Id. at 20-21.
SCHOOLED IN ETHICS
By: Alex B. Long
Williford Gragg Distinguished Professor of Law
University
of Tennessee
College
of Law
NEW ABA ETHICS OPINION:
WHEN DOES TERMINATING A LAWYER-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP HAVE A “MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT” ON A CLIENT’S INTEREST?
Hypo: Alice, a lawyer, recently agreed to represent Bob in a matter. Bob seemed pleasant enough when Alice first agreed to represent him. But in the two days after Alice agreed to represent him, Bob has bombarded Alice with multiple emails requesting information from Alice. Alice learns from a colleague that Bob had displayed similar behavior when he had represented Bob and that Bob’s behavior made the representation unreasonably difficult. Reasonably fearing a repeat of the same behavior, Alice would like to terminate her representation of Bob. But when Alice reviews Rule 1.16 of the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct, she sees only one possible basis for permissive withdrawal.
TRPC Rule 1.16 lists the situations in which a lawyer must withdraw from representation (e.g., where the representation would result in a violation of the rules) and when a lawyer is permitted--but not required--to withdraw. By agreeing to represent a client, a lawyer impliedly agrees to represent that client until the conclusion of the matter. So, while a client does not need any reason to terminate a lawyer-client relationship, in most situations a lawyer does. Rule 1.16(b) lists eight situations in which a lawyer is permitted to terminate a representation. Nearly all of these entries involve situations in which some event or circumstance provides a lawyer with “good cause” to withdraw. These include where the client fails substantially to fulfill an obligation to the lawyer regarding the lawyer’s services, the representation will result in an unanticipated and substantial financial burden on the lawyer, or the representation has been rendered unreasonably difficult by the client. But Rule 1.16(b)(1) is an exception. Under this paragraph, a lawyer may withdraw if “withdrawal can be accomplished without material adverse effect on the interests of the client.” Thus, there need not be any precipitating event or “good cause” that prompts a lawyer to withdraw under this paragraph. It enough that the lawyer can terminate the relationship without “material adverse effect on the interests of the client.”
This begs the question as to what qualifies as a “material adverse effect.” ABA Formal Opinion 516, issued earlier this year, attempts to answer this question.1 Relying upon other state’s ethics opinions, the ABA opinion explains that withdrawal would have a material adverse effect “if the lawyer’s withdrawal would significantly harm the client’s interests in the matter in which the lawyer represents the client.” Examples could include if the lawyer’s withdrawal would result in:
• significant harm to the forward progress of the client’s matter,
• significant increase in the cost of the matter,
• or significant harm to the client’s ability to achieve the legal objectives that the lawyer previously agreed to pursue in the representation.
The opinion also provides some examples of when withdrawal is or is not likely to result in a material adverse effect. Most are a matter of common sense.
Circumstances where withdrawal is likely to have a material adverse effect:
• where no substitute counsel is available who can complete the representation within the designated timeframe;
• where the original lawyer has unique abilities or unique knowledge that cannot be replicated; and
• where a new lawyer will have to duplicate the original lawyer’s expenses in order to get up to speed.
An example from Tennessee is State v. Reid, 213 S.W.3d 792 (Tenn. 2006). There, appointed counsel in a capital murder case sought to withdraw just two weeks prior to jury selection. The Tennessee Supreme Court stated that allowing counsel to withdraw at this late date would have had a material adverse effect on the defendant and upheld the trial judge’s refusal to permit counsel to withdraw.
Circumstances where withdrawal is unlikely to have a material adverse effect:
• where the representation “has barely gotten off the ground”;
• where co-counsel can successfully complete the remaining work;
• where the lawyer’s work is substantially completed, and any remaining work does not require the lawyer’s particular knowledge of the client and the matter.
The hypo at the outset of the article involves the situation in which the representation “has barely gotten off the ground.” As described by the ABA opinion, this is a situation in which “very soon after accepting a representation, the lawyer realizes that,” for whatever reason, the representation is untenable. Absent some pressing deadline or other factor, there is unlikely to be any material adverse effect and withdrawal is likely an appropriate course of action.
Of course, the fact that the Rules of Professional Conduct provide that a lawyer may withdraw from representation does not necessarily end the matter. The Tennessee Court of Appeals has explained that “[t]he principles embodied in the Rules of Professional Conduct should guide the court’s decision on an attorney’s motion to withdraw.” But courts also have the authority to deny a request to withdraw, even when the TRPC makes it ethically permissible for a lawyer to do so.2 In a different decision, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals denied an attorney’s request to withdraw, in part, because the attorney did not provide any facts on which the court could assess the motion.3 But in filing such a motion, a lawyer must also be careful not to disclose information relating to the representation of the client without the client’s informed consent. A lawyer’s duty of confidentiality prohibits the lawyer from revealing information relating to the representation of the client, even when seeking to withdraw from representation, unless an exception applies.4
Finally, ABA Formal Opinion 516 reminds lawyers of the obligation under Rule 1.16(d) upon terminating representation to take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests, such as
MANAGEMENT COUNSEL: LAW PRACTICE 101
By: Jimmy Snodgrass Bass, Berry & Sims
MAKING SURE YOU CAN ACTUALLY FIRE AN EMPLOYEE FOR POOR PERFORMANCE
“Tennessee is an at-will employment state. That means I can fire them for anything.” “What do you mean that’s not true?”
Even if you are not an employment lawyer, there is a strong chance you have been approached by a client or acquaintance with a story about a poor employee who they are hoping to terminate. Out of all the concepts of law, in my experience, the fact that Tennessee is an at-will employment state somehow resonates the most with business owners. An obvious caveat is necessary—that this statement is true, except for when it is not—such as in cases involving termination for discriminatory reasons, retaliation, for performing protected activities, against public policy, or in breach of an employment agreement.
However, both state and federal courts within Tennessee regularly emphasize and reinforce this principle. “Poor performance is a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for terminating a person’s employment.”1 An employee’s poor job performance is often cited by employers as the reason for their termination; consequently, it is one of the most challenged reasons for the employee to claim is pretextual. Therefore, it is important to define what poor performance actually entails and how it can be demonstrated, as set forth by recent examples within the Sixth Circuit.
