Local governments and state universities are adjusting their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies to comply with new state laws, the Nashville Post reports. In the most recent legislative session, Tennessee lawmakers passed several laws targeting DEI practices. The first, the Dismantling DEI Departments Act, bans departments that work to promote diversity or equity. The second, the Dismantle DEI in Employment Act, bans the use of hiring practices based on an applicant’s race, ethnicity, sex, age or other demographic. Finally, a third bill eliminates race-based preferences in state board appointments. In response, Metro Nashville, Middle Tennessee State University, Shelby County and the City of Memphis have made changes. Read more from the paper.

Maryland-based U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia may continue to challenge his deportation to El Salvador even though he is now back in the country to stand trial for criminal charges. The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) had argued the suit should be dismissed, according to the Associated Press. Also during the hearing, a DOJ lawyer said the department would try to deport him again if released before trial. That contradicts previous statements from leaders. Additionally, new filings in the case allege that Abrego Garcia endured “severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition and psychological torture” while in the El Salvador prison, The Tennessean reports. In related news, Tennessee Lookout reports that Tennessee-based U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw has ordered lawyers in the criminal case to refrain from making public statements. That order was requested by Abrego Garcia’s lawyers who say the government has “launched a public disparagement campaign” that could prejudice their client’s right to a fair trial.

The Mid-South Commercial Law Institute recently named new officers and five new directors to its 25-member board. Officers are President Cara Alday Patrick with Beard, Schulman & Jacoway in Chattanooga; Vice President/President-Elect Wendy Geurin Smith of Memphis with Evans Petree; Secretary Maggie Reidy, a staff attorney in the Chapter 13 Trustee's office in Nashville; Treasurer R. Bradley Banks of Cleveland with Richard Banks & Associates; and Immediate Past President Paul Jennings with Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville. New directors, elected to five year terms, are: Wes R. Bulgarella with Maynard Nexsen in Birmingham, Alabama; Ryan E. Jarrard of Quist, Fitzpatrick & Jarrard in Knoxville; Tyler Layne of Nashville with Holland & Knight; R. Lee Webber with Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston in Memphis; and Robert “Jay” Wilkinson with Baker Donelson in Chattanooga. See the list of the full 2025 board.

Teresa Carey, a longtime employee in the Hamblen County Clerk & Master's Office, was sworn in as clerk and master of the county's chancery and probate courts on June 30. She succeeds the retiring Kathy Jones-Terry. Chancellor Doug Jenkins, who handles cases for the 3rd Judicial District and swore in Carey, told the Citizen Tribune, “I have all the confidence in the world in her; Teresa’s been around the court system for probably 40 years, and for much of that time she’s been second-in-command. She definitely paid her dues and deserves this well-earned chance to do this. I think she’s going to do great.”

Nashville School of Law (NSL) recently hosted its Annual Recognition Dinner to honor the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award, 1996 graduate Cindy Jones. “When I think back to those years — working full-time, raising two little ones and going to law school at night — I remember how hard it was. But it was also one of the most defining chapters of my life. It shaped in me a discipline and a work ethic that served me throughout my entire career,” Jones said. The dinner also recognized Clark Spoden as this year's faculty honoree. He is a professor of civil procedure and remedies and a partner at Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin in Nashville. NSL Dean Bill Koch said, “Clark exemplifies our faculty’s commitment to our students, not only in his enthusiastic approach to teaching but also in the way he models professionalism and competence.” Read more in a press release from the school and see photos from the event.

Gov. Bill Lee on July 2 announced the appointment of Will Reid as commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), effective July 10. Reid will succeed TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley, who will step down from his role as commissioner but remain as deputy governor, continuing to advise Lee on long-term statewide projects until his departure later this year. Reid has served as TDOT’s chief engineer and deputy commissioner since August 2022. A native of Bartlett, Reid began his career with TDOT in 2014 as director of construction and since has held a number of key leadership positions. Lee said that Reid's "deep understanding of our state’s infrastructure needs, coupled with a track record of driving efficiency and transparency, makes him the right person to lead TDOT into its next chapter of service to Tennesseans." Read more in a press release from the governor's office.

The family of Josselin Corea Escalante, the 16-year-old killed in the Jan. 22 Antioch High School shooting, on June 23 filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Circuit Court against Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and Metro Nashville Government (Metro). The Nashville Post reports that the lawsuit claims MNPS and Metro failed to protect students from harm and should have taken steps to further create a safe environment, citing negligence by MNPS based on the shooter’s history of violent behavior and the failure of the school’s weapon detection system to identify the firearm used during the shooting. The family is suing for $700,000 in damages, the maximum amount allowed under Tennessee’s Governmental Tort Liability Act. The Nashville Banner has additional reporting.

Nashville entertainment lawyer Rachel Guttman recently opened Gutt Law PLLC which will focus its practice on the music industry. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and Tulane University Law School. According to Music Row, Guttman began her career clerking for Judge Dee D. Drell in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana before transitioning into litigation defense and entertainment law in New Orleans. In 2018, she returned to Nashville to focus exclusively on the music and entertainment industry. She is joined by entertainment attorney Victoria Powell, a graduate of Belmont University College of Law, and Morgan Brasfield as head of operations. Gutt Law can be reached at gutt.law.

Following a riot and dozens of indictments, calls are growing to remove CoreCivic as the private operator of the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, with state Rep. Michael Hale, R-Smithville, and District Attorney General Jason Lawson urging the Tennessee Department of Correction to take over operations, Tennessee Lookout reports. A grand jury recently returned 41 indictments tied to incidents at the prison, including 12 connected to a riot in which inmates stabbed a staffer and seized control of an inner yard. Lawson said more charges are expected and that crimes at the prison have burdened the county’s court system while failing to improve inmate safety. Recent legislative and regulatory actions have sought to address high death rates at facilities run by private companies. CoreCivic said it is reviewing its policies in an effort to prevent further violence.

Lawyers for a disabled death row inmate are asking the state to ensure that his implanted heart defibrillator is disabled before his execution to prevent the possibility of it causing a prolonged and painful death, according to The Tennessean. Byron Black — one of the state’s longest serving death row inmates — set to be executed on Aug. 5 for the 1987 murders of a Nashville woman and her two daughters. Black’s lawyers on June 30 filed a request for a preliminary injunction asking the Tennessee Department of Corrections to ensure that his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is deactivated before his execution. A hearing on the matter is set for July 14 in Davidson County Chancery Court. Black’s lawyers have been battling to save his life, arguing he is ineligible for capital punishment due to his intellectual disability, dementia and severe brain damage. They also have asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to weigh in and reverse a lower court’s decision that declined to decide whether he is ineligible for the death penalty.