January 2025 DICTA

Practice Tips: Healthcare Liability Act v. “Normal” Personal Injury Actions . . . Page 7 Management Counsel 101: Managing Pet-Friendly Workplaces . . . Page 21

A Monthly Publication of the Knoxville Bar Association | January 2025

IF THE DOG HITS, YOU SHALL NOT ACQUIT

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DICTA

January 2025

In This Issue

Officers of the Knoxville Bar Association

January 2025

COVER STORY 16

If The Dog Hits, You Shall Not Acquit

CRITICAL FOCUS 5 President Jonathan Cooper

President Elect Rachel Park Hurt

Treasurer Ursula Bailey

Secretary Catherine E. Shuck

Immediate Past President Carlos A. Yunsan

KBA Board of Governors Courteney M. Barnes-Anderson R. Kim Burnette Melissa B. Carrasco Meagan Collver

Samuel K. Lee T. Mitchell Panter M. Samantha Parris Courtney Epps Read Charles S.J. Sharrett

James T. Snodgrass James R. Stovall C. Scott Taylor Alicia J. Teubert

The Knoxville Bar Association Staff

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President’s Message

The Proliferation of Misinformation

Practice Tips

HCLA v. “Normal” Personal Injury Actions

Legal Update

“Exceeding Agency Authority” is the New Black

Schooled in Ethics

The Ethical Obligation of Supervision

Management Counsel

Managing Pet-Friendly Workplaces

WISDOM 6 9

Tasha C. Blakney Executive Director

Tammy Sharpe Director of CLE & Section Programming

Jonathan Guess Bridgette Fly Membership Coordinator Programs & Communications Coordinator

Knoxville Bar Association 505 Main Street Suite 50 Knoxville, TN 37902 865-522-6522 Fax: 865-523-5662 www.knoxbar.org Tracy Chain LRIS Administrator

Volume 53, Issue 1

Dicta

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).

January 2025

12 13 14 15 18

Jason Galvas LRIS Assistant

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.

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Dicta is the official publication of the Knoxville Bar Association

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Publications Committee Executive Editor Executive Editor Executive Editor Executive Editor Brandon Allen Sherri Alley Anita D’Souza Elizabeth B. Ford Jennifer Franklyn Joseph G. Jarret F. Regina Koho Matthew R. Lyon

Managing Editor

Cathy Shuck Sarah Booher Melissa B. Carrasco Wade H. Boswell, II Robin McMillan Summer McMillan Angelia Morie Nystrom Katheryn Murray Ogle Laura Reagan Ann C. Short Eddy Smith Grant Williamson

Tasha C. Blakney KBA Executive Director

DICTA

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Attorney Profile

Wayne R. Kramer: 2024 Recipient of the KBA Governors’ Award

Photo Ops

An Update from the Annual Meeting & Elections

Why Did the Lawyer Cross the Road

Tell Me What You Want

Expanding Our Horizons

Welcome to “Expanding Our Horizons”

Three Stars

Caledonia Forest v. Kedalo Construction - Just Give the Tiles Back

Hello My Name Is

Savannah McMillan

Around the Bar

A New Mission and a New Opportunity to Serve: Veteran Mentors

21st Century Lawyer

My Journey into Creator Economy Law

Legally Weird

Munchausen By Sergio: Not the Best-Laid Plans. Just Plans

Top Ten List

New Year’s Resolutions

Barrister Bites

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree: Tastes of the Holidays

Foodie Finds

Hamburger Hill

Well Read

Lovely One, by Ketanji Brown Jackson

Privileged to Be a Lawyer

Tiny But Mighty

COMMON GROUND 4 20 28 28 30

Section Notices/Event Calendar Barrister Bullets Bench & Bar in the News Change of Addresses/Welcome New Members Pro Bono Project

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SECTION NOTICES & EVENT CALENDAR

Section Notices

There is no additional charge for membership in any section, but in order to participate, your membership in the KBA must be current. To have your name added to the section list, please contact the KBA office at 865-522-6522 or send an email to membership@knoxbar.org.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Section The ADR Section plans regular CLE throughout the year. If you have a CLE program topic or speaker suggestions, please contact the ADR Section Chairs Joe Jarret (566-5393) or Betsy Meadows (540-8777).

Bankruptcy Law Section The Bankruptcy Section plans CLE programs and helps coordinate volunteers for the Pro Bono Debt Relief Clinics. If you have a CLE program topic or speaker suggestions, please contact the Bankruptcy Section Chairs Greg Logue (215-1000), Kevin Newton (588-5111), or Shanna Fuller Veach (545-4284).

Corporate Counsel The Corporate Counsel Section provides attorneys employed by a corporation or who limit their practice to direct representation of corporations with an opportunity to meet regularly and exchange ideas on issues of common concern. If you would like to know how you can get involved or have suggestions for CLE topics, please contact Section Chairs David Headrick (363-9181) or Marcia Kilby (362-1391).

Criminal Justice The KBA Criminal Justice Section represents all attorneys and judges who participate in the criminal justice system in Knox County. Save the date for the annual “Criminal Law Rowdy Roundup” CLE program scheduled for February 6. If you have suggestions for CLE topics, please contact Section Chairs Joshua Hedrick (524-8106) or Sarah Keith (457-5640).

Employment Law The Employment Law Section is intended for management and plaintiffs’ counsel, in addition to inhouse and government attorneys. If you have a program topic or speaker suggestions, please contact the Employment Law Section Chairs Howard Jackson (615-574-6702) or Tim Roberto (691-2777).

Environmental Law The Environmental Law Section provides a forum for lawyers from a variety of backgrounds, including government, corporate in-house, and private firm counsel. If you have suggestions for CLE topics, please contact Section Chairs Catherine Anglin (804-3741), Kendra Mansur (771-7192), or Jimmy Wright (637-3531).

Family Law Section The Family Law Section has speakers on family law topics or provides the opportunity to discuss issues relevant to family law practice. If you are interested in getting involved or have suggestions for CLE topics, contact Section Chairs Blair Kennedy (539-3515) or Laura Wyrick (297-5511).

Government & Public Service Lawyers Section The Government & Public Service Lawyers Section is open to all lawyers employed by any governmental entity, state, federal, or local, including judicial clerks and attorneys with legal service agencies. If you are interested in getting involved or have suggestions for CLE topics, contact Section Chairs Ron Mills (215-2050) or Mitchell Panter (545-4167).

Juvenile Court & Child Justice Section The Juvenile Court & Child Justice Section has speakers on juvenile law topics or provides the opportunity to discuss issues relevant to juvenile law practice. If you have suggestions for CLE topics, please contact Section Chairs Justin Pruitt (215-6440) or Mike Stanuszek (766-4170).

New Lawyers Section The New Lawyers Section is for attorneys within their first three years of practice, and any KBA member licensed since 2023 will automatically be opted-in to the section. If you like to get involved in planning section activities, please contact Section Chairs Dalton Howard (546-0500) or Mari Jasa (546-7770).

Senior Section The Senior Section will meet next on Wednesday, January 15, at Calhoun’s on Bearden Hill. The program title is “What’s The Score” and will feature Buck Jones, a Tennessee Hall of Fame member and longtime scorekeeper for Vols Men’s and Women’s basketball. The luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The price includes a buffet lunch. If you have suggestions for future luncheon speakers, please contact Section Chairs Wayne Kline (292-2307) or Sam Rutherford (659-3833).

Solo Practitioner & Small Firm Section The goal of the Solo Practitioner & Small Firm Section is to provide and encourage networking opportunities and offer high quality CLE programs featuring topics that will help solo/small firm attorneys enhance and improve their practices and assist them with law office management challenges. If you have a program topic or speaker suggestions, please contact Section Chairs Tim Grandchamp (392-5936), Brittany Dykes (214-7869), or Stan Young (209-8034).

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event calendar January

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Law Office Tech Committee Meeting Veterans’ Legal Advice Clinic Professionalism Committee Meeting Access to Justice Committee Meeting Senior Section Luncheon Judicial Committee Meeting Martin Luther King Day Holiday KBA Board of Governors Meeting and Orientation CLE Committee Meeting

February

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Law Office Tech Committee Meeting Criminal Justice Section Rowdy Roundup CLE Professionalism Committee Meeting Lunch with UT Softball Coach Karen Weekly Veterans’ Legal Advice Clinic KBA Board of Governors Meeting The KBA Goes to Colombia!

Volunteer Breakfast

January 2025

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By: Jonathan Cooper Knox Defense

THE PROLIFERATION OF MISINFORMATION Lawyers rely on facts. We may disagree about the interpretation of those facts or the application of those facts, but our practice of law is rooted in the collective acceptance that a matter of controversy or the viability of a written document or the interpretation of a statute can be justly determined by the underpinning facts at issue.

Not so, outside the four walls of our offices and court buildings.

As we are painfully aware, those with the largest platforms and those exploiting available technology can create whatever narrative they choose, wholly independent of accepted historical or scientific fact. This trend is compounded by geopolitical operatives who seek to sow chaos in our society.

This reality, combined with low levels of civic knowledge, poses a great threat to our democracy and the rule of law we take an oath to uphold. Multiple surveys from the past few years demonstrate an alarming deficiency in civic awareness. For instance, the widely cited 2022 Survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center reveals the lack of knowledge of key concepts of the three branches of the government and the First Amendment.1 A survey published in February of this year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that 70% of Americans would fail a basic civic literacy quiz on topics like the three branches of government and the number of Supreme Court justices, and just half were able to correctly name the branch of government where bills become laws.2 At the same time, the public’s confidence in our government institutions is at an all-time low. Distinguished UT Law Professor Benjamin Barton collected a number of surveys—two of which are below3 – to illustrate this point recently in an impactful presentation for the Tennessee Bar Association.4 This year, I wish to identify these challenges, their symptoms, and what we as attorneys January 2025

can and should do to defend the rule of law. I am proud to observe that the Knoxville Bar Association is already very active in areas which promote the institutional integrity of our legal system. From educational programs to pro bono clinics, from committee work to legislative updates, our Association has a long history of supporting our members and serving the greater community.

We will continue to do this. Perhaps, though, our responsibility

extends beyond education and clinics. Perhaps we are called upon to speak more forcefully against misinformation and those who spread it. Perhaps we even have a duty to challenge systemic inequities which may be contributing to a public perception that the rule of law serves only power and privilege and not all people.

I invite everyone who reads this message to reach out to share comments and critique. So long as we can agree on facts and ignore misinformation, I am confident we will be able to work together to promote the rule of law and strengthen our constituents’ confidence in the legal system.

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Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, August 2-13, 2022, Annenberg Public Policy Center. https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/civics/new-study-finds-alarming-lack-ofcivic-literacy-among-americans.

Gallup Confidence of Institutions, https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidenceinstitutions.aspx; National Center for State Courts, State of the State Courts, 2023 Poll, https://www.ncsc.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0038/96878/SSC_2023_ Presentation.pdf.

Benjamin Barton, “Contextualizing the Polarization and Public Perception of the Judiciary,” https://cle.tba.org/catalog/course/6390.

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ATTORNEY PROFILE By: Bill Vines Butler, Vines & Babb, PLLC

WAYNE R. KRAMER: 2024 RECIPIENT OF THE KBA GOVERNORS’ AWARD On December 13, 2024, the Knoxville Bar Association presented its highest award to Wayne Kramer. The award recognizes those lawyers felt to be outstanding both as a lawyer and a community citizen. Wayne is outstanding in both areas.

Wayne’s career path is really interesting. He started out following the footsteps of many in his family and attended Maryville College. (His grandfather was President of Maryville College.)

As a member of the Kramer family, he was expected to go to law school. However, Wayne decided he wanted to be a cowboy!

During his college years he worked at Lone Mountain Ranch in Golden, New Mexico, as a cowboy.

However, the cowboy “changed horses.” and decided to enter the seminary which he did at SMU. Another “horse change” occurred and Wayne followed his family’s expected route and entered law school. He was still not sure about coming back to East Tennessee, however. So, he attended law school at the University of Puget Sound School of Law. This school is in Seattle, which may be one of the furthest points from Knoxville, Tennessee in the continental United States.

a tax lawyer.” His practice involves estate planning, property law, and commercial transactions. However, it has centered around Tennessee sales and use taxes as applied to government contractors as well as taxes as they are applied to property of large corporations like General Motors and Aluminum Company of America. That practice may sound somewhat dry, but all of us know that Wayne is outgoing and Mr. Personality.

In the Knoxville Bar Association, Wayne has served on many committees and was President of the Knoxville Bar Association in 2016.

He has served the community. He was Chairman of the Board of Maryville College for over five years. For many years, he served on the Board of Trustees of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, as well as many community boards.

Wayne met his wife Linda under interesting circumstances. His son and her son were both teammates playing soccer at Oglethorpe University. Wayne and Linda met on a soccer field!

Close friends describe Wayne as compassionate and thoughtful. He personally sustained a tragic loss and has subsequently engaged with fellow attorneys struggling with the loss of a loved one.

The Knoxville Bar Association is proud of Wayne’s service and presents to him its highest award.

Upon graduation, Wayne rode back to East Tennessee where he joined the law firm that had been founded by his grandfather, Russell Kramer. The firm is now known as Kramer Rayson, LLP. Finally, Wayne had found his perfect ride and has practiced there for 46 years. He served as managing partner for four years.