In Kovacevic v. American International Foods, the Sixth Circuit addressed the Western District of Michigan’s decision granting the employer’s motion for summary judgment where Ms. Kovacevic claimed that she was terminated from her position as an accounts-payable specialist in retaliation for taking leave protected by the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act of 2020.2 The Sixth Circuit found that the proffered nonretaliatory reasons for terminating Ms. Kovacevic’s employment were not pretextual, as she “failed to learn the company’s invoice system. She wrote checks on bills that were not yet due. She failed to pay vendors. And she left the company’s finances in disarray.” Moreover, the Court detailed that her supervisor had regularly documented errors involving “organization and handling of company finances over the span of months.”
Cases where courts have found that the employer’s proffered legitimate, nonretaliatory reason for an adverse employment action (due to the employee’s poor performance) was pretextual are more illustrative. For example, in Wyatt v. Nissan North America, Inc., the Sixth Circuit
raised issues with the employer’s reliance on negative performance evaluations.3 The Court noted that the manager at issue had recently rated the plaintiff’s performance as satisfactory weeks before issuing a negative evaluation which was the basis for the adverse employment decision.
As another example, in Garcimonde-Fisher v. Area203 Mktg., LLC, the Eastern District of Tennessee noted issues where a plaintiff’s replacement “was not terminated and in fact received a performance bonus despite failing to meet his performance goals.”4 In denying in part the employer’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ Title VII claims, District Judge Collier also noted that “the documentation of the performance problems was not created until after” the termination decision had been made.
These cases demonstrate the potential pitfalls for terminating an employee for poor performance when the performance issues are not documented. As potential best practices, an employer should instruct its managers to document serious performance issues that could potentially result in termination. This includes both disciplinary write-ups and an implemented, periodic performance review policy. But, if a system is not in place, an employer should be careful not to engage in late documentation or any revisions of a performance review. Disciplinary write-ups or performance evaluations should document the issues with an employee’s performance but should not include any subjective or unnecessary commentary.
Ultimately, if a company wishes to conduct performance reviews, they should be under a set policy with established standards to avoid an inference of pretext if challenged. Managers should be trained how to uniformly conduct these evaluations for all employees. Evaluations should focus on objective standards with specific criteria and should note examples of poor performance, if applicable. Giving an employee the opportunity to correct any performance issues raised for the first time in a performance review will also lessen any inference of pretext.
2 No. 22-1675, 2023 WL 3756063, at *4 (6th Cir. June 1, 2023).
3 999 F.3d 400 (6th Cir. 2021).
4 105 F. Supp. 3d 825, 847–48 (E.D. Tenn. 2015).
About this column: “The cobbler’s children have no shoes.” This old expression refers to the fact that a busy cobbler will be so busy making shoes for his customers that he has no time to make some for his own children. This syndrome can also apply to lawyers who are so busy providing good service to their clients that they neglect management issues in their own offices. The goal of this column is to provide timely information on management issues. If you have an idea for a future column, please contact Jimmy Snodgrass at jimmy.snodgrass@bassberry.com.
WELL READ
By: Cathy Shuck East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
EMBRACING LIMITATIONS
Remember the time-management advice about the rocks in the jar? You have to put the big rocks in first (e.g. family, exercise), or you’ll never fit what’s really important. After you put in your two or three big rocks, then you fill in all the space around them with the small rocks, until the jar is full.
It’s sort of good advice, but you end up devoting a lot of space in your jar to things that aren’t as important, or meaningful, as those two or three big rocks. And once everything is in the jar, it’s easy to focus on trying to add more and more little rocks, without ever really focusing on the big ones.
Author Oliver Burkeman wants you to accept this: the jar is finite, and there will always be too many rocks. The key is to make peace with the size of your jar and let most of the little rocks go. In other words, as he puts it in the subtitle of his most recent book, Meditations for Mortals, 1 “embrace your limitations and make time for what counts.”
Burkeman offered similar advice in his first best-selling book, Four Thousand Weeks.2 In that book, he urged readers to accept that it’s simply not possible to get everything done. Life is finite; the to-do list is infinite. But that’s okay! The finitude of life, and our own shortcomings and limits “aren’t obstacles to a meaningful existence,” but are rather the very essence of a meaningful existence.3 The trick is to fully accept that life is short. If we can do that, if we can stop waiting for that perfect time that never comes, then we can do meaningful things today instead of putting them off to some indeterminate future.
Although Burkeman eschewed time-management strategies, checklists, and the like in Four Thousand Weeks, he offers his readers a toolkit of sorts as a follow-up in Meditations for Mortals Meditations is a collection of twenty-eight bite-sized essays, meant to be read one per day over four weeks. Burkeman frames the book as a “retreat of the mind.”4 It doesn’t offer readers a blueprint, or a system to download, but it offers varying ways to think about and embrace our finitude, and to see the finitude as a gift rather than a limitation.
Each essay is just a few pages long. They range in topics from “The liberation of defeat” (Day One) to “You can’t care about everything” (Day Six) to “You can’t hoard life” (Day Twenty-Six). Throughout, Burkeman gently prods his readers to let go of judgments about what we “should” be doing and instead simply just do things. For example, he says, perhaps you want to start meditating. Instead of buying a book on meditation, and then getting a cushion and setting up a nice meditation
nook, and then making a schedule so that you can meditate every day for the next year … just sit down and try to meditate for five minutes today. 5 Burkeman suggests cultivating positive habits by striving to do things “dailyish” rather than daily, as a manageable alternative to perfectionism.6 Burkeman’s key insight is that to embrace our finitude, we have to also let go of perfectionism. In fact, he calls his guiding philosophy “imperfectionism.”7 Embracing imperfection may feel like anathema to lawyers, but Burkeman makes a compelling case for it: the only way to live fully in the present is to let go of the tendency to put things off until you think you have the time and space to do them to your own exacting standards. Very few things actually require perfect effort. Brain surgery requires perfection; spending time with your family, or going for a run, or writing a book review does not.
