Some potentially big news out of Tennessee with respect to the overall conversation about the re-regulation of the practice of law happened last month.
I missed it completely probably because it happened the day before I started a three-day disciplinary trial. But, I am still surprised I missed it.
The Tennessee Supreme Court, sua sponte, put out the order you can download below on September 16, 2025 seeking public comment on a variety of topics related to the way law is practiced and how people become lawyers.
Even only occasional readers of this blog will know that I have addressed, on multiple occasions, three large issues involved in the re-regulation of the practice of law discussion over the years. 1. What use actually is the bar examination? 2. The need for reform when it comes to multi-jurisdictional practice of law. 3. Whether people who are not lawyers really should be prohibited from being able to invest or own law firms?
Questions of whether attending three years of law school and passing the bar exam in order to be admitted to the bar in Tennessee are included in the 9/16/25 order.
While whether or not to modify Tennessee’s RPC 5.5 is not explicitly mentioned among the questions on which public comment is sought, it seems fair to say that the topic could be subsumed within: “(5) Whether the Court should consider modifying requirements for admission to the Tennessee Bar for those licensed in other States to promoted interstate practice and mobility.”
And the final specific question posed for comment in the order is “(7) Whether the Court should modify, reduce, or eliminate regulations prohibiting non-lawyer ownership of law firms or fee sharing with non-lawyers.”
I will, undoubtedly, write more about this in the future, but the point for today is just to spread awareness of the order and the comment deadline of March 16, 2026.