What is the emphasis of Wayne’s law practice? We have all heard the quip that asks, “What is a bond lawyer?” The answer is… “A bond lawyer is someone who does not have enough personality to be

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DICTA

January 2025

PRACTICE TIPS By: Weldon E. Patterson Butler, Vines & Babb, PLLC

HCLA V. “NORMAL” PERSONAL INJURY ACTIONS Important distinctions exist between a personal injury claim that falls under the Tennessee Health Care Liability Act (HCLA) and other personal injury claims. Certainly, there are similarities, such as the need to prove negligence and damages. Further, in Tennessee, a personal injury claim, including one for health care liability (medical malpractice) must be filed within one year of the date of injury.1 While this is a starting point, there are critical distinctions between non-HCLA cases and HCLA cases that will control both pre- and post- suit actions.

To avoid mistakes that come from handling an HCLA case without realizing that it is, in fact, an HCLA case, it is important to first understand whether the HCLA may apply.

In 2008, and again in 2009, Tennessee’s Medical Malpractice Act was amended, setting forth new requirements for medical malpractice litigation. Subsequently, the legislature passed the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011.2 This removed references to “medical malpractice” from the Tennessee Code, replacing the same with “health care liability action.”3 Such an action is defined as “any civil action…alleging that a health care provider or providers have caused an injury related to the provision of, or failure to provide, health care services to a person, regardless of the theory of liability on which the action is based.”4 The statute further subjects HCLA claims or actions to the statutory requirements, regardless of any other claims, causes of action, or theories of liability alleged in the complaint.5 Statutory definitions for “health care provider” include a broad variety of providers, facilities, and entities, including the employee of a health care provider.6 Elsewhere, a broad non-exhaustive definition of “health care services” is given. The HCLA can apply in cases involving care not just by physicians, nurses, employees or representatives of the provider, but also in areas like staffing, custodial or basic care, positioning, hydration, or similar patient services.7 The purpose here is to point out certain critical legal requirements that must be addressed if an HCLA claim is being made.

Pre-Suit Requirements: In a non-HCLA claim, such as a typical car wreck, there are no requirements prior to filing suit beyond filing within one year of the injury. In an HCLA claim, pre-suit notice is required prior to the filing of the lawsuit.8 The good news is that such notice must merely be given within the one-year statute of limitations. The bad news is that such notice is very complex and requires statutory compliance that has caused many Tennessee practitioners to meet their Waterloo.9 Statute of Limitations: Both types of actions being discussed have the previously mentioned one-year statute of limitations (SOL), with the discovery doctrine applying to both. However, once proper notice is given in an HCLA claim, the SOL is extended for a period of 120 days from the date of expiration of the SOL.10 There are technicalities that apply, including the requirement that at least 60 days pass from the date of notice until suit is filed.11 So, if the one-year SOL runs on January 15th, notice must be given by that date. This extends the SOL 120 days, though the suit may not be filed until 60 days from sending notice has passed.

Statute of Repose: There is a three-year statute of repose for HCLA cases.12 Most January 2025

non-HCLA cases do not even have an applicable statute of repose. The HCLA statute of repose has exceptions for fraudulent concealment or when the claim is based on a foreign object being negligently left in a patient’s body.13 Otherwise, this is a very dangerous limitation. A newborn, negligently injured at birth, may have their claim forever barred as they turn three years old.

Expert Requirement: HCLA actions may not be filed without a Certificate of Good Faith, confirming that plaintiff ’s counsel has consulted with one or more experts, and has a signed, written statement confirming the good faith basis to maintain the action.14 As expected, the statute has competency and other requirements for the expert. There are certain exceptions to the expert requirement where the facts are such that the jury can make a determination based on ordinary, everyday experiences, removing the need for expert testimony.15 These exceptions are rare.

Tolling of Statute of Limitations: For a non-HCLA claim, the time to file a personal injury action, for individuals under 18 years of age or adjudicated incompetent, extends to one year after the individual reaches the age of majority, or one year after legal rights are restored, respectively.16 Likewise, in an HCLA claim, the SOL is tolled through the plaintiff ’s minority or legal disability.17 The three-year statute of repose in a HCLA claim is not tolled for minority or incapacity.18 Therefore, a minor younger than 15 years old will have their claim barred before their 18th birthday.

When in Doubt: The statutory provisions controlling HCLA claims provide few patient-friendly provisions. One helpful section states that “[i]n the event that a complaint is filed in good faith reliance on the extension of the statute of limitations or repose granted by this section and it is later determined that the claim is not a[n] [HCLA] claim, the 120-day extension of the statute of limitations and repose granted by this section is still available to the plaintiff.”19 The lesson here is that when in good faith doubt, treat the claim as a HCLA claim.

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Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(1)(A).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-101 et seq.

Id. Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-101(a)(1).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-101(c).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-101(a)(2)(A)(D).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-101(b).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(a)(1).

See generally Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(c).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(a)(1).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(a)(3).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116(a)(3) & (4).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-122.

Mears v. Nashville Ctr. for Rehab. and Healing, LLC, No. M2022-00490-COA-R3-CV, 2023 Tenn. App. LEXIS 121 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 29, 2023).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106(a).

Braden v. Yoder, 592 SW 2d 896 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1979). Bowers v. Hammon, 594 SW 2d 752 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997).

Sherrill v. Souder, 325 SW 3d 584 (Tenn. 2010).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(e).

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LEGAL UPDATE By: Regina Koho

Tennessee Valley Authority Office of the General Counsel

“EXCEEDING AGENCY AUTHORITY” IS THE NEW BLACK: OVERTIME EXEMPTION REGULATIONS FOUND TO BE UNLAWFUL UNDER LOPER BRIGHT FRAMEWORK Most of us are aware that certain employees are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week, whereas others are not.

This distinction is outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), which “exempts from . . . overtime requirements ‘any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity.’”1 This means that what are known as “EAP employees”2 are not entitled to (or “exempt” from) overtime compensation.

Since 1938, the Department of Labor (“DOL”), “which is charged with implementing the FLSA, has promulgated various regulations defining and delimiting the EAP [e]xemption.”3 And although the exemption speaks in terms of an employee’s duties, the DOL’s regulations have consistently “included a minimum salary level for EAP employees.”4 Salary levels, however, have traditionally been used only “to . . . assist in distinguishing bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees from those who were not intended by Congress to come within these categories,” rather than to effectuate “the improvement of the status of such employees.”5 For much of the FLSA’s history, the DOL’s regulations have proceeded through the administrative process unscathed. But beginning in 2016,6 that changed, as employers began to challenge modifications to the EAP exemption as exceeding the agency’s authority under the FLSA. This trend continued in 2024, when, in a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the DOL’s latest EAP-related regulations were found to be unlawful. This decision illustrates the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 144 S. Ct. 2244 (2024) on judicial review of agency action and injects uncertainty into the future viability of similar regulations in this area.

granted. The court then consolidated the challengers’ cases for purposes of summary judgment.14

The DOL’s 2024 Rule In April 2024, the DOL finalized a Rule implementing three changes related to the EAP exemption.7 First, the Rule raised the minimum salary level for EAP employees from $684 per week to $844,8 which rendered roughly one million additional employees eligible for overtime pay as of July 1, 2024.9 Second, this threshold was set to increase to $1,128 per week on January 1, 2025,10 which would add an additional three million employees to overtime eligibility.11 Third, the Rule accomplished, without further notice-and-comment rulemaking, triennial increases to the minimum salary level for EAP employees.12

The Decision The issue for consideration, according to Judge Sean D. Jordan, was “whether the 2024 Rule’s changes to the salary-level test exceed the [DOL’s] authority to define and delimit the terms of the EAP [e] xemption.”15 Judge Jordan found that the Rule did just that.

The district court’s analysis started with the framework outlined in Loper Bright,16 which held that “[c]ourts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority”17 rather than reflexively deferring to an agency’s interpretation of its governing statute. As an initial matter, the court found that the EAP exemption’s plain terms “mainly focus on an employee’s functions and duties,”18 and that “[a]bsent . . . is any mention of salary.”19 And although the FLSA allows the DOL to “‘define[ ] and delimit[ ]’ the terms of the EAP [e]xemption” through regulation,20 that authority cannot be untethered from the exemption’s statutory language.

The court first held that the Rule’s minimum salary levels for EAP employees impermissibly “eliminate[d] consideration of whether an employee performs bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity duties in favor of what amounts to a salary-only test.”21 Due to the fact that “the EAP [e]xemption requires that an employee’s status turn on duties—not salary—and because the 2024 Rule’s changes make salary predominate over duties for millions of employees,” the court concluded that these changes exceeded the DOL’s authority “to define and delimit the relevant [statutory] terms.”22 The court found the automatic triennial salary increases for EAP employees to be likewise inconsistent with the relevant statutory text.

The FLSA requires the DOL’s regulations to be promulgated “‘subject to subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5’—the rulemaking requirements imposed by the [Administrative Procedure Act].”23 Thus, the statutory language did not allow the DOL “to set its rulemaking on autopilot and evade the procedural requirements of ” the notice-and-comment process, particularly where millions of employees would eventually become eligible for overtime as a result of the Rule’s automatic increases.24 Because none of the Rule’s provisions were “based on a permissible construction of ” the FLSA,25 the district court vacated it in full.26

The Challenge The State of Texas and numerous businesses challenged the Rule in the Eastern District of Texas, contending that it exceeded the DOL’s authority under the FLSA “because it increases the minimum salary for the EAP [e]xemption to a level that effectively displaces the duties-based inquiry required by the FLSA’s text with a predominant salary-level test.”13 Only Texas sought a preliminary injunction, which the district court

Conclusion The DOL filed a notice of appeal on November 26, 2024.27 Given that the appeal is in front of the Fifth Circuit, the agency is unlikely to find an audience receptive to its position. But given the results of the presidential election and the upcoming change in administration, the fate of the appeal itself is uncertain. It is highly likely that the Trump administration “could choose to drop the appeal or take different action on the overtime thresholds.”28 continued on page 11

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DICTA

January 2025

Photo Ops An Update from the Annual Meeting & Elections On December 13, 2024, we held our Annual Meeting & Elections.

President Carlos Yunsan capped off an outstanding year and proudly passed the gavel to 2025 President Jonathan Cooper. Cooper was administered the oath of office by Hon. Charles Cerny before a large crowd of fellow KBA members.

The following officers and board members were elected: President Elect: Rachel Hurt Treasurer: Ursula Bailey Secretary: Cathy Shuck Three-year terms on the Board of Governors: Kim Burnette Meagan Collver Scott Taylor One-year term on the Board of Governors (Government/Public Sector Position): Sam Lee The KBA presented the 2024 Governors’ Award, the highest award presented to a KBA member, to Wayne R. Kramer KBA member Cathy Shuck was presented with the Courage in the Face of Adversity Award.

The Publications Committee honored Regina Koho for her many contributions to DICTA and to the committee.

Carlos Yunsan presented President’s Awards to Daniel Ellis and Caitlin Torney, the co-chairs of the KBA Access to Justice Committee.

2024 Barristers President Charles S.J. Sharrett passed the gavel to incoming President Jimmy Snodgrass. The Barristers President’s Award recipients were Holly K. Nehls and Dillon E. Zinser, the co-chairs of the Hunger & Poverty Relief Committee. Also leading the Barristers next year will be Courteney Barnes-Anderson as Vice President, Mariel Bough and Isaac Westling as Secretary/Treasurer, and Jon Fromke and Lucas Fishman as Members at Large.

January 2025

DICTA

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WHY DID THE LAWYER CROSS THE ROAD By: Brad Fraser Leitner Williams Dooley Napolitan, PLLC

Stefanie Bowen

Leitner Williams Dooley Napolitan, PLLC

TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want So tell me what you want, what you really, really want I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want So tell me what you want, what you really, really want I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah1 This debut single by the Spice Girls burst them onto the music scene in 1996. It starts off kind of like “Summer Nights” from Grease.

It chants and it raps. It won several awards, topped the charts, and is recognized by nearly everyone.

Whether a plaintiff finds herself in federal court or in state court, the importance of telling the court what she wants (what she really, really wants) is of utmost importance, albeit for different reasons.

Including a specific dollar amount in an ad damnum in federal court can be essential in establishing that the court has subject matter jurisdiction over the controversy when seeking to invoke diversity jurisdiction. A court determines subject matter jurisdiction for diversity by assessing whether the parties to the lawsuit are citizens of different states (complete diversity) and whether the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.00, as outlined in 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Without proper pleadings, including an ad damnum that indicates the amount in controversy is in excess of $75,000.00, you may see your cause of action dismissed—even without action by another party. A court can dismiss a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte in the 6th Circuit.

According to Rule 12(h)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “[w] henever it appears by suggestion of the parties or otherwise that the court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter, the court shall dismiss the action.”

Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, and subject matter jurisdiction cannot be waived or forfeited. Without clear evidence of what you really, really want, you may find yourself without a case.

Defendants looking to remove a case to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction may struggle with an ad damnum that doesn’t specify that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. When a “plaintiff seeks to recover some unspecified amount that is not self-evidently greater or less than the federal amount-in-controversy requirement,’ a removing defendant must prove by a ‘preponderance of the evidence’ that the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional threshold.”2 In other words, “the defendant satisfies its burden when it proves that the amount in controversy ‘more likely than not’ exceeds $75,000.”3 It may take some logic and investigation to figure out what someone really, really wants in that case.

Of course, state courts are much different. State courts are courts of general jurisdiction and may, for the most part, hear any controversies between parties, ad damnum notwithstanding. However, one must be careful in state court to plead what you really, really want, or you may find yourself with less than you deserve.