I read this book last year, just a few months after my daughter Sierra died, and I found it surprisingly applicable to dealing with grief. Losing a child makes it hard to be anywhere, but especially the painful present. The past sucks you in with memories and with agonizing what-ifs. The future is a black hole with land mines, but it’s still easier to go there than stay in the present.
I spent a lot of time imagining a day when I wouldn’t feel as sad and I would do some wonderful project as a memorial to Sierra, or do some grand thing that she would like to have done. But I finally realized that I can’t live the life that Sierra didn’t get to live. I have to stop judging myself for living without her. I have to live the life that was given to me, complete with its sorrows, and not let those sorrows keep me from finding joy in the present.
One of my favorite take-aways from the book is a nugget at the very beginning, in one of the epigraphs: “It is easier to try to be better than you are than to be who you are.”8 I recommend this book for anyone interested in living more fully in the present, and in being who you are.
1 Oliver Burkeman, Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2024).
2 Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks (Vintage Books 2021).
3 Meditations at xvi.
4 Id. at xxv.
5 See id. at 10-11.
6 See id. at 65 (Day Twelve).
7 If this resonates with you, check out his email newsletter, “The Imperfectionist.” See https://www.oliverburkeman.com/the-imperfectionist.
8 Meditations at v (quoting Marion Woodman).
PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT
By: Mary Frances DeVoe Director of Pro Bono Legal Aid of East Tennessee
CELEBRATING PRO BONO MONTH IN KNOXVILLE AND BEYOND
October is one of my favorite months of the year—not just because of the changing leaves and SEC football being in full swing, but because it is “Celebrate Pro Bono Month” here in Tennessee. For more than a decade, the Tennessee Supreme Court and its Access to Justice Commission have designated October as a time to recognize the lawyers, students, paralegals, and community partners who donate their time and expertise to expand access to justice. It is also a time to spotlight opportunities for service and invite new volunteers to get involved!
This October carries a special meaning for me. Earlier this year, I stepped into the role of Director of Pro Bono at Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), following in the footsteps of Caitlin Torney, who many of you in Knoxville know well. Although I work out of our Chattanooga office, my role is region-wide, and I have been spending more and more time in Knoxville—especially now, as we prepare to celebrate LAET’s 60th anniversary and begin the search for a new Knoxville-based Pro Bono Project Attorney. In the meantime, I am delighted to connect directly with Knoxville’s legal community through this column and to thank you for the extraordinary generosity you have always shown toward our clients.
Why Pro Bono Matters
Every day, LAET assists East Tennesseans facing civil legal crises— survivors of domestic violence, veterans struggling to access benefits, seniors navigating scams or healthcare disputes, families at risk of eviction or foreclosure. Last year, we served more than 14,000 individuals, but thousands more never made it through our doors. The need is greater than any one organization can meet alone.
That’s why pro bono is so critical. Knoxville attorneys have always stepped up. From the lawyer who quietly takes dozens of debt relief cases, to the attorney who never misses a Veterans Clinic, to firms that encourage associates to volunteer, the commitment here is nothing short of incredible. These acts restore stability for clients, strengthen our communities, and reconnect us to the reason many of us entered this profession: to serve.
A Time of Transition—and Momentum
Many of you know that our most recent Knoxville-based Pro Bono Attorney, Clint Wren, recently moved on to a new opportunity. Transitions like this are always bittersweet: we celebrate a colleague’s growth while also recognizing the big shoes they leave behind. The Knoxville bar has long had the benefit of strong, dedicated leadership in pro bono, and I am committed to ensuring that tradition continues.
We are actively recruiting the next attorney to step into this critical role. The position offers a unique opportunity to work closely with Knoxville lawyers, judges, the next generation of lawyers, and community partners to grow an already vibrant pro bono culture. I have no doubt we will attract someone exceptional, and I look forward to introducing that
person to you soon.
In the meantime, LAET’s pro bono work in Knoxville is continuing at full speed! Clinics are running, referrals are going out, and clients are being matched with volunteer attorneys. Our Knoxville staff, along with the wider LAET Pro Bono Project team, are ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks. If you’ve been thinking of taking a case or volunteering at a clinic, now is the time! We, as always, are ready to connect you with opportunities to serve your community.
Looking Ahead: Pro Bono Night & 60th Anniversary Celebration
This fall also offers another special opportunity to celebrate Knoxville’s legal community. On Thursday, November 13th, LAET will host our annual Knoxville Pro Bono Night with a special twist, as it is LAET’s 60th anniversary. Each year, Pro Bono Night brings together attorneys, judges, community partners, and supporters to recognize outstanding volunteers and highlight the collective impact of Knoxville’s legal community. So save the date, and we can’t wait to see you there!
Closing Thoughts
When I became Director of Pro Bono in February, I knew I was stepping into big shoes. Caitlin left behind a strong program, committed volunteers, and a culture of service. My goal is to carry that work forward while also making it even easier for attorneys to get involved. That means more flexible opportunities, more recognition of your contributions, and more chances to connect with fellow lawyers who share your commitment to justice.
As Tennessee celebrates pro bono statewide this October, and as Knoxville prepares to gather in November for Pro Bono Night, I hope you will reflect on the role you play in advancing equal justice. Whether through one clinic a year, steady case referrals, or financial support, every contribution matters.
On behalf of LAET, the Pro Bono Project, and the many clients we serve, thank you for your generosity, your commitment, and your belief in justice. I look forward to celebrating with you all this fall!
Save the Date!
Join us for Legal Aid of East Tennessee’s annual Pro Bono Night & 60th Anniversary Celebration!
• Thursday, November 13, 2025, doors open at 5pm
• The Standard at 416 W. Jackson Avenue
• Honoring this year’s award recipients and celebrating six decades of service
Have questions or want to learn about sponsoring the event? Email mdevoe@laet.org
Want to purchase tickets? Visit https://www.laet.org/event/3438/
Upcoming Clinic Opportunities
Legal Advice Clinic for Veterans: In person at the Public Defender’s Community Law Office at 1101 Liberty Street in Knoxville. Phone advice options available. • To sign up, please use the form on the KBA Website or email cwren@laet.org.
