Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association

08/27/2026

Join TTLA and Stokes & Associates for a FREE Lunch & Learn on Thursday, September 3 at 12:00 p.m. in Memphis!

This is a great opportunity to enjoy lunch, connect with fellow attorneys, and spend some time with other members of the Memphis legal community.

We also encourage you to invite colleagues who are not currently TTLA members.

This event is open to attorneys practicing in the plaintiff’s bar and family law bar, so please feel free to bring someone who may be interested in learning more about TTLA and connecting with our members.

There is no cost to attend, but we do ask that you RSVP so we can plan accordingly.

RSVP to Tiffany Carpenter at TCarpenter @ CoryWatson.com

We hope to see you there!

08/26/2026

An amazing human being, may we all live like Dolly Parton, being remembered for our hearts and good deeds, as well as our talents and gifts. If you haven't yet, spend some time reading regular people's memories of brief encounters with Dolly, or about how much of a difference it made to receive one of the over 300 million books she gave away to children.

"If you see someone without a smile today, give ’em yours.” - Dolly Parton

08/26/2026

Congratulations to TTLA's Immediate Past President Brandon Bass (Law Offices of John Day, P.C.).

Thank you for your leadership and contribution!

Congratulations to Brandon Bass on being recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® 2027 in three areas of practice:

• Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
• Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs

Brandon also received the distinguished honor of being named the 2027 Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” in Nashville for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs.

This recognition reflects Brandon’s dedication to his clients and commitment to excellence in the practice of law. We are proud to see his work recognized by his peers in the legal profession.

Congratulations, Brandon, on these well-deserved honors!

08/25/2026

Did you know that you can advertise in your seasonal magazine? Reach the best community of Trial Lawyers in Tennessee and let TTLA members know about what you do or can provide.
Interested? Contact Theresa Grisham for all details.

08/21/2026

Chris Smith (DRS Law) breaks down the significance of this tragic event and the specific laws affecting the quest for justice and accountability in Tennessee when it comes to this type of cases.

You can watch the full 8-minute video here: https://youtu.be/nx-4vkzr_-Y?si=tZzCbqZwhu3zO3UD

08/21/2026

Watch this interview with TTLA member and past President Mark Chalos.

Fox17 Nashville reports that a medication mix-up before “routine” knee replacment surgery has left a 72-year old Tennessee woman partially paralyzed and caused harm to three other patients at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown in Nashville. The now-paralyzed patient was supposed to receive anesthetic prior to surgery, and instead was given potassium that led to T6 paralysis. As Fox17 details, potassium chloride can be extremely dangerous when administered incorrectly, and has even been used as a part of Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol in the past.

Many unanswered questions remain. “It’s certainly hard to imagine that they had adequate safety procedures in place,” notes Mark Chalos, Managing Partner of Lieff Cabraser Nashville, who spoke with Fox17 about the incidents. The hospital indicated it had reported the incidents to state regulators, but has not publicly reported the cause or any changes made in the wake of the horrific mistakes.

Mark Chalos Talks to Fox17 About Ascension Saint Thomas Medical Mixup That Leaves 72-Year Old Tennessee Woman Paralyzed https://www.lieffcabraser.com/2026/08/mark-chalos-talks-to-fox17-about-ascension-saint-thomas-medical-mixup-that-leaves-72-year-old-tennessee-woman-paralyzed/

08/20/2026

Internal documents show how tech giants grabbed children’s attention throughout the day, a strategy that schools say has undermined education.

08/19/2026

Join us on Zoom on September 10th for Life Care Planning: A Rock Star Perspective - a special presentation by Clayton Stroope, Stokes & Associates - TTLA Platinum Partner.

RSVP here: https://www.ttla.org/?pg=events&eid=353046&evAction=showDetail

Clayton will cover:

- Steps to creating a defensible life care plan
- Importance of the life care planning case discussion
- Items needed to create a thorough life care plan
- Specific case examples

Clayton Stroope, RN, BSN, CLCP, CCM, LNCC graduated from Samuel Merritt University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Following graduation, he worked at the VA Palo Alto Medical Center and Stanford Medical Center in several acute care patient units including trauma, brain injury, plastics, burns, and spinal cord injury.

After several years of working at the bedside, he transitioned to field case management for a multitude of national workman’s compensation insurers.

During this time, he received his Certified Case Manager (CCM) certification as well as his Certified Life Care Planner (CLCP) certification.

Clayton has since drafted and supervised the finalization of hundreds of life care plans and is a member of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC).

He currently provides case management and life care planning services.

08/17/2026

TTLA members, help us grow this wonderful community of fellow attorneys and paralegals.

Will you invite a colleague to become a fellow TTLA member?

Call, text, or tell them over coffee how helpful it is to be a part of the TTLA community. Or invite them to one of our Fall events, and let them see for themselves how supportive and welcoming we are.

Let's grow stronger together.

08/13/2026

On TUE AUG 18th, dive into Using Agentic AI Ethically and Effectively in Your Practice - presented by Robert T. Simon , the co-founder of The Simon Law Group.

RSVP here: https://www.ttla.org/?pg=semwebcatalog&panel=showLive&seminarid=28067

Agentic AI goes well beyond reviewing, summarizing, editing, and extracting data from large document sets. It is capable of operating autonomously to achieve complex, multi-step goals and workflows.

Agentic AI can search and interact with databases, calendars, emails, and other software applications to deliver a completed task based on its understanding of your goals and intent.

Programs such as Claude for Legal can be used for law firm workflows from marketing to intake, pre-litigation, pleadings, discovery, and trial.

With agentic AI’s expanded capability to initiate actions based on its reasoning, it’s especially important to know best practices for oversight, security, and setting clear limits when using it.

Bob Simon will walk you through the pitfalls and positives of using agentic AI.

He will cover how you can use agentic AI in your practice, required ethical disclosures, the status of the judiciary in using AI, concerns about data security, and how to ensure you own your data.

He will also address predictions on the future of AI.