Under the General Rules of Pleadings found in Tenn. R. Civ. P. 8.01: “A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief, whether an original claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, shall contain: (1) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and (2) a demand for judgment for the relief pleader seeks. Relief in the alternative or of several different types may be demanded.”

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What are the risks of a vague or incomplete ad damnum in state court? You may end up with nothing. Absent a statute or rule of law to the contrary, a plaintiff is prohibited from recovering money damages in excess of the amount sought in the complaint.4 “Logic dictates, therefore, that a plaintiff who requests nothing is entitled to nothing.”5 And while a damage award is in the province of the jury, in Hansen v. Bultman, the trial judge reduced a jury’s award of damages.6 The court remitted the award based upon its determination that the award exceeded the complaint’s ad damnum.7 A jury’s award of $350,000 for a father’s claims in Hansen reduced to $200,000, as the complaint did not ask for more.

The Court of Appeals agreed with the remittitur.8 Soooooo, tell me what you want, what you really, really want!

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The Spice Girls, “Wannabe”, Spice, (Virgin 1996).

Muheljic v. Bank of Am., N.A., No. 2:14-00051, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160522, at *4 (M.D. Tenn. Nov. 12, 2014).

Id. Romine v. Fernandez, 124 S.W.3d 599, 605-06 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003); Cross v. City of Morristown, No. 03A01-9606-CV-00211, 1996 Tenn. App. LEXIS 677, at *9 (Tenn.

Ct. App. Oct. 22, 1996) (citing TENN. R. CIV. P. 15.02); accord 25 C.J.S. Damages [**22] § 253 (2002).

Newcomb v. Kohler Co., 222 S.W.3d 368, 384 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006).

Hansen v. Bultman, No. E2001-02664-COA-R3-CV, 2002 Tenn. App. LEXIS 883, at *6 (Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2002).

Id. Id.

Proudly Announcing the Formation of the

Davies Law Firm, PLLC Wade Davies Georgia Miller, Associate Meghan Franklin, Paralegal We are a dedicated team of compassionate individuals, committed to excellence for each client. We will continue to focus on criminal defense and BPR matters.

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www.wadedavies.law 865.686.6333 January 2025

L E G A L U P D A T E , continued from page 8 But for challengers of agency action, the decision provides a bit of clarity. It serves as a blueprint for how Loper Bright will play into a court’s review of administrative decision-making moving forward and illustrates how aggressive regulatory action may fare in the future.

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

1

2

3 4 5 6

7

8

9 10

11 12

13 14 15 16

Texas v. United States Dep’t of Lab., No. 4:24-CV-468-SDJ, 2024 WL 4806268, at *13 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 15, 2024) (quoting 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1)). These types of employees are also exempt from the FLSA’s minimum wage requirements, but this article focuses on the overtime exemption because those changes arguably have more of a financial impact.

Id. at *1. This is also sometimes referred to as the “white collar” overtime exemption. See Jim Paretti et al., Federal Court Strikes Down Rule Raising Salary Threshold for White Collar Overtime Exemptions, Littler: ASAP (Nov. 15, 2024), https://littler.com/publication-press/publication/federal-court-strikes-down-ruleraising-salary-threshold-white-collar.

Texas v. United States Dep’t of Lab., 2024 WL 4806268, at *1.

Id. Id. at *6 (internal quotation marks omitted).

See id. at *8. Although the 2016 Rule was found to be unlawful, the 2019 Rule was upheld by the Fifth Circuit. See id. at *9.

The Rule also encompassed certain highly compensated employees, and the exemption threshold for this category of employees was set to increase to $151,164. Paretti et al., supra note 2.

Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, 89 Fed. Reg. 32,854 (Apr. 26, 2024).

Texas v. United States Dep’t of Lab., 2024 WL 4806268, at *10.

Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, 89 Fed. Reg. at 32,971.

Texas v. United States Dep’t of Lab., 2024 WL 4806268, at *10.

Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, 89 Fed. Reg. at 32,971.

Texas v. United States Dep’t of Lab., 2024 WL 4806268, at *2.

Id. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

See id. at *12–13.

January 2025

24 25 26 27

28

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144 S.Ct. 2244, 2273 (2024).

Texas v. United States Dep’t of Lab., 2024 WL 4806268, at *14.

Id. at *15.

Id. (quoting 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1)).

Id. at *17 (internal quotation marks omitted).

Id. Id. at *24 (quoting 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1)).

Id. at *22.

Id. at *17.

See id. at *25–26.

Keith E. Kopplin et al., DOL Appeals Federal Court Decision That Struck Down Salary Threshold Increases for White-Collar Overtime Exemptions, Ogletree Deakins: Insights & Resources (Nov. 27, 2024), https://ogletree.com/insights-resources/blog-posts/ dol-appeals-federal-court-decision-that-struck-down-salary-threshold-increasesfor-white-collar-overtime-exemptions/.

Id.

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EXPANDING OUR HORIZONS By: Sherri D. Alley Pinnacle Financial Partners

WELCOME TO “EXPANDING OUR HORIZONS” For the past few years, the Diversity in the Profession Committee of the KBA has asked local lawyers to write this column under the title and writing prompt, “What I Learned About Inclusion and Why It Matters.”

Starting in 2025, we’re changing the name of this column to “Expanding Our Horizons,” but it will still involve local bar members sharing stories of their own diverse experiences and perceptions, so we can collectively learn and appreciate perspectives and cultures that may be different from our own.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word “horizon” when used in this sense as the “range of perception or experience.” That definition is why the new name spectacularly captures the Diversity in the Profession Committee’s vision for this column. We know there is a vast range of perception and experience among the Knoxville legal community. We have much in common, yet there is so much to appreciate, celebrate, and learn from the ways in which our perspectives differ. Through curiosity and learning about our differences, we expand our own personal horizon –– one’s own range of experience and perception –– when we recognize and contemplate a novel perspective.

These stories help us realize and remember that one’s own perspective of our world, our culture, our city, and our community is simply one perspective and may differ from others’ perspectives, shaped by their own varied perceptions and experiences. The exercise of contemplating differing perspectives is immensely helpful to becoming a better communicator, and hence, a better lawyer. As lawyers who are constantly attempting to communicate to other lawyers, to juries, to judges, and to clients, the more we can understand varied perspectives, the more effectively we can communicate with our intended audience.

Thus, we hope these stories will provoke curiosity, learning and mutual respect among the bar as we expand our horizons together!

Toward that end, I will begin 2025 by sharing with you the story of my first Watch Night service on December 31, 2021. Previously, in my twenties and thirties, I loved attending or hosting New Year’s Eve parties.

Full of hope for the year ahead, I loved to get all dressed up, gather with family and friends, have a few cocktails, and celebrate the moment when the clock strikes midnight and January 1 arrives. I had always viewed the New Year as a purely secular holiday marking a change on the calendar rather than as a spiritual experience, though I am Christian and was raised as such. Each year, I would make a few resolutions only to promptly break them all before the end of January.

In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday. As I learned about the history and significance of Juneteenth, I began to hear about Watch Night services. I ascertained that many Black churches hold Watch Night services in the evening on December 31 that continue into the early hours of New Year’s Day. This tradition memorializes the secret gatherings of enslaved and free Black Americans on December 31, 1862,

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as they awaited midnight when the Emancipation Proclamation signed

by Abraham Lincoln a few months earlier would take effect, freeing slaves in the Confederate States. The occasion became known as “Watch Night” or “Freedom’s Eve.” Today, Watch Night services are celebrations of community and strength that include reflections on faith and the memory of slavery and freedom. Curious, I wanted to experience a Watch Night service for myself.

I had previously attended a community event at Overcoming Believers Church (OBC), so when I saw they had a Watch Night service at 10 p.m., I decided to attend there. I invited some friends – an interracial couple who had experience with Watch Night services. That couple already had other plans, but they know me well and encouraged me to attend, predicting I would enjoy the experience.

I was excited and intrigued that evening.

As I readied myself and drove to OBC, so many thoughts flew through my head: “What would we do for two whole hours before midnight? That’s a long time for church.”

“What happens at midnight? Does it just end, and everyone leaves?”

“Will others wonder why I’m there and be suspicious of me?”

“I wonder what God has in store for me during the next year.”

Arriving around 10:15 p.m., I was grateful for a parking spot right near the door. Another lone woman walked into the building just ahead of me; we commiserated “better late than never” as she held the door. The sanctuary was probably about 1/3 full and people were spread out, but mostly toward the front. Everyone was standing and singing as I found a place in the back row. Several people arrived after me; the sanctuary was more than half-full by midnight. We sang, watched a group of teens visiting from Kenya play drums and dance, prayed, and listened to a short sermon. At midnight, we all clapped and celebrated and sang, then proceeded with more prayer. Most of the evening was focused on thanking and praising God for all He’s brought us through and affirming our dependence on and faith in Him as a new year unfolds. The crowd was starting to thin as I left shortly before 1:00 a.m., but there were still a handful of people kneeling and praying at the front of the sanctuary. My whole experience that evening was welcoming, uplifting, encouraging, hopeful and poetic. I was greeted with smiles and wishes of “Happy New Year” both as I entered and left the sanctuary. I reveled in the beauty and magnitude of those few hours reflecting on life, thanking God, and praying about the coming year together with fellow believers.

I now view New Year’s Eve through a more spiritual lens – as the perfect time to reflect on what God has given me and brought me through and to pray with hope for the coming year. I am grateful for the new perspective this experience brought me. It was my first Watch Night service, but definitely not my last!

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January 2025

THREE STARS By: Melissa B. Carrasco Carrasco Trump, PLLC

CALEDONIA FOREST V. KEDALO CONSTRUCTION - JUST GIVE THE TILES BACK Act 1: “You can use an eraser on the drafting table, or a sledgehammer on the construction site.”1 Caledonia Forest’s new store needed a facelift. This “whimsical home goods store in the heart of Clarksville, TN,”2 dedicated to the conservation and preservation of forests and wildlife, needed a beautiful storefront where shoppers could browse its curated collection of allnatural candles, soaps, and “nature-inspired décor.”3 So, Caledonia Forest hired Kedalo Construction, LLC.4 The project started in July and was supposed to be completed in time for the grand opening on October 1st. It did not go well.

In September, Kedalo Construction informed Caledonia Forest that the job was done. Caledonia Forest disagreed. From Caledonia Forest’s perspective, “done” did not mean having black paint spilled on the floor tile, unfinished trim in the hallway and back rooms, and so many gaps between the tiles on the pillars. Caledonia Forest called Kedalo Construction back, and they did some more tiling, grout work, and other touchups. The store did not open on October 1st.5 Act 2: “What we’ve got here is . . . failure to communicate.”6 If things weren’t going well, this is where it all went sideways.

According to Caledonia Forest, Kedalo Construction agreed to fix the issues, waive its builder’s fee, and only charge for labor and materials.7 Somehow, that was promptly forgotten (or maybe wasn’t said in the first place) because Kedalo Construction sent an invoice for the builder’s fee, which Caledonia Forest also paid (but was very unhappy about).8 But what really put Caledonia Forest over the edge was the tiles.

One of the last invoices contained a charge for about $10,000.00 worth of tiles, except (according to Caledonia Forest) Kedalo Construction kept about half the tiles.9 When they called to ask about getting the tiles so they could finish the job, Kedalo Construction purportedly told them, “You aren’t my f—king problem anymore,” and hung up.10 Then, the folks at Kedalo Construction went to Caledonia Forest’s website and left a series of 1-star Google reviews—practically a declaration of war.11 Act 3: “There’s not a lot of money in revenge.”12 As we all know, the only rational response to this kind of conduct is to go public. Caledonia Forest’s owner created a website, www. kedaloconstructionscam.com, and a Facebook page, and left a very long review on Yelp and with the Better Business Bureau that ended with the following: “And what ever you do, don’t hire a THIEF like Randy W***** and his company.”13 And so it was that Caledonia Forest and its owner found themselves as Defendants in a lawsuit for defamation, defamation by implication, false light, and violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act.14 Undeterred, Caledonia Forest and its owner filed a petition to dismiss under the Tennessee Public Participation Act.15 If you are not familiar with this little nugget in the Tennessee Code Annotated, you might want to get to know it. Codified in 2019, the TPPA16 was intended to “encourage and safeguard the constitutional rights of persons to petition, to speak freely, to associate freely, and to participate in government to the fullest extent permitted by law and, at January 2025

the same time, protect the rights of persons to file meritorious lawsuits for demonstrable injury.”17 In a nutshell, if person gets sued in response to his or her “exercise of the right of free speech, right to petition, or right or association,” that person can file a petition to have the lawsuit dismissed.18 All discovery gets stayed until the Court rules on the petition—unless the Court allows limited discovery upon a showing of good cause.19 Then the Court must hold a hearing, and the party opposing the TPPA petition “may file” a response with any opposing affidavits “no less than five (5) days before the hearing.”20 At the hearing, the party that filed the petition (the person who got sued), has to prove that the lawsuit “is based on, relates to, or is in response to” his/her “exercise of the right to free speech, right to petition, or right of association.”21 If they do, then the whole lawsuit has to be dismissed unless the party that filed the lawsuit in the first place can prove “each essential element of the claim in the legal action.”22 Even then, the lawsuit still gets dismissed if the defendant can show that he/she has a valid defense to the claims.23 And all of this can be done with sworn affidavits or “other admissible evidence.”24 Plus, we have the specter of attorney’s fees. If the lawsuit gets dismissed under the TPPA the court “shall award” court costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, expenses, and discretionary costs in filing and prevailing on the TPPA petition.25 But, if the Court finds that the TPPA petition was frivolous, the party that filed the lawsuit to begin with can get its court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees in opposing the TPPA petition.26 So, how did it go for Caledonia Forest? Not so well . . . and not so badly. It is hard to say. The trial court denied the TPPA petition, but didn’t really say why – just that “Defendants have not met their burden.”27 However, the Court of Appeals held that Kedalo Construction waived its right to claim that Caledonia Forest failed to satisfy its burden on its TPPA petition because it did not raise this argument in the trial court.28 Plus, the Court of Appeals held that the five (5) day deadline for submitting a response to a TPPA claim and opposing affidavits was mandatory. At the hearing, Kedalo Construction referenced excerpts from deposition transcripts and then filed the entire transcript that afternoon – right after the hearing.29 That did not comply with the TPPA, and the deposition was to be disregarded.30 So, the entire case was remanded to the trial court to reconsider the proof offered at the TPPA hearing – not as to whether Caledonia Forest carried its initial burden (Kedalo Construction waived that issue) but as to whether Kedalo Construction established its prima facie case on every claim and whether Caledonia Forest had a valid defense to the claims.31 This case has three takeaways. (1) Don’t inadvertently waive legal arguments. Raise them in the trial court. (2) If a statute has a deadline, comply with it. (3) For goodness’ sake: give the tiles back. Those are this month’s three stars.