• Wednesdays, October 8, and December 10 Noon – 2:00 PM
Virtual Pro Se Name Change Clinic: Via Zoom. Thursday, October 16 4:30PM - 6:30PM. Email mdevoe@laet.org.
Debt Relief Clinic: In person at the Public Defender’s Community Law Office at 1101 Liberty Street in Knoxville. • To sign up, please email cwren@laet.org. • Saturday, November 15 9AM – Noon.
BARRISTER BITES
By: Angelia Nystrom East Tennessee Foundation
FROM THE TIKI HUT TO THE TAILGATE: COCKTAILS FOR EVERY OCCASION
We are quickly approaching my favorite time of year. In September, the Vols kick off, I have a birthday, and, hopefully, the air gets cooler as the days get shorter. It’s also the time when my social calendar starts to fill up, and it’s also when I want to entertain.
I was recently sharing my love for all things Fall with Chris Berryman from Legal Aid of East Tennessee. I lamented that, while I love to entertain, my cocktail game is not nearly as good as my food selections. He shared that he loves making cocktails, and that he even has a tiki bar in his house. I was intrigued and asked if he would be willing to share some of his best recipes with me. Of course, he obliged.
As we all know, in East Tennessee the transition from the blazing hot days deep in the seventh layer of hell into the blissfully cooler days of autumn never happens on schedule. Summer digs in its claws and clings on mercilessly until it draws its last humid breath and finally gives up. We don’t always know when it will happen. It could be September. Or it could be November.
To help make the next couple of months a bit brighter and the transition from summer to fall more bearable, Chris shared three “tiki drink” recipes to cool, refresh, inspire, and offer hope, regardless of the heat index. For a good summertime/early fall drink, Chris shared that the key elements include the following: fast, easy, ice, and options.
Chris also provided a great history lesson in mixology: The exact recipes of the original, true tiki drinks have been kept secret since the late 1930s, and mixologists across the US have worked to deconstruct and replicate. An actual tiki beverage from an authentic bar often contains a dozen ingredients with exact measurements.
Thankfully, we aren’t playing that game today. What follows are Chris’s easy-to-do interpretations using ingredients most of us would have on hand. Chris even provided a few swaps no one has to know about. Each recipe makes ONE serving.
Lazy Island:
This is a take on the classic rum punch you’d make in your tub at college but classier and without the soap scum.
• 2 ounces dark rum (but no one will die if all you have is white rum)
• 3 ounces pineapple juice (but the world will keep revolving if you use orange juice, and orange juice is perfect for a Vol tailgate)
• 1 ounce lime juice (concentrate is always fine, but fresh is always better)
• ½ ounce of simple syrup or just basic honey
Throw all of this into a shaker full of ice and shake well. If you ever use honey in a drink recipe, be prepared to shake for at least thirty
seconds. Strain into a highball or Collins glass over fresh ice. Garnish with something really fragrant: mint or spearmint from your neighbor’s garden or a wedge of whatever citrus fruit is in your fridge. Pro tip: If you want to feel like a true mixologist, top it with ginger ale or club soda.
Mai-Tini:
No one should ever be forced to decide between a Mai-Tai and a martini. It’s like Sophie’s Choice. You work too hard to put up with that. The following gives you a hint of both.
• 2 ounces white rum (spiced rum is even better)
• 1 ounce orange liqueur like triple sec or Cointreau (Don’t have either? You can totally use orange-flavored soda and still feel like royalty.)
• 2 ounces orange juice
• 1 ounce lime juice
• Grenadine. So controversial, yet brave. If you happen to have grenadine, plop a bit in. If you don’t have it, fine. If you’re worried about it being too sweet, leave it out. If you like the sweetness of grenadine but don’t have it, a dash of cranberry juice will suffice.)
Shake well in an ice-filled strainer. Strain into a coupe, martini, or cocktail glass. Do not put ice in the glass. Presentation is everything here, so the garnish, ideally, would be a fun swizzle stick with a cherry to weigh it down, so you can poke your eye out. If you are fresh out of swizzles, garnish with a wedge of any citrus fruit. Pro tip: Float some dark rum on that baby, and minds will be blown. Just remember to leave space for it when you’re pouring from the shaker.
Hot Tropic:
This is both cool and hot all at the same time! #witch
• 2 ounces dark rum
• 2 ounces pineapple juice (orange will do)
• 1 ounce lime juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup or honey
• 2 slices of a jalapeno (or dash of cayenne)
Tricky bit: If you’re using jalapeno slices, put all of the above in your shaker, but don’t add the ice yet. Muddle the ingredients. Then, add your ice. Shake well for at least 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Tons of pro tips and options:
• Sprinkle a few red pepper flakes on top
• Rim the glass with salt or even chili powder
• Want to feel SUPER fancy? Rim the glass with Tajin and thank Chris later.
As the long, lazy days of summer give way to the crisp promise of fall, tiki cocktails offer the perfect bridge between the seasons. Their vibrant layers of rum, citrus, and spice evoke sun-soaked afternoons, while hints of warming flavors—cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg—invite us to lean into cooler evenings ahead. So, whether you’re savoring one last sunset on the patio or toasting to autumn’s arrival, tiki season isn’t over— it’s simply evolving.
giving reasonable notice to the client and allowing time for employment of other counsel.5 Indeed, the opinion notes that taking these steps may lessen any adverse effect on the client. For example, a withdrawing lawyer “may help the client find a new lawyer [and] collaborate with successor counsel to bring the new lawyer up to speed,” thereby lessening any material adverse effect upon the client.6
2 See In re Lila F., No. E2023-01112-COA-R3-PT, 2024 WL 1480174 (Tenn. Ct. App. April 5, 2024).
3 See State v. Gray, No. W2023-011589-CCA-R3-CD, 2024 WL 3535260 (Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. July 24, 2024).
4 See In re Vogel, 482 S.W.3d 520 (Tenn. 2016).
5 ABA Comm. On Ethics & Pro. Resp., Formal Op. 516 (2025).
6 Id.
Your East Tennessee Auction Experts
PRIVILEGED TO BE IN THE LAW
By: Tom Johnson Kramer Rayson LLP
IT’S BEEN MY PRIVILEGE TO PRACTICE LAW
It was a sweltering June 3 in the late 1960’s in my hometown, Baxter, Tennessee. I was holding the end of a hoe while preparing to chop weeds in a row of shrubs that seemed as long as the Mississippi River. It was summer work at the family business, Johnson’s Nursery. Sweat was pouring off me as if it had been raining, and the sun was preparing my face and head for my adult relationship with my dermatologist. As I stood there wearily contemplating the next unhoed row of shrubs, my father, who was wise but not much of a talker, looked at me and simply observed that I might be better fit for an air-conditioned environment and that education would be the key to get me there.
As I neared my final quarter at Tennessee Tech, I came to a fork in the road. I could continue down the accounting road, which, to me, would have been a sterile and boring career. Have you heard the joke about a fun accountant? Me neither. If I did not pursue accounting, what else was there for me? A brief inquiry as to the amount of study required in law school quickly dissuaded me from any further consideration. Finally, as the days passed faster, I suddenly blurted out to my roommate, the late Bill Wray, that I was going to go to law school. Never slow on his feet, Bill quickly replied, “I think I will go with you.”
My first day in law school was a pivotal day in my life. I fell in love with the law immediately. The moment I cracked open those old books, I felt like I had a new lease on life. I know it sounds strange, but the dreaded studying became exhilarating. It has now been a 51-year love affair.
My time in law school was the time of my life. I absolutely loved it. I loved the way it taught me to think, the discipline it instilled, and the intellectual challenges. I graduated law school in August 1973. I worked part time in law school for the late Howard F. Jarvis. Mr. Jarvis was an esteemed trial lawyer and, upon graduating, I practiced law as Mr. Jarvis’ associate. My time as Mr. Jarvis’ associate was cut painfully short by his sudden death while having breakfast at the S&W. While I had learned to love the law, I had no idea how to run a law practice. I was about 25 years old with no idea what I would do. God has blessed me all my life, and He had plans for me. I ran into Archie Carpenter on the street and asked if he knew of any law firms that might be hiring. Archie suggested I contact Andy Johnson at Kramer Dye, et al.
I summoned up the courage to call Mr. Johnson, and he told me they were not looking to hire but that I was welcome to come over and meet some of the partners. We met a week later, and after being reassured that they were not looking for another lawyer, I was pretty disheartened. Fortunately, about a week later, Jack Kramer called and offered me a job. I began my career at Kramer, Johnson, Rayson, Greenwood, and McVeigh on October 1, 1974.
I have been blessed by God all my life, and His leading me to the Kramer firm was a life changer. There, I began working with kind, compassionate, and caring lawyers. Each lawyer was truthful, highly
competent, and brilliant. These lawyers were people I could and did trust implicitly. They practiced law with honor. I saw how hard they worked to represent their clients in the right way. There were no short cuts, no cheating, and no underhanded tactics. These lawyers became family to me. As I began to mature, I learned that my firm did not have a lock on ethical, caring, and highly capable lawyers. I learned that most lawyers in Knoxville were trusted colleagues who shared the same values I had. Many adversaries became my closest friends. I knew that their word was their bond. Like in any profession, there are a few bad apples. Fortunately, we know to avoid them when possible.
As I near the end of my career, I recognize that I have been truly blessed by the privilege of practicing law in Knoxville. Being a lawyer brings with it not just the privilege of practicing law but also a great responsibility in working for clients and great responsibility for the integrity of our judicial system. The privilege of practicing law can bring great satisfaction by seeing how your efforts may save lives, may save careers, may save clients from financial ruin, or may be instrumental in ensuring that injured persons receive just compensation for shattered lives and bodies.
Regrettably, I see some headwinds. Recent nationwide polling suggests that more than 50% of Americans believe that Federal Court decisions are influenced by politics. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and deny that partisan politics has reared its ugly head in our judicial system. Organizations such as the ABA, ABOTA, and the American College of Trial Lawyers, all of which I am a member, have raised their collective voices to admonish over-thetop criticism of certain federal judges. What is often unstated is the valid observation of most Americans that the federal courts often produce partisan rulings. Fortunately, fewer Americans view partisan politics in state court to be a significant problem.
East Tennessee has historically had excellent judges. These men and women in our state courts have made it a privilege to practice law here. I have practiced before numerous state court judges, and I have sometimes disagreed with their decisions. However, I have never encountered state court judges whose rulings were the result of bias or political considerations. My experience with federal judges in Tennessee is the same.
The polling numbers about this issue are shocking and should motivate all of us to address partisan politics in our courts. I am fearful that things will get worse before they become better.
The privilege of practicing law has been more rewarding than I could have dreamed. I have had the privilege of trying over 350 jury trials before non-political, respected, and excellent judges. In general, I have found that lawyers are more trustworthy, as a class, than any other profession. We should not forget the many fights lawyers have helped us win in the march to justice.
FOODIE FINDS: THE BEST OF KNOXVILLE FOOD TRUCKS
By: Parker Bohne LMU Duncan School of Law
J.D. Candidate,
2026
CAFÉ LOMEZ
When Justin Dagostino sipped what he calls his first true cups of coffee, he was in Vietnam and Indonesia, worlds away from the burnt bitterness of drip pots back home. Those cups of coffee weren’t just a drink—they were a revelation. He knew he had to find a way to share the rich, complex flavors of great coffee with others in the United States. He knew he had found a business worth venturing into, despite the risks.
Fast forward years later, Café Lomez, Justin’s food truck, is a staple at the Market Square Farmers Market. But Justin didn’t leap into business right away. He studied the craft. He learned which beans grew best in which regions, how origin affects flavor, and how to brew with precision and care. All the while, he was traveling across the United States, camping at various national parks, where he would set up a makeshift table every few weeks to serve campers.