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Anonymous quote often attributed in some form or fashion to architect Frank Lloyd Wright. See Quote Investigator (Jan. 30, 2016), https://quoteinvestigator. com/2016/01/30/eraser/, last visited Dec. 5, 2024.

Caledonia Forest, Thank you for the Love, Clarksville!, https://caledoniaforest.com/ clarksville, last visited Dec. 5, 2024.

continued on page 22

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HELLO MY NAME IS By: Bridget J. Pyman Arnett | Baker

JAKE TAYLOR January’s Hello My Name Is column features attorney Jake Taylor, an associate attorney at Hodges, Doughty & Carson, PLLC firm.

His practice areas include Civil Litigation, Business and Commercial Law, Healthcare Law and Medical Malpractice, Contract Disputes, Family Law, and Construction Law. Jake began his academic journey at University of Tennessee where he majored in Management, receiving his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Human Resource Management Collateral.

He attended, then graduated from, University of Memphis Cecil Humphreys School of Law in 2021.

Jake’s responses reflect his commitment to the core principles of effective lawyering: creative problem-solving, client-focused advocacy, and a deliberate effort to balance the demands of legal practice with personal growth. Furthermore, his dedication to innovative strategies, thoughtful guidance, and continuous professional development underscores the value he brings to the local legal community. These qualities speak to the approach he brings to his work and the promise of his contributions to the profession.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The part I most enjoy my job is that among the many hats I wear every day—be it litigator, writer, researcher, advisor, etc.—the most important role I take on as an attorney is that of a problem solver. I enjoy helping my clients find creative ways to achieve their goals. While I certainly get a great deal of fulfillment from writing the perfect demand letter, filing the ironclad complaint, and finding the crucial case for my response brief, I get just as much enjoyment from finding and discussing new approaches with my clients and formulating strategies to achieve their goals that may have been overlooked.

Early in my practice, one of my supervising attorneys told me that there will come times when there appears to be only one path forward, but it is the attorney’s responsibility to take a step back and consider

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whether what you are doing is the only way of achieving your client’s objectives or if a better method is available. This is because attorneys are problem solvers above all else, and even if the path forward often times seems narrow, there is just as often a creative solution around the corner that we may have not yet considered.

What do you think it is most important for lawyers early in their career to know about work-life balance?

I think it is important to respect your own personal time and to not forgo your favorite hobbies because of the stress of practicing law. I have always been an avid reader, but during law school and a year or so after, I realized I was not taking as much time to do that as I previously had. Nowadays, I make sure to take time to enjoy reading the things I personally enjoy and not just for work. I believe making this time for myself has helped me to separate my work and personal lives in a healthy way and to continue to enjoy an activity I’ve loved since I was a kid.

In three words, how would your friends describe you?

Rather than guessing, I asked three friends for their input. The three words I got were (1) upbeat, (2) authentic, and (3) enthusiastic.

Tell me about your family.

I am married to my lovely wife, Mia, who is an optometrist practicing in the greater Knoxville area. Mia and I met during our freshman year at the University of Tennessee while marching together in the Pride of the Southland Marching Band. We have two pets, a cat named Obi (yes, like Kenobi) and a dog named Poplar (named after Poplar Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee where we adopted her).

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January 2025

AROUND THE BAR By: Hon. Hector Sanchez, USMC, Ron Hanaver, and Hon. Chuck Cerny

A NEW MISSION AND A NEW OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE: VETERAN MENTORS Mission over self. Prioritizing the mission over selfish interest and prioritizing fellow service members over one’s self is a defining characteristic of military service in America. Veterans exemplify this selfless paradigm, both in their deployment and after their service to our Country. To the Veterans who are also members of the Knoxville Bar Association, the time has come, once again, to prioritize the Mission Over Self, and respond to a call to service.

Knox County’s Veterans Treatment Court has a need for Veteran Mentors. Veterans face extremely difficult challenges after their time in the military ends. Many service members deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, addiction to various drugs, mental and physical health issues, even financial challenges and homelessness. And of course, many veterans become involved with the criminal justice system as citizens accused. The Veteran’s Treatment Court is an opportunity for justice-system-involved veterans to suspend the normal criminal/adversarial approach, for the purpose of seeking treatment, seeking counseling, seeking mental and physical health care and wholeness, and seeking an end to criminal justice system involvement.

The Veterans Treatment Court provides what these veterans are seeking: case management, referrals to inpatient and outpatient treatment, counseling, help with housing and budgeting, and access to VA services. But one of the most important things that Veterans’ Treatment Courts provide is access to Mentors.

Mentors are fellow service members who have that shared military experience and the ability to relate to another veteran. Mentors are persons who have “been there.” These veteran Mentors are volunteers who are called upon to provide encouragement and a “listening ear.”

Veteran Mentors go through the veterans’ experience with them as they participate in and eventually graduate from Veterans’ Treatment Court.

Very simply put: Mentors are the reason Veterans’ Treatment Courts have such great success in helping participants successfully graduate, avoid new charges, and have better lives.

Since the founding of Knox County’s Veterans’ Treatment Court, we have had the good fortune to have selfless Veteran Mentors who have helped so many participants. But similar to any military battalion, troop, or company, the institution must survive the retirement or “aging out” of its individual members. The time has come for a younger cohort of Veteran Mentors who have had more recent experience in the military.

There is much commonality between all combat veterans. But there January 2025

are some differences as well. For example, the Vietnam era was very different from more recent conflicts. And more recently, service members have been exposed to non-combat related sources of trauma. It’s time for more recruits!

As a Veteran Mentor, you would be called upon to be available to talk with, encourage, and act as a friend to a veteran who is going through the Treatment Court program. The veteran may need you when they are frustrated with the process, or when they feel overwhelmed by all of the responsibilities they have in the program. You would report to the Treatment Court Team (including the Treatment Court Judge) about whether the veteran has maintained their contact with you (but not report the substance of the communication).

A brief word about what a Veteran Mentor is not: being a Veteran Mentor is a commitment, but it is not a huge drain on a person’s time. To be a Mentor would not be more of a time commitment than discovering a new friend who needs to talk a little every now and then. A Veteran Mentor is not an additional advocate, or pro bono co-counsel, or an additional social worker. This would not be a sneaky way to manipulate you into doing free legal work (and you would be called upon to “establish healthy boundaries” to avoid falling into this dilemma). A Veteran Mentor is not someone who breaches confidences, proselytizes, harangues or cajoles a participant. You would not be called upon to be a football coach or drill sergeant. A Veteran Mentor does not have to “wing it,” because the Veterans’ Treatment Court would provide training on how to be a great Veteran Mentor (and we might be able to get you a little CLE credit for the training).

Knoxville Bar Association Veterans: could it be that you are the corpsman, soldier, sailor, or airman who is perfect to volunteer for this mission? Are you sensing a call to prioritize helping a fellow veteran who is criminal justice system involved as they seek a better post-military life for themselves? Could you help an established Knox County institution survive beyond the retirement of its individual members and continue its mission?

Judge Sanchez, Judge Cerny, and Director Hanaver are making this request on behalf of our Veteran Participants, and Judge Cerny will help with getting you plugged in. Call or email: Chuck Cerny 865-215-2370 or chuck.cerny@knoxcounty.org.

And please accept our sincere thanks for your service to our Country.

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IF THE DOG HITS, YOU SHALL NOT ACQUIT Acquit, from medieval Latin, means to set free or discharge—the goal of defense counsel and those they represent. Recently, however, with the stroke of a pen, the Tennessee Supreme Court made the reality of an acquittal in dog sniff cases—where the sniff is up to snuff—less likely.

The traffic stop: It all started with giving a “friend” a ride. To set the scene, the driver obliged a friend, who asked for a ride, and in walks the adage that no good deed goes unpunished. The friend got into the car with a backpack—innocent behavior— but the driver was not doing gradeschool pickup.

The “unwitting” driver was apparently clueless about Tennessee’s statutory requirements regulating the use of high beam headlights. The unwitting, high-beam-glaring driver crossed a busy Clarksville, Tennessee avenue that intersects at one point with Richardson Street, on which the Clarksville Housing Authority is located. We bet, but do not know for sure, that the officers found this area to be a high crime area. A police officer stopped the car for the high-beam lights. When the officer approached the car, he smelled a strong odor. The driver explained that the odor emanated from three pine tree air fresheners visible in the car. This simple and innocent explanation is objectively reasonable, right? But consider how many air fresheners you have in your car right now, and more importantly, whether your air fresheners emanate an odor so strong that one smells it upon approaching your vehicle; and now reassess your objectivity analysis.

The driver refused consent: The officer then asked the driver for consent to search. In many cases with suppression issues concerning traffic stop constitutionality, drivers nonsensically give consent knowing they are transporting illegal contraband. But not this driver – he refused consent.

From a defense perspective, the driver made a textbook worthy decision in exercising his constitutional right to refuse voluntarily submitting to a search. But the stop did not end there.

The officer ordered both the driver and the friend out of the car.

Once out of the car, but before searching, the officer noticed a backpack

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in the passenger floor. He inquired about ownership, and both men disclaimed ownership. Consider, how often do you drive your car with a backpack in the passenger area that does not belong to you?

The K9 alert: The officer called for a police canine (“K9”). K9 Arlo arrived on the scene. He sniffed, alerting to the presence of narcotics in the car. The officer questioned the driver, and explained to him that he could be charged with any illegal contraband in the car. This led the driver to prod his friend to talk.

Just then, the friend remembered, and explained that he picked up the backpack from his brother without knowing the backpack’s contents.

The search and seizure: The officer searched the backpack.

The backpack contained almost an ounce of marijuana, a loaded gun, Ziplock bags, a working scale, and a TCL telephone charger. Later, two telephones were found on the friend, including one TCL phone.

A grand jury indicted the friend for possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver; possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The litigation: A defense suppression motion challenging the stop followed. In 2019, Tennessee decriminalized the possession of hemp when it removed hemp from the definition of marijuana. Here, the parties stipulated to the K9’s qualifications. However, the defense argued that K9 Arlo could not distinguish between illegal marijuana and legal hemp; therefore, K9 Arlo’s alert was unreliable to establish probable cause, that is, a reasonable basis for concluding that the car contained narcotics. In response, the government argued the sufficiency of K9 Arlo’s alert regardless of his ability to distinguish between hemp and marijuana, and that the totality of the circumstances surrounding the traffic stop weighed in favor of a probable cause finding.

It is important to discuss probable cause. Prosecutors, who regularly appear before grand juries, may know that probable cause is often

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January 2025

COVER STORY By: Lamont and Brooklyn Belk

In-House Attorneys and Adjunct Professors

explained as a reasonable basis for concluding that the person named in the indictment did what the government says he did . . . for example, that it is 50.00001 percent, or a feather’s weight, in favor of believing that the thing happened the way that the government says the thing happened.

More simply put, the bar establishing probable cause is not high, and that bar weighs in the government’s favor, particularly in ex parte proceedings like the grand jury. It has been said many times, many ways, that grand juries will indict a ham sandwich because the underlying probable cause legal standard is so low.

With this illustration in mind, let us note that when analyzing the existence of probable cause, or the lack thereof, under the totality of the circumstances, it does not take much to get there.

Back to this stop: there were two men in the car in what we may bet the officer testified was a high crime area of Clarksville. We have to bet, and do not know for sure, because the Tennessee Supreme Court noted in its ruling that the lower court record was underdeveloped, including that the suppression hearing transcript was absent from the appellate record before them and that certain constitutional arguments were waived because those issues were not raised in the lower courts. Litigators understand that there are many moving parts in litigation and, therefore, it is understandable when something is omitted from the appellate record, but this appears to be the Supreme Court’s reminder to all of us to develop fully the appellate record.

Based on the record before it, the Tennessee Supreme Court resolved what it thought was apparent confusion as to whether there was a per se rule, under the almost 25-year-old established precedent in State v. England, 19 S.W.3d 762 (Tenn. 2000), that probable cause exists where there is a positive indication from a drug-sniffing dog. The Court made clear that the probable cause decision centers on a totality of the circumstances analysis, which may include a K9’s alert to narcotics; however, that fact alone does not establish probable cause.

With that clarification, the Supreme Court adopted the trial court’s findings of fact from the suppression hearing, which were stipulated to by the parties—noteworthy because the government and defense agreement is not absolute.