During this time, he started experimenting with pairings of breads and pastries to serve with his coffee. Then came the beignets. When people started telling him they were the best beignets they’d ever had, they became a staple. The confidence that followed led him to open the first iteration of his truck in Louisville, Kentucky.
There, and now in Knoxville, Justin thrives on moments of surprise. “It’s that element of: I’m standing outside at a farmers market and get a cappuccino that tastes like it came from a café in Italy. Or a teacher gets a cup of coffee at school that blows them away. That’s the vision behind what I do,” he says. He loves being the unexpected luxury—a café-quality espresso served from a food truck in the middle of a school or hospital parking lot or community event.
And then there’s the beignets. Pillowy, golden, and generously dusted with powdered sugar, these fried treats are the ideal pairing for Café Lomez’s carefully crafted coffee. Together, they create an experience that’s both indulgent and deeply personal. (I am not exaggerating at all when I say the latte I had was the single best latte I have ever tasted.)
But what makes Café Lomez truly special is its namesake— Lomez, Justin’s beloved cat of nearly 20 years. Toward the end of her life, Lomez developed health issues, and her veterinarian told Justin to feed her the best quality foods, monitor her, and give her the best life possible. “If I’m going to serve the public,” Justin askss, “why wouldn’t I treat them with the same quality of care I gave to her?” That philosophy guides everything about the truck, from sourcing ingredients to handcrafting each drink. When Lomez passed, Justin decided to honor her memory by donating a portion of Café Lomez’s proceeds every month to Riverside Veterinary Clinic, the South Knoxville clinic that cared for her during her last years of life.
During the week, Justin works at the University of Tennessee, but on Saturday mornings, he is a staple at the Market Square Farmers Market. Recently, he has been a regular at the UT Research Park on Friday mornings, as well. But outside of these regular outings, Justin also books private events, from weddings to firm events. “Lawyers and people studying for the bar exam probably drink a lot of coffee,” he jokes.
No matter where Café Lomez takes him, his mission remains the same: share the magic he experienced overseas, deliver it with heart, and never compromise on quality. Whether you’re a coffee aficionado, a beignet enthusiast, or just someone who needs a warm pick-me-up on a Saturday morning, Café Lomez has something for you—and it might just be the best cup of coffee you didn’t know you were going to have that day.
To reach Justin or book the truck for your next event, you can email him at cafelomez@gmail.com or find Café Lomez on Instagram (@ cafelomez) and Facebook.
Address Changes
Please note the following changes in your KBA Attorneys’ Directory and other office records:
J. David Gonce
BPR #: 020100
Myers Bigel, P.A.
4130 Parklake Ave, Suite 250 Raleigh, NC 27612
Ph: (919) 854-1400 dgonce@myersbigel.com
Ralph H. Lehman
BPR #: 020175
RidgeBrooke Tax & Retirement Planning
9729 Cogdill Rd., Suite 302 Knoxville, TN 37922
Ph: (865) 888-7383 rlehman@ridgebrooke.com
Raymond E. Stephens
BPR #: 015037 Stephens IP Law
P.O. Box 135 Lenoir City, TN 37771 521 Glenview Circle Lenoir City, TN 37771
Ph: (865) 263-6885 rstephens@stephens-ip.com
NEW ATTORNEYS
Dennis R. Ainger Neuberger Berman Group LLC
Jackson E. Barton Clark & Washigton, P.C.
D.T. Christmas Christmas Law Group PLLC
Lari Lynette Edwards East Tennessee Human Resource Agency
Katherine A. Eshleman University of Tennessee Foundation, Inc.
Maria V. Gillen Tennessee Valley Authority
Thomas H. Jarvis Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz
Michelle Kwon
U.T. Winston College of Law
Sarah E.C. Malia Malia & Goodwin
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
THE KNOXVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION IS PLEASED TO WELCOME THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS:
Kathryn A. Mclain
Knox Co. Public Defender’s Community Law Office
Breana N. Query Hodges, Doughty & Carson, PLLC
Marjorie M. Thigpen-Carter Justice Knox
NEW LAW STUDENT MEMBERS
Robert D. Archer
Mikala Basso
Savannah N. Beaty
Avalon E. Beggs
Lindsy Blackburn
Vanessa Bryant
James A. Byrge III
Micaela B. Cate
Zachary K. Colon
Madison Z. Cothern
Dustin D. Daniels
Matthew K. Fisher
Catherine Forsyth
Lisa Gallaway
Luke Gill
Alexus W. Gordon
Chabelie Gracie
Alaina Harelimana
Uriah V. Hutchins
Cameron J. Hinzey
Noor Talib Jaff
Zoe A. Janes
Brandon Johnson
Tyler Johnson
Samantha K. Johnston
Asia R. Joseph
Leen Kalsli
Kim Kurt
LaShondra Lee
Mikayla J. Lightheart
Jessia Lupinetti
Luke H. Martin
Ashley McCourt
Scott Mew
Jacquelynne Miller
Raylee Mitchell
Samantha Moore
Abigail P. Muller
Keaton Powell
Tenesha Powell
Kayla Rachunek
Savannah M. Richerson
Joshua Schnoor
Sarah Sexton
Sasha E. Strader
Jenna Cochran Tanner
Kristin K. Teems
Kaitlyn A. Tully
Christy Urquieta Cortes
Megan Van Horn
Lauren Wallace
Emily E. White
Trent J. White
Chavay Williams
Eli Woodward
Austin H. Worthy
Caroline G. Younce
KBA VOLUNTEERISM
By: Emily Threatt Merchant & Gould, PC
SERVING THE COMMUNITY BEYOND LEGAL PRACTICE
This article highlights the volunteer efforts of KBA members as they care for our community, supporting the Volunteer Ministry Center’s Volunteer Breakfast and new initiatives, including the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking’s Family Table program and Knoxville CareCuts. As community leaders, KBA members have continually recognized the importance of serving our local community, not only through legal practice but also through tangible and monetary giving. It is through the generosity and intentionality of its members that the KBA continues to make an impact throughout the community we call home.
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings Serves Local Communities
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings served as the September sponsor for the Volunteer Ministry Center’s Volunteer Breakfast program. This sponsorship reflects the firm’s dedication to supporting the local communities in which its offices are located. When asked to describe the importance of volunteer work, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings made the following statement, highlighting its firm-wide dedication to service: Even with nearly 800 attorneys across 13 offices in 7 states (and the District of Columbia), Bradley Arant Boult Cummings has always supported each office’s commitment to being a good steward of its local community through both financial support and the support of allowing its attorneys to have the time and flexibility to engage with causes and activities in their respective communities that are important to each office.
We greatly appreciate their support of the Knoxville community.
Mike Hammond Champions Community Service
Mike Hammond proudly sponsored CareCuts of Knoxville this September, providing essential supplies to individuals experiencing homelessness. This sponsorship stems from Mike’s enduring commitment to community service, as he personally gives and encourages others to get involved. When asked to discuss the importance of community service, Mike made the following statement: Since I have been the Criminal Court Clerk, I have emphasized the need for employees to give back to our community. They have responded by volunteering with Alzheimers Tennessee, CareCuts, domestic violence awareness month, prostate cancer awareness month, KARM, as well as Second Harvest Food Bank. I could not be more proud of “the best clerks on the planet.”
Our committee greatly appreciates Mike Hammond’s dedication to community service and his encouragement of others to get involved.
New Opportunities to Give
The Barristers’ Volunteer Breakfast Committee recently announced two
additional ways to make a tangible impact in our community.
Thanks to the generosity of KBA members, the Committee has long partnered with the Volunteer Ministry Center to provide warm meals through the Volunteer Breakfast program. Now, the Committee is expanding its reach with two new sponsorship options, each available at the same $150 level:
CareCuts of Knoxville: CareCuts is a volunteer-run nonprofit that provides haircuts, hospitality, and essential supplies to individuals experiencing homelessness, helping them move forward with dignity. In addition to volunteer opportunities, the organization is currently in need of donated items such as powdered Gatorade, paper towels, ramen noodles, and protein bars. More information is available at https:// carecutsknox.org.
Grow Free Tennessee – Family Table Program: Grow Free Tennessee, part of the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking, provides critical support to trafficking survivors on their path to healing and restoration. Through the Family Table program, volunteers prepare and deliver a meal for 4–6 individuals staying in the organization’s safe house. More information is available at https://growfreetn.org/getinvolved/. For both programs, the Volunteer Breakfast Committee can assist with logistics including shopping for and delivering supplies to CareCuts or preparing and delivering meals for the Family Table program. In August, the Committee purchased, prepared, and delivered a meal for the individuals currently staying in the Coalition’s safe house.
How to Get Involved
If you or your firm are interested in sponsoring or learning more about these opportunities to give, please reach out to KBA Membership Coordinator Bridgette Fly, or Volunteer Breakfast Committee Co-Chairs Miranda Goodwin at mirandaegoodwin@gmail.com and Bridget Pyman at bpyman@arnettbaker.com.
EXPANDING OUR HORIZONS
By: Chris Berryman Legal Aid of East Tennessee
DALLAS: NO ONE MESSES WITH FAMILY
Ahhh, Dallas…the show, not the city. A pop culture touchstone and an instant obsession for me ever since I watched it as a wee lil’ Chris Berryman sitting way too close to the TV. Was I too young to watch Dallas? YES! But it was the 1970s, and no one cared what their children did as long as they rode their bikes home by dark.
Amidst the city of Dallas and the sprawling family estate, Southfork, the Ewings bickered, backstabbed, and brawled through 14 seasons, three made-for-TV movies, and a threeseason reboot. A LOT happened to that family between 1978 and 2014. For example:
• JR Ewing (Larry Hagman): Shot three times, kidnapped twice, in a coma, poisoned, committed to a mental institution, burned down Southfork, went back in time, met Satan, and finally had himself killed in 2014 just to frame his arch-nemesis, Cliff Barnes. #ultimateserve
you?
What if you have no safety net, no one in your corner, and no trusted person to point you in the right direction? Sadly, more than we’ve seen in decades, people and entire communities are being ostracized, disenfranchised, and alienated.
• Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy): Shot once, hit by a car and died, famously came back to life in the shower two seasons later, then was promptly kidnapped before slipping into a coma. #YOLO did not apply to Bobby Ewing.
• Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray): Is she my north star? Obvs. Institutionalized three times against her will, kidnapped, tried to buy a black-market baby, jailed, burned down Southfork twice, BLOWN UP while at the Ewing Oil office, discovered her sister shot her husband, found that same sister dead in the Southfork pool, witnessed her boyfriend being pushed off a balcony and dying, and crashed more cars than you can count. Later, she also ran for Governor of Texas, which, I feel, totally tracks.
• Pam Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal): Pushed out of a barn, thrown from a horse, had an entire season-long dream, drove into a gasoline truck, died, reappeared, died again, reappeared again, disappeared, reappeared AGAIN, and finally died once and for all.
You’d think, frankly, Easter was all about HER.
These are just the highlights.
But why does ANY of this matter, and how does this iconic series apply to us?
In rewatching the series (a time or twelve), I noticed a theme: while they may try to kill EACH OTHER, no one from outside the family better try a thing! When duty called, the Ewings rushed and rallied. No one messed with family.
Here’s the first big question: What if there’s no one to rally around
Numerous individuals who seek legal guidance, especially from Legal Aid of East Tennessee, have no network of friends or family at the ready. They are one missed paycheck, one vehicle breakdown, one illness away from devastating consequences. Recovery from something so small can take months or years.
Systems of support are so important, they’re listed as part of the Key Social Determinants of Health, developed by the World Health Organization and later refined by the CDC. Public health research makes it clear: health is not just shaped by medical care but by broad social and economic conditions.
So yes, when you and I tune into Dallas, it’s easy to laugh at the melodrama and marvel at the sheer number of crises that befell the Ewings. But beneath the soap opera gloss was a truth worth remembering: no matter the scandal, no matter the betrayal, the Ewings always had each other to lean on. That safety net of family, flawed though it was, carried them through.