What was the totality of the circumstances from this traffic stop?

1. Two men in a car in what we assume the police considered a high crime area; 2. A strong odor emanated from the car; 3. The explanation for the strong odor may not fit common sense and reason (remember the questions above); January 2025

4.

K9 Arlo alerted to the presence of narcotics in or about the car; 5. There was a backpack in the passenger floor that both car occupants disclaimed—albeit located between the friend’s feet; and 6. The friend’s story changed from the backpack was not his to his brother gave him the backpack, but he did not know the backpack’s contents.

After the probable cause decision was made, the officer searched the backpack and found a telephone charger of the same brand as a telephone discovered on the friend, which does not impact the probable cause decision, but is interesting.

Reviewing the record before the Supreme Court, which excluded the suppression hearing transcript, we do not know whether the officer testified before the trial court that he noticed the driver and his friend becoming increasingly nervous as their interaction with the officer progressed, such as the defendant’s behavior in England, where the court gave weight to that officer’s observation in finding probable cause existed, but such testimony is common.

When examining the totality of the circumstances of this traffic stop in addition to K9 Arlo’s sniff, the officer articulated other factors that sufficiently aroused his suspicion based on his common sense and reason and in a non-technical, factual, and practical way. Thus, as articulated by the United States Supreme Court in Florida v. Harris, 568 U.S. 237, 243 (2013), this officer had probable cause, a far cry from absolute certainty, to conduct the search based on all of the facts available to him, which would warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that evidence of a crime was present.

When the sniff is up to snuff, probable cause likely exists: In conclusion, a dog’s positive alert to the presence of narcotics adds to the totality of the circumstances inquiry to determine whether probable cause exists, even if it is possible, or even probable, that the K9 alerted to legal hemp rather than illegal marijuana. The fact the K9 cannot distinguish legal hemp from illegal marijuana certainly muddles the inquiry and adds a layer of ambiguity to whether illegal narcotics are present, but this ambiguity only goes to the weight a court gives the K9’s alert. The court may still find the positive alert is probative in its fact-finding inquiry, e.g. the officer testifies that the K9 alert was one of several articulated factors that led a reasonable officer to conclude probable cause—a low bar—existed for a search.

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21ST CENTURY LAWYER By: Kayla Moran Kayla Moran Law

MY JOURNEY INTO CREATOR ECONOMY LAW I was only seven months into my 1L year when COVID shut down campuses across the country, and we were told to go home. I had moved to Knoxville, Tennessee from Miami, Florida for law school, and while I really enjoyed living in a college town and experiencing the seasonal weather, I was definitely homesick and craving a community outside of the law school building.

A few years earlier, during my junior year at the University of Central Florida, I started a blog to share my study abroad adventures and write fun articles about beauty and fashion, mostly as a creative outlet in the midst of prepping for the LSAT. I really leaned into this blog during my first few months at UTK Law because, while I made some of my best friends there, I didn’t feel like the traditional lawyer path was for me.

Sharing my law school experience online helped me cultivate a community outside of the bubble we’re put in our first year, and I unknowingly stumbled into the creator economy.

By January 2021, I was working with brands and collaborating with fellow bloggers and “influencers” that I had only met on Instagram but with whom I had forged strong relationships. Tik Tok was starting to blow up, and I knew that while working in insurance law would be a safe bet, it didn’t excite or fulfill me.

We often go to law school to help others and although that was still true, I knew I had to be passionate about what I would do for the rest of my life. When I started really thinking about where my skill set and interests intersected, the emerging influencer marketing world felt like something I should really lean into.

By then, I had curated a strong LinkedIn presence and network which included several attorneys who I felt comfortable reaching out to for an internship or interview. I had a decent resume, and I knew I could get a traditional law firm job if focusing my practice on influencers and creators didn’t work out. So, with the support of a handful of law professors and a stubborn determination to make the most of my education, I set out to find a job representing influencers and creators.

I had every reason not to pursue it, and I knew it would be a long shot. But I saw the trend towards digital content and social media, and I knew that it was where I wanted to be. Growing up as a dancer, I had an eye for the arts and curation, but I also had a mind for business and the behind the scenes work that made an opportunity come together.

It was a crazy idea then, and it sometimes is still a bit intriguing now, three and a half years later. But looking back, I am grateful I stuck to it.

I had friends in several different states all seeking to become fulltime content creators and work with brands to make a living. But I kept noticing that a lot of them were entering into these big partnership deals without any understanding of the contracts they were signing. When I would connect with attorneys and the inevitable “what kind of work do you want to do” question came up, I mentioned this, and many people didn’t quite know what to say.

There were a handful that had a similar twinkle in their eyes, but no one yet was doing something about it. I knew I had to start building my credibility and authority in the subject but had no idea where to seek out opportunities to do so. With the connections I was making with fellow

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bloggers, YouTubers and creators, my blog and social media presence became that opportunity.

I listened to every podcast I could and cold DM-ed as many people as possible for an entry level job at a talent agency or brand in their legal department so I could learn more about these brand deals that were starting to take off. I got one lead, converted it to an anchor client, and left my safe, personal injury job with a guaranteed future as an associate, to pursue it.

I learned how to manage influencers and the day-to-day responsibilities of working with brands, creating content, and invoicing them. I learned how to negotiate with marketing agencies about rates and usage rights and all the other fun stuff that goes into an ad campaign you see on Tik Tok when you scroll.

I realized a lot of it was contracts, and I could build a firm specializing in these types of contracts with a focus on putting the creator first. As it turns out, a lot of the language was very brand oriented (and often the contracts are just not very good).

I was still trying to look for a firm that would hire me as an associate to do this work, but by my 3L spring in 2022, I had an inkling it was going to be on me.

Looking back, I could have tried harder to get an internship at one of the big sports or entertainment agencies in Nashville, LA or NYC because they quickly pivoted to influencer marketing. But I knew I wanted to be back in Miami and that with my network and relationships I could probably do it myself.

So, upon graduation and passing the Florida Bar, I took a part-time personal injury job while I set out to build my own firm. My boss was an established attorney that had just struck out on his own, so he encouraged me to pursue my passion and even assisted me in setting up my firm. This really gave me the support I needed.

How I did it was simple. I asked a lot of people a lot of questions and just went for it blindly.

I found mentors and friendships forged on Instagram—people who had recently left their law firms to pursue their own practices on their own terms. That empowered me to do the same. They had 3-7+ more years of experience than I did, but they offered me the chance to learn alongside them.

One of these mentors allowed me to clerk for her my last semester of law school. Basically, I reviewed her trademark work so I could familiarize myself with it. She encouraged me to take the same course she did so that I could learn to brand myself as a virtual trademark attorney.

The first year was a lot of trial and error. I spent much of my time making 3-5 LinkedIn posts per week and messaging attorneys daily for overflow work as an independent contractor or even a paralegal position so I could get more exposure in this area.

It was really Tik Tok that helped me make the leap from contractor to law firm owner, though. It was the platform that gave me the idea in the first place, but it also scared me the most.

Back in 2021, I knew that Tik Tok was going to change the way we consume content, but I thought I was too cool to do the same. So, I was late posting on there. But a few of my blogger friends had shared continued on page 24

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January 2025

SCHOOLED IN ETHICS By: Alex B. Long

Williford Gragg Distinguished Professor of Law University of Tennessee College of Law

THE ETHICAL OBLIGATION OF SUPERVISION Back in 2022, InfoWars host Alex Jones was the subject of unwanted attention when it was revealed that one of his attorneys had mistakenly sent numerous text messages between Jones and his attorneys—messages that Jones had said he had never sent—concerning a lawsuit Jones was facing. That same incident has resulted in a recent ethics action against a different lawyer in the case. The case involves Rule 5.1, the rule imposing ethical obligations upon law firm partners and those exercising supervisory responsibility over another lawyer.

Following the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, the parents of the slain children sued political commentator Alex Jones for falsely claiming that the shooting had been a staged event. As part of the proceedings, the trial court entered a protective order concerning the plaintiffs’ medical and mental health records, designating the records as “Highly Confidential-Attorneys Eyes Only.” Jones’ attorney, Norman Pattis, ended up associating with a lawyer in Texas, Frederico Andino Reynal, on related matters. The Texas lawyer requested that Pattis provide him with the discovery from the Sandy Hook case. The Texas lawyer did not need, nor did he expect to receive, the plaintiffs’ mental health records.

Nonetheless, Pattis instructed his associate, Cameron Atkinson, to send a hard drive containing, among other things, the plaintiffs’ medical health records to Reynal, the Texas lawyer. This action violated the court’s protective order. Reynal’s assistant then mistakenly sent these records (as well as multiple privileged communications between Jones and his lawyers) to the plaintiffs’ attorney in the case. The plaintiffs’ attorney advised Reynal that the material appeared to have been sent inadvertently, but Reynal failed to “clawback” the records within the applicable timeframe.

So, who should face repercussions for the violation of the court’s protective order? Atkinson and Reynal obviously messed up. But according to a decision from the Connecticut Court of Appeals, Pattis, the supervising attorney in the matter, is also subject to discipline for his failure to properly supervise Atkinson, his associate. The case provides a good example of the scope of the duty imposed by Rule 5.1 TRPC Rule 5.1 contains three sections. Rule 5.1(a) imposes upon law firm partners and those with comparable managerial authority an ethical obligation to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the firm has in place policies and procedures designed to reasonably ensure the ethical practice of law on the part of each member of the firm. Rule 5.1(b) imposes upon supervisory lawyers a duty of reasonable supervision over subordinate lawyers. Rule 5.1(c) describes the circumstances under

January 2025

which the supervising lawyer is subject to discipline for the misconduct of another lawyer. Specifically, a lawyer is responsible for another lawyer’s violation of the rules if: (1) the lawyer orders or, with knowledge of the specific conduct, ratifies the conduct involved; or (2) the lawyer is a partner or has comparable managerial authority in the law firm in which the other lawyer practices, or has direct supervisory authority over the other lawyer, and knows of the conduct at a time when its consequences can be avoided or mitigated but fails to take reasonable remedial action.

Parts (b) and (c) of Rule 5.1 were at issue in Pattis’ case. According to the Connecticut court, Pattis violated both sections of the rule “by directing his associate [Atkinson] to transfer the plaintiffs’ protected records to … unauthorized recipients, without proper safeguards and without properly notifying [the recipients] that the plaintiffs’ sensitive and protected information was being transferred.”1 Importantly, the court found that Pattis was subject to discipline despite the fact that his associate, Atkinson, was never charged with a rule violation himself.

There was also the remaining question of whether Pattis was subject to discipline for Reynal’s misconduct. Reynal was obviously not part of Pattis’ firm. However, the ABA has concluded that the obligations imposed by Rule 5.1 apply where a lawyer acts a sponsoring attorney of an out-of-state lawyer or outsources work to another lawyer.2 Thus, Pattis could potentially be held responsible for Reynal’s misconduct under Rule 5.1(c) if either (1) Pattis ordered Reynal’s conduct or (2) Pattis knew of the conduct “at a time when its consequences [could] be avoided or mitigated but fail[ed] to take reasonable remedial action.” As there was no evidence to support either theory, Pattis was able to avoid professional discipline on this theory.

In addition to the possibility of professional discipline for negligent supervision of a subordinate attorney, it also bears mentioning that there is the potential for a tort action based on the failure of a law firm to properly supervise its lawyer as well as non-lawyer employees.3

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Lafferty v. Jones, 316 A.3d 742 (Conn. Ct. App. 2024).

ABA Formal Ethics Op. 08-451 n.2 (2008).

McLister v. Epstein & Lawrence, P.C., 934 P.2d 844 (Colo. App. 1996); Stanfield v.

Neubaum, 494 S.W.3d 90 (Tex. 2016); Grossman v. Liss & Associates, P.C., 2009 WL 1693450 (Mich. Ct. App. June 16, 2009).

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BARRISTERS ELECTIONS OUTCOMES The Barristers Elections and Holiday Party was held on December 10.

Thank you to everyone who came and to our newly elected Executive Officers: Jimmy Snodgrass, President; Courteney Barnes-Anderson, Vice President; Isaac Westling and Mariel Bough, Secretary/Treasurer; and Lucas Fishman and Jon Fromke, Members at Large. Hunger & Poverty Relief Co-Chairs Holly Nehls and Dillan Zinser received the Barristers’ President’s Awards.

VETERANS LEGAL ADVICE CLINIC The Veterans’ Legal Advice Clinic is a joint project of the KBA/Barristers Access to Justice Committees, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, the Knox Co. Public Defender’s Community Law Office, the UT College of Law, LMU- Duncan School of Law, and the local Veterans Affairs office. This is a general advice and referral clinic which requires attorney volunteers for its continued operation. The next Veterans Legal Clinic will be held in person at the Knoxville Community Law Office on February 12. Sign up at https://www.knoxbar.org/?pg=Upcoming-Legal-Clinics.

HIGH SCHOOL MOCK TRIAL The Barristers High School Mock Trial Regional Competition will occur in the City County Building on February 21 and 22, and the final two teams will advance to the championship round held in LMU’s Courtroom on Sunday, February 23. This program is supported entirely

by volunteer efforts. Traditionally, East Tennessee law school students, attorneys, and judges have donated their time to serve in the roles of bailiffs, scoring judges, and presiding judges during the competition.

Please contact either Celia Ball-Christmas (celia@knox-attorney.com) or the KBA at 865-522-6522 with any questions. If you are interested in volunteering, you can sign up at https://memcentral.wufoo.com/forms/ rvlhyqd0mswwrf/.

VOLUNTEER BREAKFAST COMMITTEE CONTINUES OPERATIONS Volunteer Breakfast is a recurring event on the 4th Thursday of each month at 6:15 a.m. at the Volunteer Ministry Center, located at 511 N. Broadway, Knoxville, Tennessee. The Barristers Volunteer Breakfast Committee always needs volunteers to serve food or sponsor. The cost is $150 for sponsoring, and we need 4-5 volunteers. If you are unable to fund the breakfast, the Barristers will subsidize the cost of the breakfast.

We meet at 6:15 a.m. and serve breakfast to approximately 30-40 individuals, generally leaving the site around 7:30 a.m. It’s a great way to serve the community! Please contact either Matt Knable at mknable@ wkfirm.com or Miranda Goodwin at mirandaegoodwin@gmail.com with any questions and/or about volunteering.

The best of big and small.

So you get it all.

First Horizon is the only bank that offers big bank tools you need with the personal service you deserve.

©2024 First Horizon Bank. Member FDIC.

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January 2025

MANAGEMENT COUNSEL: LAW PRACTICE 101 By: Jimmy Snodgrass Kramer Rayson LLP

MANAGING PET-FRIENDLY WORKPLACES In the hope of writing topical articles, I planned to write about work holiday parties gone awry. My initial Westlaw search results were full of great material. But, I do enjoy having a job and wasn’t sure how creative I needed to be with some censoring of the language in the decisions.1 Therefore, I thought it was a smarter decision to write about something almost everyone enjoys—animals.

The topic of animals in the workplace, however, is a bit more difficult.

This concept was almost unheard of several decades ago, but now, companies (including several local firms) increasingly allow pets in the workplace both to increase employee morale and to serve as an incentive for recruiting younger workers.2 However, this also comes with additional considerations for employers.

First, employers may need to consider the issue of service animals in the workplace. Employees may claim that their service animal is a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for their disability.3 Employers must consider allowing an employee with a disability with a documented need for a service animal to utilize the service animal at work unless doing so would result in an undue hardship.

Service animals are only defined under Titles II and III of the ADA, which address disability discrimination by public entities and in public accommodations. Notably, service animals do not include those for “the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship.”

The Department of Justice also provides several examples of tasks that service animals can perform, such as “assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds” or “assisting an individual during a seizure.”4 Employers should engage in the interactive process under the ADA and consider whether the use of a service animal is a reasonable accommodation for the specific workplace. In determining whether the accommodation is reasonable, employers can consider the specific industry and role of the employee, health and safety concerns, the physical location for the service animal, and whether additional information from the employee’s healthcare provider is required.

However, employers can also place limitations on the use of service animals as a reasonable accommodation, such as requiring that the service animal be adequately trained and under control at all times.

As an example, in Arndt v. Ford Motor Company, the Eastern

District of Michigan granted summary judgment where a former employee alleged that Ford violated the ADA by failing to engage in the interactive process regarding his request to have his service dog come to work as an accommodation for his PTSD.5 The court granted Ford’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the employer engaged in the interactive process by assembling a team to consider the employee’s request and potential safety concerns resulting from having a dog on the assembly floor, sought additional information from the employee’s psychologist, and placed him on full paid leave while it considered the request. However, the location of the plaintiff ’s employment—an automobile assembly plant—distinguished this request from a typical office due to the presence of increased safety concerns.

As another example, when dealing with a pet allergy as a disability, the Southern District of New York found that a genuine issue of fact existed as to whether permitting an employee, who was a care manager at a long-term care facility and had pet allergies, to conduct home visits only to members without pets would have been a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.6 Lastly, as tried-and-true advice for an employment lawyer, employers should consider creating an office policy regarding pets in the workplace (which are not service animals). As always, this policy should be applied uniformly. It could specify who is permitted to bring their pets to the workplace (and how often), what types of animals can be brought in, where animals can be present, and it could require that they be wellmannered and be approved by a specific manager.

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I stand by the fact that simply printing excerpts of the results of either “Christmas party” AND “drunk” or “terminated” AND “holiday party”/s “behavior” would be something everyone would enjoy reading. See, e.g., State v. Becton, 66 Tenn. 138, 139–40 (1874) (“The parties crowded up around him in a boisterous manner, evidently being under the influence of liquor, and ‘on a Christmas drunk,’ it being Christmas day. One of them caught witness by the collar and choked him, and another held a gun, cocked, to his head, while another took his pocket-book, containing money to the amount of one dollar and forty cents in fractional currency.”) (an 1874 decision involving the death penalty for a robbery offense).

Several employers, such as Mars Petcare, also allow “paw-ternity leave” to help pets acclimate to a new home. I’m sure this will also catch on with multiple established law firms in the Knoxville area any day now.

Notably, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-304 makes it a Class B misdemeanor to fraudulently represent the need for a service animal in certain circumstances.

28 C.F.R. § 35.104.

247 F. Supp.3d 832 (E.D. Mich. 2017), aff’d, 716 F. App’x 519 (6th Cir. 2017).

Sivio v. Vill. Care Max, 436 F. Supp. 3d 778 (S.D.N.Y. 2020).

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 jsnodgrass@kramer-rayson.com.

January 2025

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LEGALLY WEIRD By: Lisa J. Hall

Hodges, Doughty & Carson, PLLC

MUNCHAUSEN BY SERGIO: NOT THE BEST-LAID PLANS. JUST PLANS In my extensive research for this installment of Legally Weird, featuring former California lawyer Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez (who uses “Valdovinos” as his chosen last name), my mind immediately jumped in two directions: (1) This guy reminds me a lot of Scamanda, a true crime podcast and soon-to-be a television series about a woman who faked cancer for almost a decade and received donations of over $100,000 (all without making the effort to get a law degree or take the bar exam, so who is the better con artist here?) and (2) I can’t help but ponder Glinda’s1 lines in the song “No One Mourns the Wicked” in Wicked, “Are people born Wicked? Or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them?” To clarify, was Sergio (I am going to use “Sergio” because I just don’t ever get to call anyone “Sergio,” and there will be no confusion about the person to whom I am referring)(to be fair, I am disappointed that none of Sergio’s three names lend themselves to a title like “Scamanda”)2 always a con artist, and was his long-range plan always to get the law degree, place himself into a position of trust where he held lots of money for clients, and then pocket the money? If so, were there no skills he acquired in the process of earning his degree and studying for and taking the LSAT and/or bar exam that could have helped him form a better long-range plan? I can award no points for clever strategy or ultimate likelihood of success for Sergio. If Sergio was not always a con artist, what happened between the time he began the journey to become a lawyer and establish himself in practice and the time he was caught to cause him to take this poorly planned and executed path? If he was not born a con artist, was the con life thrust upon him? Did the con life choose him?

I am getting ahead of myself. You do not even know what Sergio did, and I am exploring a chicken-and-egg quandary that I am incapable of answering. If nothing else, Sergio can serve as a “What Not to Do” if you wish to scam your clients and get away with it. Sergio’s victims included at least five clients. He used funds in his trust account for gambling, as well as Lyft rides, utility payments, restaurants and gas stations. He told two of his clients he had reached a settlement in their cases when he had never even filed lawsuits. He wrote them checks representing their recoveries in these cases, but the checks bounced.

Another client hired him in a conservatorship matter in June 2022, and within weeks had paid him $73,865 in advance fees. Sergio purchased tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of chips at casinos.3 The client checked the case at the courthouse, realized no action had been taken in the case, and requested a refund. Sergio did not return the money and told the client he had cancer.

The Office of Chief Trial Counsel filed a notice of disciplinary charges against Sergio. Just prior to this, Sergio told the counsel he had cancer. He sought multiple extensions, due to his chemotherapy.

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Conditioned upon medical documentation of the treatments, the judge granted the extensions. You would think if he was willing to take it this far, Sergio might have fully committed to his scheme and falsified some documentation or blackmailed a doctor to corroborate his story, but either his moral/ethical compass or his fraud/forgery skills had some sort of limit.

He provided no documentation of treatment, and a counsel investigation revealed no record of Sergio or the name of the physician (the fictional “Dr. Stephen Chang”) he provided at City of Hope, the hospital where Sergio claimed he was receiving treatment. Even during the hearing, Sergio “doubled down on his misrepresentation each day of the trial, providing the judge and OCTC with a false name of a physician and dishonestly claiming he had signed an authorization to release his medical records.”4 He sent an email that his medical struggles prevented him from appearing the first day of trial: I’ve tried my best to be there physically, but my health has not allowed for it to be so…I have all my medical paperwork with me, but find it physically impossible to get it over to you, as my current outpatient treatment makes it hard to do so. It is currently happening right now. After speaking with my medical team, I believe I can physically attend the remainder of the days for trial, while getting treatment in the evenings…I would love to say this on the record via calling in, but my voice is currently nonexistent due to the effects of nauseousness.5 Despite this statement, he also stated he was reluctant to present medical evidence due to privacy concerns. “The simple truth is that Valdovinos repeatedly lied.”6 Ultimately, Sergio was disbarred on October 18, 2024, and ordered to make restitution to the five former clients for nearly $117,000, plus 10 percent interest. Perhaps it would not be classy of me to call Sergio a “flimflammer,” but given the season, I think, in the spirit of Buddy the Elf, it is warranted to call him a “cotton-headed ninny-muggins.” And Sergio, if you are reading this, do not get any ideas about a defamation claim. After all, it is not defamation if it is true.

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This is obviously after the “a” was removed from Galinda. If this reminds of you of Mater from Cars, when he said like “Tuh-mater, without the ‘tuh,’” me too.

A thesaurus is no help here – one of the synonyms for “scam artist” is “flimflammer.”

Between February 2021 and February 2023, he spent $886,535 in gambling chips at casinos, presumably some of which were purchased with his own money not emanating from a trust account.

In the Matter of Sergio Valdovinos Ramirez, SBC-22-O-30976, pp. 3-4 (State Bar Court of California Review Dept), June 28, 2024.

Id. at p. 51.

Id.

January 2025

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January 2025

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T H R E E S T A R S , continued from page 13 Id. Kedalo Construction, LLC v. Linda Duygul Ward, et al., slip op. No. M2024-00224COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 7, 2024), available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/ membercentralcdn/sitedocuments/tnbar/tnbar/0783/2621783.pdf?AWSAccessK eyId=AKIAIHKD6NT2OL2HNPMQ&Expires=1733448680&Signature=RLoiWEq3X 1n8eHb%2B4kGFh7j8PQg%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22wardl%5F112624%2Epdf%22%3B%20filename%2A% 3DUTF%2D8%27%27wardl%255F112624%252Epdf&response-contenttype=application%2Fpdf.

Id. at pp. 1-2.

Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke.

Kedalo Construction, supra n.4 at page 2.

Id. Id.; see also Better Business Bureau Review, Kedalo Construction (Apr. 21, 2022), https://www.bbb.org/us/tn/clarksville/profile/general-contractor/kedaloconstruction-llc-0573-37288606/customer-reviews, last visited Dec. 6, 2024.

Id. Kedaloconstructionscam.com, www.kedaloconstructionscamcom, last visited Dec. 6, 2024.

Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride (1987).

Better Business Bureau Review, supra n. 9; Yelp, Kedalo Construction (Apr. 21, 2022), https://www.yelp.com/biz/kedalo-construction-clarksville-2, last visited Dec. 6, 2024.

Kedalo Construction, supra n.4 at p. 2.

Id. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-101, et seq. Just make sure you don’t confuse this TPPA with the other TPPA (the Tennessee Public Protection Act), which protects employees who are whistleblowers and who use “an agricultural substance not regulated by the alcoholic beverage commission . . ..” from termination. See Tenn.

Code Ann. § 50-1-304.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-102.

See Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-104.

Id. Id. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-105.

Id. Id.

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Id. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-107.

Id. Kedalo Construction, supra n.4 at p. 3.

Id. at p. 4. This sort of stinks because don’t we all want to know if posting negative reviews on Facebook, Yelp, and the BBB constitutes an exercise of free speech?

Id. Id. Id.

2 1 S T C E N T U R Y L A W Y E R , continued from page 18 incidents with brands on their accounts, and I compiled them into PSA style, “Here’s what we can do when x happens” videos and explained what contract terms meant. Little by little, influencers began to reach out to me.

By March 2023, about six months into being licensed, I had publicly launched my firm and brought on a client that would steadily bring me work every month. I knew I was on the right track.

I shared the journey with my audience on Tik Tok (of course), LinkedIn, and my personal Instagram. One day, I knew it was time to create a law firm account. After all, my personal page was still where I wanted to be a creator myself, and not everyone cared that I was a law firm owner.

It took a lot of work, putting myself out there. I attended every bar association networking event I could find, took any and every virtual and in-person coffee meeting with a creator, sports agent, talent manager, etc., and signed up for influencer engagement groups so I could see what their pain points were.

I took everything I could learn and brainstormed content ideas to help me educate influencers and others wanting to work in the creator economy. More and more, I realized that was my niche. I would make educational videos explaining contract terms and common scenarios affecting those in the creator economy. That took off, and slowly began to bring in leads and opportunities to learn.

After attending a few conferences geared towards the social media space, even traveling to NYC for them and crashing on friends’ couches, I finally decided to leave my personal injury job, and challenge myself to make it work. That was at the end of August 2023. Q4 is the busiest time of year for the creator economy, thanks to brands having high marketing budgets, so I knew I needed to go all in. I was right, and it worked… until

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February when engagements slowed down. I was left wondering if I made the right move.

Then law students started reaching out to me, asking if I would guide them in how I did it. Lawyers wanted to learn more about me and how I leveraged LinkedIn and my personal brand to grow. I found my groove again, and this summer I rebranded my law firm to really emphasize my creator-first and empowerment approach.

For anyone looking to start their own business, whether it’s a consultancy or law firm, the number one first step is identifying your ideal customer/client and what you can offer them that others can’t.

The next step is telling that story publicly through personal branding. You don’t need fancy marketing right away if you can sell yourself. Get clear on your vision and put it out there. Launch fast, adjust along the way, make mistakes, and grow from them. Look for advocates and adjacent professionals to collaborate with and share the process.

Relatability is huge these days, so is personalization, finding ways to tailor your client experience, and having people get to know the lawyer behind the law firm is the new way forward.

I always say making two to three LinkedIn posts a week and adding a video or two on Instagram Reels and Tik Tok--whether it’s on a personal account or a business page (it’s up to you if you want them to be separate)—is enough to get started.

I launched a website a year and a half in, and hired assistants to help me manage all the content and platforms around then too. Now it’s a full-blown firm. But at the start, it was just me and a dream, to be the go-to lawyer for influencers and creators who understood the world of influencer marketing because. Making videos in my room, just like the Tik Tok folks who gave me the idea in the first place.

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January 2025

TOP TEN By: Jason H. Long Lewis Thomason, PC

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS It’s that time of year again. The new year awaits us with all of the hope, joy, and optimism that it can bring. 2025 will be the year! The year when everything comes together, and we live our best lives. Of course, that optimism is grounded in the reality that this is the year we will establish and adhere to our New Year’s Resolutions. Here are my Top Ten for the New Year: 10. Stop With the Extensions. Ever feel like you spend your life seeking extensions for deadlines? Whether I owe something to the Court, client, opposing counsel or others on my team, I feel like I spend a significant portion of each day either asking for, or explaining why, I need additional time to accomplish a particular task. It is a vicious cycle as these requests take time away from doing other projects, resulting in the need for more requests. I’m tired of pushing that rock up the hill.

9. More Golf. Between work and family, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day for our personal pleasures. For me, it’s a good round of golf. Yours can be any personal or guilty pleasure you enjoy.

This year I’m going to treat myself a little more.

8. Get More Proactive in Litigation. I realize that I am a defense attorney so some of this is natural evolution, but it does feel like, more often than not, I am playing defense in litigation. I am constantly reacting to the actions of the other side. While that can be an effective strategy, it is not nearly as fun as driving the boat. Maybe when I stop begging for extensions, I’ll be able to play a more active role in my cases.

7. Communicate Better (With Everyone). From keeping the insurance adjusters abreast of the latest developments in a case to calling my sister and letting her know my daughter’s upcoming play schedule, I have to do a better job of communicating with people. My communication skills (or at least the desire to exercise them) have diminished over the years. I need to slow down my evolution into a grumpy old man, telling everyone else to mind their own damn business.

6. Watch the Vols. As I write this column, the University of Tennessee boasts a football team that has secured a spot in the College Football Playoffs, an undefeated women’s basketball team, the defending national championship baseball team, and a men’s basketball team that will almost certainly be ranked number one in the nation when the polls are released on Monday. Has there ever been a better time to be a Tennessee Volunteer? This city is a better place when the Vols are winning; there is a true excitement in the air. We need to enjoy that to the fullest.

5. Get Better Organized. My calendar is a mess. Part online, part handwritten, I have to look in about six different places to figure out what I am doing and where I am going on any given day. My office is even more of a disaster with files and boxes piled upon one another in no discernible order. I am starting to look like a hoarder. No better time than the new year to get on top of the mess and get organized.

4. Reinvest in the Bar. Over the years, my best friends (including my bride) and many of my best memories have come from bar association work. The last few years have been ones of significant transition for me, and I have distanced myself from the professional bars to focus on those changes. It’s time to reverse course and get back to my roots.

3. Spend More Time Living in the Moment. Our profession is terrible for getting people to live in the moment. Lawyers live their lives preparing for or anticipating future events. There are very few times in January 2025

life when we truly just enjoy the moment. 2025 should be a year for more deliberate living.

2. Engage in Less Social Media. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, social media is a net negative force in our world. On the negative side, it deflates our self-esteem by showing constant updates of our friends living their best lives, it detracts from real personal interaction by binding us to our phones, and it offers a megaphone to everyone and their brother to espouse whatever they want, whether they know what they are talking about or not. On the positive side, there are a lot of really adorable dog videos. 2025 is the year to put down the phone and stop with the social media.

1. Pay Attention to My Personal Health. This has to be the most common and universal New Year’s Resolution, right. Whether couched as “I’m gonna lose weight,” “I’ll exercise regularly,” or “I’m going to focus on mental health this year,” in some form or fashion almost everyone makes resolutions related to their health, and, if you are like me, you break the resolution before the month of January ends. The problem is, I’m 53 years old now, and complete disregard for my physical health is no longer something I can get away with. My body is really starting to yell, “Pay attention to me!” Ever optimistic, this is the year I resolve to listen.

Happy New Year to all.

DICTA

25

BARRISTER BITES By: Angelia Morie Nystrom

Vice President for Advancement and Chief Legal Counsel East Tennessee Foundation

AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE: TASTES OF THE HOLIDAYS In popular culture, the pear tree was immortalized alongside a partridge in the 18th century Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” It was always one of my favorites. To be frank, though, I thought the five gold rings were probably the best gift, but the pear tree was a close second. There is nothing quite as good as a fresh, ripe pear.

To me, nothing says “Christmas” like fresh pears. I will never forget the first time a box of Harry and David pears arrived at our house at Christmas. I was in middle school, and my experience with pears was limited to Dole pear halves in light syrup and the occasional Bartlett pear that appeared in the Dandridge White Store. When the box arrived, my sister and I eagerly unwrapped the box and wondered what made those pears so special that one of them was wrapped in gold. We quickly learned the answer: those Royal Riviera Comice pears were buttery and exceptionally sweet. We were hooked.

I still love a good pear, especially at Christmas. My “go-to” lunch during winter is the pear sandwich: a bagel half topped with Honeybaked Ham smoked turkey, pear slices, and Havarti cheese baked in the oven until the cheese is melted and brown. It’s easy, and the flavors are amazing. It is the perfect treat for a cold, winter day.

If I am entertaining, though, I have two pear dishes that are always crowd-pleasers.

The first is Sweet and Savory Baked Pears, which can be served as either an appetizer or dessert. A blend of sweet and savory, these baked pears are a simple, yet elegant, way to elevate your table, whether you are hosting guests or treating yourself.

To prepare, you will need 4 ripe but firm pears (halved and cored), ½ cup of crumbled feta cheese, ¼ cup dried cranberries (chopped), 2 TBS honey, 1 tsp fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste, and chopped walnuts to garnish. Preheat your oven to 375°. Halve the pears and scoop out the cores to create a small well in each half. Place the pears cut side up in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, and then fill each center with crumbled feta and chopped cranberries. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pears soften and the feta starts to melt. Remove from the oven, drizzle with honey, and sprinkle with thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped walnuts if desired for an extra crunch. Serve warm.

The second is red wine poached pears, which is my absolute favorite holiday dessert. It evokes memories of our first trip to France in 2009.

Hugh and I visited in December, and we fell in love with the Christmas markets. If I close my eyes, I can smell the fresh crepes, spiced nuts, and mulled wine. While I am not a huge red wine fan, I loved mulled wine.

The combination of the warmth, the spices, the sugar, and the wine was

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amazing. Hugh suggested that the base for poached pears was probably very similar to mulled wine and that we could recreate that when we returned home.

Hugh scoured the internet for a recipe that he thought would match the flavor profile of the mulled wine. He was successful, and red wine poached pears have been a part of our holidays for years.

To make poached pears, you will need 3-6 medium sized bosc pears (ripe, but not over-ripe), 1 bottle Merlot (2-2 ½ cups), 1 orange peel (zested), ½ cup orange juice, 8 to 10 whole cloves, 2 sticks cinnamon, ½ cup sugar, and 1 TBS vanilla extract.

You will need a pot with a lid that will comfortably fit all the pears that you will be poaching. Place the wine, orange peel, orange juice, cloves, cinnamon, ¼ cup sugar, and vanilla extract in your pot. Bring the poaching liquid to a simmer at medium-medium high heat while stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat to low.

Peel the pears as completely as possible. The pears will not pick up the red color and absorb the flavor if the skin remains. I always use a vegetable peeler so that the skin is removed but the flesh is intact. Once the skin has been removed, cut the pears in half length-wise and remove any seeds and core with a small knife or melon baller.

Lower the peeled pears into the simmering poaching liquid. Place the lid on the pot and allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes, but rotate the pears every 5-10 minutes to ensure they poach evenly on all sides.

The pears are done when a thin knife blade goes through the pears with very little resistance. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the pears, and how ripe/unripe they are at the start. When the pears have been poached, remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the pears to cool down in the poaching liquid. When the pears have cooled, remove them to a dish or cooling rack.

Once the pears have been removed from the poaching liquid, strain the poaching liquid to remove the spices and orange peel. Discard the spices. Place the strained liquid back in the pot and add the remaining sugar. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil until it reduces to a syrup that can be poured over the pears when serving.

To serve, place a pear in a dessert bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, Chantilly cream, or mascarpone cheese. (My preference is ice cream.) Drizzle with some of the red wine syrup and serve.

Pears are popular at Christmas because they are prized for their elegant appearance and mouth-watering flavor. If you want to impress your guests this holiday season, give one of these recipes a try!

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January 2025

FOODIE FINDS: THE BEST OF KNOXVILLE FOOD TRUCKS By: Parker Bohne LMU Duncan School of Law J.D. Candidate, 2026

HAMBURGER HILL In the bustling food truck scene, few stand out quite like Hamburger Hill. Owned and operated by Troy “TK” Kyle and his wife, Erica, this gem on wheels is redefining what it means to serve quality burgers, one smash at a time. From its humble beginnings during the COVID-19 pandemic to its reputation as one of Knoxville’s freshest and most affordable food trucks, Hamburger Hill is a true testament to resilience, ingenuity, and flavor.

In Knoxville’s thriving food truck scene, Hamburger Hill is more than just a place to grab a bite—it’s a story of determination and community. Hamburger Hill was founded by TK and Erica during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2021. With a commitment to making smashburgers with fresh, made-to-order ingredients and a passion for giving back, Hamburger Hill is redefining what it means to serve quality and consistent meals with a purpose.

TK and Erica launched Hamburger Hill in 2021 during a period of uncertainty when the pandemic had turned life upside down. Needing to find a new way to make some extra cash, TK, a natural at budgeting, decided to challenge himself. With a quick search on the internet, he found all he needed to know about opening a food truck. While everything he read suggested a $20,000-$30,000 investment to start a food truck, TK saw an opportunity to prove otherwise. TK set his budget at $5,000 and was able to get up and running using only $3,500 of that budget.

Despite the modest start, TK’s vision for Hamburger Hill was ambitious: to create a farm-to-table food truck with zero waste. With no freezer onboard, every ingredient is fresh, from the patties to the hand-cut fries made to order. Even the seasoning—a recipe handed down by TK’s mother over 25 years ago—is the only seasoning used in the kitchen. This attention to detail and commitment to freshness set Hamburger Hill apart in a crowded market.

One of the keys to Hamburger Hill’s success lies in its simplicity.

By relying solely on his mother’s seasoning blend, TK achieves both consistency and affordability. There’s no salt or pepper on board, and the absence of tomatoes and lettuce—ingredients that can vary in quality— ensures that every bite is as delicious as the last. This minimalist yet effective approach speaks volumes about TK’s dedication to quality and his skill as a chef.

Hamburger Hill’s specialty is the smashburger, and it’s easy to see why. Imagine a buttery patty cooked to perfection, topped with gooey cheese that melts in your mouth. For those with an appetite for adventure, the Ms. Mammy Smashburger takes indulgence to the next level with ten patties stacked high.

If beef isn’t your thing, the truck also offers turkey burgers and creative vegetarian options. The standout among these is the Nacho Mama’s Grilled Cheese—a playful twist on the classic grilled cheese that includes pickles, onions, TK’s signature “Hill Sauce,” and a satisfying crunch from crushed chips. Pair any of these creations with fresh-cut fries and a refreshing glass of sweet tea for the ultimate comfort food experience.

But no visit to Hamburger Hill is complete without dessert, and Pooh’s Puddin—a creamy banana pudding—is the perfect finale.

What makes Hamburger Hill truly special isn’t just its menu but the heart behind the operation. Despite his culinary success, TK has never lost sight of his mission to give back to the community. From providing meals to those who can’t afford to pay to keeping menu prices affordable January 2025

for everyone, TK’s generosity is woven into the fabric of Hamburger Hill.

The truck’s name itself is a nod to Knoxville’s rich history, paying homage to Pork Chop Hill, a speakeasy that once stood in the historically Black neighborhood of Mechanicsville. For TK and Erica, Hamburger Hill is not just a business, it’s a testament to perseverance and community spirit. Hamburger Hill is open on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and can be found at 6659 Oak Ridge Highway.

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BENCH AND BAR IN THE NEWS How to place an announcement: If you are a KBA member in good standing and you’ve moved, have property to rent, or received an award, we’d like to hear from you. Talks, speeches (unless they are of international stature), CLE promotions and political announcements are not accepted.

Notices must be submitted in writing and limited to 100 words. They are printed at no cost to members and are subject to editing. Email your notice to membership@knoxbar.org.

Address Changes

Please note the following changes in your KBA Attorneys’ Directory and other office records:

KBA MEMBER SHOUT OUTS As part of this year’s focus on celebrating our bar association’s diverse membership and exploring creative ways for members to connect, network, and experience fulfillment in the practice of law, we would like to highlight the accomplishments and contributions of KBA members who are making a difference in the legal arena and beyond. Send links to news to posts or articles, pictures, or just a blurb about what’s going on to membership@knoxbar.org.

FREE CLASSIFIEDS AVAILABLE Did you know the Classified section on the KBA website allows you to add your resume if you are looking for a job or if you need to hire someone, you can post a job and search for candidates? Click on Public Resources and select “Career Classifieds” from the dropdown navigation.

The Classifieds receive in excess of 8,000 page views each month so if you are looking for a job or a new position, make sure to check out this valuable resource.

LEGAL HISTORY VIDEOS AVAILABLE In 2012, the KBA’s Archives Committee began interviewing senior members of the local legal community to capture their stories and perspectives on life and the practice of law. With funding provided by the Knoxville Bar Foundation, the KBA has been able to preserve this history for future generations of lawyers and other interested persons. It is important not to forget the contributions of those who built the local bar and sharing milestones and stories of great lawyers and judges provides new lawyers with historical perspective and inspiration. View the interviews online at www.knoxbar.org by clicking Member Resources and then Practice Resources.

William Warren Gill IV BPR #: 033716 Tennessee Public Defenders Conference - Appellate Division 618 Church Street, Suite 300 Nashville, TN 37219 Ph: (615) 741-5562 william.gill@tn.gov

Jordan T. Newport BPR #: 037604 Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis, P.C. P.O. Box 2047 Knoxville, TN 37901-2047 Ph: (865) 37901-2047 jnewport@emlaw.com

Dana C. Holloway BPR #: 013275 Holloway Law & Mediation Center, PLLC P.O. Box 22460 Knoxville, TN 37933-0460 Ph: (865) 643-8720 dholloway@hollowaymediation.com

Chad M. Taylor BPR #: 041596 The Law Offices of Chad M. Taylor P.O. Box 612 Knoxville, TN 37901-0612 Ph: (865) 266-2146 chad.m.taylor.esq@gmail.com Daniel T. Woodard BPR #: 039575 The Woodard Law Firm, PLLC 608 Mabry Hood Rd., Suite 6 Knoxville, TN 37932-2668 Ph: (865) 293-4960 dan@thewoodardfirm.com

Sarah D. Jarrard BPR #: 035197 City of Oak Ridge P.O. Box 1 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0001 Ph: (865) 425-3530 sjarrard@oakridgetn.gov Jacqueline O. Kittrell BPR #: 013578 Law Office of Jacqueline O. Kittrell 6420 Strawberry Plains Pike Knoxville, TN 37914-9585 Ph: (865) 684-9843 jackie.kittrell@2mediate.org Matt R. Knable BPR #: 034587 Veritas-HHS 551 W Main St Knoxville, TN 37902-2504 Ph: (865) 755-7164 matt@knable.me

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

THE KNOXVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION IS PLEASED TO WELCOME THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS:

NEW ATTORNEYS Micah Brunet Young, Williams & Theiss, P.C.

Laura E. Metcalf The Law Office of Laura Metcalf

Elizabeth Studebaker Winchester, Sellers, Foster & Steele, PC

Daniel K. Dunn Shanks & Blackstock

Jamey M. Minnihan Frantz, McConnell & Seymour, LLP

Willow Van Skyhawk Garza Law Firm, PLLC

Kevin A. Escalona Kennerly, Montgomery & Finley, P.C.

Keeley Morton Woolf, McClane, Bright, Allen & Carpenter, PLLC

Matthew Wing Kramer Rayson LLP

Brandon J. Guidish McKeehan Law Group, LLC

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NEW LAW STUDENT MEMBERS Addison K. Asher Jaya M. Eskridge Caroline T. Hensley Gabrielle R. Jenkins John W. Kite Isabella Lamon Devika Patel

Madison Rademacher

Ellie Hudson Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office

Alec Michael Rains Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office

Sarah Lown Pryor, Priest, Harber, Floyd & Coffey

Dylan N. Shelton Banks & Jones

Chloe Philpot Jeffrey C. Ramsey Noah Riddle Bailee Savage Jacob Stembridge

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January 2025

WELL READ By: Loretta G. Cravens Eldridge & Cravens, PC

LOVELY ONE, BY KETANJI BROWN JACKSON When I first learned of the publication of Lovely One, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s 2024 memoir, I knew I wanted to read it. I am a lawyer after all, and reading about the life and career of the newest United States Supreme Court Justice, to me, felt like both a professional and civic duty. When my pre-ordered copy finally arrived this past September, I dove in. This book is much meatier than the fluff I expected. It’s a tome at nearly 400 pages not counting the endnotes.

Despite its length, which, at times, can make it a challenging read, I dove in and finished it in less than a week. It is worth a read.

Lovely One is much more than a Justice’s accounting of her path to our nation’s highest court. It is a personal, inspirational, and artistically written story of a life still being lived. Justice Brown’s prose flows easily, and the telling of her own life story is surprisingly insightful and relatable.

Lovely One begins with a powerful childhood memory of Justice Brown’s “salt-of-the-earth” parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, as her father studied law from a pile of textbooks at the kitchen table, while her teacher mother, prepared dinner, and young Ketanji drew, created stories, and practiced her letters. From these opening paragraphs, the reader is on notice that this will be an artistically written story of an artistically lived life carrying forward the values and lessons of generations.

Justice Brown’s ancestors were enslaved on plantations. Her grandparents cultivated professions for themselves in the Jim Crow South. Her father eventually became a lawyer for the school board and her mother a science teacher. They instilled the value of education, formal and social, in their young daughter who absorbed those lessons well.

As a child, Justice Brown developed a love of art and performance, passions that continued throughout her education and career, including a real-life cameo from Matt Damon, long before he became an Oscar winner. Her lifelong love of art and performance weave throughout the book underlying many important personal and professional experiences and seemingly ingrained in her very essence.

Justice Brown takes us through her love story with her college sweetheart, her friendships from childhood and college that became her squad and stayed her closest and most important confidantes and advocates, and the challenges of building a career and a family. She details paying her dues building her legal career while her eventual husband built his as a surgeon, and the difficult and challenging decisions around starting a family and raising children, including a daughter with an autism spectrum disorder. She describes the challenges of being a young professional and young mother with grace. Even writing about the indignities of others commentary on her hair, breast feeding, or her uncles’ drug conviction and later pardon, are communicated with thoughtfulness.

I found particularly enlightening her descriptions of her time as a law clerk for Justice Steven Breyer. While she certainly addresses the work of the Court, arduous and tedious at times, it the insight into January 2025

his humanity that I found most interesting. We, as lawyers, seem to sometimes forget that those who ascend the bench to judgeship are indeed still humans (and lawyers) after donning the robe. Having personally recognized that fact, as most of us do when our own peers and colleagues become Judges, somehow I still did not quite view our Supreme Court Justices with those same human and professional characteristics. Thanks to Justice Brown’s book, now I can see that humanity more clearly.

Lovely One would be a good read for anyone who is a fan of biographies, especially those of lawyers or judges, but for women lawyers of a certain age, I think you may find many of Justice Brown’s life experiences really resonate. In the end, this memoir is really not about Justice Brown’s road to the highest judicial bench in the land. It is a heartfelt retelling of how a child grew into a woman who created a life for herself and her family, that not only earned her the honor of being tapped for the nation’s highest court but prepared her to sit thoughtfully on it. The epilogue concludes: “I have the privilege of serving others by defending the Constitution and the rule of law. And I have art. How much more lovely can any one life be?” A lovely closing sentiment for all of us, indeed.

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Serving the Legal Community in Assisting Low-Income Persons To Navigate the Justice System

PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT

PRO BONO NIGHT 2024: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH Bono Night 2024: Thursday, November 7th at The Standard ATProTHE STANDARD Thank you to everyone who came out to Pro Bono Night 2024! It was a joy to celebrate all the incredible work our area bar and community partners have done to support Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the Pro Bono Project. We are delighted to share pictures from the event, including some of our wonderful 2024 Pro Bono Award winners and presenters!

ATJ Commission Chair Joy Radice, Anne-Louise Wirthlin, and ATJ Commissioner Kendra Mansur KBA President Carlos Yunsan and 2024 Pro Bono Law Student of the Year Daniel Mendoza

Director of Pro Bono Caitlin Torney, LAET Executive Director Debra House, Master of Ceremonies Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs

2024 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Daniel Ellis and Family

Hall of Fame Member Terry Woods and LAET Executive Director Debra House

LAET Executive Director Debra House presents 2024 Pro Bono Community Partner of the Year to the Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment.

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January 2025

PRIVILEGED TO BE A LAWYER By: Sherley Cruz University of Tennessee College of Law

TINY BUT MIGHTY Less than six percent of attorneys in the United States are Hispanic.1 As a Dominican-American, I am privileged to be an attorney.

As a woman, I am incredibly privileged to be part of the less than two percent of law professors who identify as Latina.2 In 2022, just over thirteen percent of all law students identified as Hispanic.3 Latino attorneys are a tiny but mighty group who stand on the shoulders of giants such as civil rights champion Gustavo “Gus” Garcia and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

I am a first-generation college graduate.

My parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic seeking the “American Dream” of hope and opportunity for their children. My father worked the night shift at AT&T so that my mother (who worked the morning shift at AT&T) could be home with me and my younger sister at night. To help make ends meet, my father also delivered the Sunday Boston Globe to grocery stores, gas stations, and corner stores. I fondly remember riding in the delivery truck with him. We would return home early Sunday mornings smelling of newspaper print with our hands stained black from the ink.

Although he never graduated from college, my father was always enrolled in adult-education classes at our local community college, Northern Essex. My mother got her GED while I was in law school. Her classmates selected her as the student speaker for their graduating class.

At the graduation, my mother talked about being the proud parent of a daughter who was attending Boston University School of Law. Truth be told, I was even more proud of my mother’s commitment to getting her high school education. My parents were “tiny” in the sense of not having much wealth or education, but they were mighty in encouraging me to become a lawyer.

I had the immense privilege of practicing as a public interest attorney for over a decade before starting a career in legal academia. As an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services’ Employment Law Unit and later the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Massachusetts Office of Attorney General’s Wage and Hour Division, I advocated for low-wage workers to have dignity, safety, and respect in the workplace.

My clients - who worked at grocery stores, meatpacking plants, daycare centers, and other low-wage jobs - often saw themselves as “tiny” or insignificant at their workplaces. In my eyes, they were beyond mighty for having the fortitude and bravery to speak up for justice at work.

In 2019, I joined the law faculty of the University of Tennessee College of Law as an Assistant Professor in the Advocacy Clinic. As a clinical professor, I am privileged to share my passion for public interest law with my students and even more privileged to be part of the development of their professional identities and legal careers. They start the semester feeling “tiny” or scared that they might not know the law or because they have never represented a client. They end the semester feeling “mighty” about their ability to practice law and the power of the law to change the lives of others.

Throughout my legal career, I have felt “tiny” in terms of not seeing January 2025

myself reflected in professional spaces. I have often been the only Latino person in a classroom, at a bar association meeting, or in a courtroom. I have been a client’s first Latina attorney or a student’s first Latina law professor. Practicing law has given me the privilege of being mighty - especially when I am the only Latina in a room or the first Latina in a particular role. As an attorney, I have given a voice to invisible low-wage workers. I have also had an impact on the direction of the legal profession by serving in leadership roles with bar associations and being an active member of the legal academy. By serving as a mentor, I have helped students become attorneys and have helped new attorneys start their careers.

My perspective, as a Latina, has helped bridge cross-cultural gaps and understanding. My footprint as a lawyer may be tiny, but I am grateful that the impact of my legal career can be mighty.

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2

3

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See Am. Bar Ass’n, 2023 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession, 24 (2023), https:// www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/news/2023/potlp-2023. pdf); See also Jill Lynch Cruz, Still Too Few and Far Between: The Status of Latina Lawyers in the U.S., 40 UCLA Chicanx-Latinx L. Rev. 7, 11 (2023)(approximating that in 2023 “only 3% of all (U.S.) attorneys identified as Latina” based on the findings of the 2023 ABA Report). See also, Nicki Lisa Cole, Phd., Massachusetts Legal Services, The Difference between Hispanic and Latino (May 10, 2021), (The terms Hispanic and Latino are often used interchangeably. The terms, however, have different meanings. Hispanic refers to people descended from Spanish speaking populations, whereas Latino refers to people who descend from Latin American, Central American, and Caribbean populations - some of whom may speak languages other than Spanish, such as Haitian Creole, Portuguese, or indigenous languages.), https://www.masslegalservices.org/content/difference-betweenhispanic-and-latino; Author’s note: I have kept the use of the terms (Hispanic/ Latino) as used in the original sources. I identify as Latino/a and use Latino/a as described in this endnote throughout the rest of this article.

See Jill Cruz, Still Too Few and Far Between: The Status of Latina Lawyers in the U.S. at 55 (referring to Raquel E. Aldana, Emile Loza de Siles, Solangel Maldonado & Rachel F. Moran, Latinas in the Legal Academy: Progress and Promise, 26 Harv.

Latin Am. L. Rev. 301, 320 (2023); and U.S. Bureau of Lab. Stat. Occupational Employment and Wages (May 2023), https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251112. htm).

2023 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession at 45.

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