Now contrast that with the reality facing many of our neighbors in East Tennessee. For too many, there is no Southfork, no rallying relatives, no powerful family empire to circle the wagons when life unravels. Instead, they walk through your doors alone. And in that moment, your entire legal team becomes the support system, the steady force keeping crisis from collapsing into catastrophe. That is both a responsibility and a privilege.
Let’s face it: your workdays won’t come with cliffhangers, freezeframes, or “Who Shot J.R.?” finales (though “Who Misfiled the Contract?” has potential, and I’ve always wondered if I’ll find Patrick Duffy in my shower one morning and realize the past year has been a dream). But what you will have is the chance to be that one steady figure with the patience of Miss Ellie when someone else’s world is in pieces.
No cowboy hat or oil wells required–just your skill, your counsel, and your willingness to stand in the gap, especially if you are in the presence of a community member who has been marginalized, oppressed, or excluded.
And by the way, Lucy Ewing (Charlene Tilton) had plenty of problems, too, like becoming a teen model then stalked by her photographer, but I didn’t bother to list them at the top because, let’s be honest, we’ve all been there on that one.
OUTSIDE MY OFFICE WINDOW
By: Sarah M. Booher Tennessee Department of Human Services
PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS: A MODERN TRAVEL STORY
“As I like to say, a girl with a passport and phone is unstoppable,” I responded to J in April when he asked me if I got everything. We were at TYS, it was April, and I was headed to Porto, Portugal, with my sister and her family.
I mean it when I say that. Those are my travel non-negotiables. Sure, I also try to take the number of days of my trip plus one pair of undies, and some small bills of local currency are helpful, but, as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This road didn’t have a pothole in it.
In June, we decided to test the limits of that mantra from home. In other words, J’s passport was lost. I use the passive voice because there’s a 92.36% chance that I was the one doing the losing. Unbeknownst to me, the day the moving trucks arrived, J had left his passport in a spot he determined to be perfectly acceptable and easily-retrievable later. To me, that was the most ridiculous place in the world to leave one’s beloved passport, and the ADHD devil in my brain said, “Help him. Take it. Put it somewhere safe.”
Famous last words. Be it known to all who read here, if I leave something in a random location, it’s fine and I can return to it instantly. If I put it in a “safe place,” I will never see it again. The elusive safe place remains the apple I can’t quit biting.
and rush order it. On the designated day, he picks up his folder of important papers (I’m just as confused by this notion as you are) and walks out the door. One emergency walk to the downtown post office for a money order later, his application is on its way to the great and powerful Travel Being in the sky.
A week later, hate mail arrives in his inbox. “You weren’t really born. This birth certificate is meaningless. Also, your picture is stupid. Try again.” I’ll give them the photo admonishment. This insane person who always keeps all vital information together in a consistent, established location still had his other original passport photo, so he sent that. Rookie. The birth certificate, on the other hand, is the only one he’s ever possessed. It’s the one he used for his first passport, when he was apparently blessed and highly favored by Ralph, a federal employee a week away from retirement, who approved it with reckless abandon.
I gave in to the temptation, threw the passport in whatever tote bag I was carrying on my shoulder at the time, jumped in the car to follow the truck to the new house, and didn’t think another thought about that passport. Ever. A week or two later, J sits down to apply for matching Global Entry clearance. “Hey, have you seen my passport?”
Who, me? What passport? I’ve never seen your passport before in my life. And I definitely didn’t press “Add to Cart” on Amazon for the case it’s currently sitting in. Wherever that may be. In a galaxy far, far away.
High and low, we looked, far and wide. No box of pots and pans, no plastic tub of excessive Bath & Body Works products, no envelope of expired Salsarita’s coupons and outdated Viking mailers produced the precious passport. May the great and powerful Travel Being in the sky have mercy on its blue-covered soul…. Until one blessed Tuesday, twenty-three days later, when I was sitting at my desk preparing for my hearings. I reached down to grab a tote bag that had become ensnared in the wheels of my desk chair and, just like that, there it was. Saint Anthony got another notch in the “win” column.
There’s a long pause across the line when I am done screaming the great news into the phone. Sadly, he wasn’t taking time for auditory recovery. “That’s great, honey. The only problem is I registered my passport lost with the State Department about 3.5 minutes ago.” The State Department was not to be persuaded. That passport was good as gone. Apply for another one. Thank you, bye.
Cool, we can do that. The first available appointment is 17 days away, but that’s okay. We still have time, and we will be extra precautious
Okay, we will just get a new birth certificate. I did it before when I was applying to take the bar exam. No biggie, we still have time. Online rush order: 2-3 weeks. Oh, no, we don’t have that kind of time. How do we get one in person? Only the person needing the birth certificate or a parent can apply for one in person. Best news ever - his mom lives in Waxahachie. She drove to Dallas County the next morning, armed with only an Apple iPhone that shows a photograph of a loading dock when you google the local health department.
“You aren’t getting this for a passport application, are you? If so, you gotta go to Austin for that.” So, this sweet, precious, atheist angel of a woman gets in her car and drives to Austin, pays for a birth certificate, and overnights it to us to be combined with his new and definitely-notimproved CVS passport photo. I overnight the whole kit and caboodle to New Hampshire (apparently that’s where the great and powerful Travel Being in the sky resides), where it sits unprocessed for a week, until I tell him to call and politely but firmly inquire about his passport. After telling him that it has to go to DC first for screening, and that they will get to it eventually, I put my lawyer hat on and start speaking in an elevated tone in the background about how we should be able to reasonably expect the rush order to still be effective. That nice man either pressed the right button on the computer or walked down the hall and grabbed that express envelope, because less than a week later, we finally had a passport in our mailbox. A passport that says, “Replacement for lost or stolen passport.” A passport that has his old, better photo, not the fresh, $17 one with too long hair that they demanded less than 2 weeks ago. A valid passport that will get us on our way.
And as I jumped up and down with glee in the middle of my potholed Knox County road, waving the passport to the sky, I couldn’t help but think what my father has told me for years, a bit of wisdom I will file away in a safe place with all my other important papers:
