New lawyers were welcomed to the legal profession at swearing ceremonies in Knoxville and Nashville this month. Representatives from the TBA and local bar associations were on hand to congratulate the new admittees. See photos from the events.

Judge Julia Smith Gibbons with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals was honored last week with a portrait unveiling at the Shelby County Courthouse. Gibbons was appointed to the Tennessee Circuit Court for Shelby County in 1981 by then-Gov. Lamar Alexander at time when the judiciary was made up of only 10% women, making her the first female judge for a trial court of record in Tennessee. In her remarks at the event, Gibbons asked current and former female judges to stand up, saying, “The legal profession is more diverse in many ways than it was in 1981, and we’re better for it.” The Daily Memphian has the story and photos from the event or watch a video from the ceremony.

New lawyers were welcomed to the legal profession at swearing ceremonies in Knoxville and Nashville this week. Representatives from the TBA and local bar associations were on hand to congratulate the new admittees. See photos from today’s events.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order that will refuse asylum for migrants who cross the southern border when there is a high volume of daily encounters, The Hill reports. The ban will be in effect when the seven-day average of daily border crossings exceeds 2,500 between ports of entry, administration officials said. Under that criteria, the ban will go into effect immediately. Asylum restrictions will not apply to unaccompanied minors, and officials will continue to interview migrants who state a fear of returning to their country because of a threat of persecution or potential torture.

A report from the Nashville law firm Neal & Harwell found that Vanderbilt did not violate the First Amendment rights of Nashville Scene reporter Eli Motycka when he was arrested by campus police while covering a student protest in April. However, the report concluded that Vanderbilt's media policy, which is currently inaccessible to the public, should be published. The review also found that the policy was applied inconsistently in the incident. According to the Tennessean, the report states that while there were several missteps by police that led to the arrest, Motycka was not arrested to prevent coverage of campus protests but because he repeatedly tried to enter a closed university building.

Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday signed the Protect Tennessee Minors Act into law following bipartisan passage in the legislature earlier this year. The Tennessean reports that with this new law, Tennessee joins a growing list of states that are requiring websites with adult content to age-verify viewers, a move that is raising alarm from some First Amendment advocates who warn the law may have wider-reaching impact than initially expected. Similar laws have passed in 19 other states and are under consideration in seven more, but Tennessee is the only one with felony penalties.

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert has filed a response to the pending ouster petition against her, saying the allegations levied against her were "at best simple negligence, mere mistakes in judgment and good faith efforts of defendant Halbert to perform her duties." The Commercial Appeal reports that Halbert's response states that the claims against her are contradictory and that they allege "willful neglect" while also citing instances that appear to be "simple negligence." The response mostly denies the allegations against Halbert, who has been under investigation since June 2023 by Hamilton County District Attorney Cody Wamp, who is serving as a special prosecutor in the case.

Two Williamson County families have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Bill Lee and the Williamson County School System. The Tennessee Lookout reports that a 13-year-old Fairview Middle School student and a 14-year-old Page High School student were arrested at school and expelled in separate and unrelated incidents after school officials misinterpreted conversations between peers as “threats of mass violence.” The suit claims the teens were strip-searched, put in solitary confinement, sent to alternative school and then subjected to months of home visits by social workers and probation officers. Larry Crain, an attorney representing the families, said in a statement last week, “This was an overreach and misapplication of the law, which resulted in a denial of their constitutional rights.”

Memphis Area Legal Services Inc. (MALS) on Monday announced that its board of directors has selected Memphis attorney Nicole M. Grida as its chief executive officer (CEO). In a press release, MALS said that Grida is a longtime supporter of access to justice programs, and will bring her leadership, collaboration and legal skills to the organization to ensure it continues to provide excellence in legal advocacy to those in need, while finding innovative ways to protect the legal rights of low-income citizens in Shelby, Fayette, Tipton and Lauderdale counties. She presently serves on the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Board as the YLD Fellows liaison. In May, MALS appointed Amber Floyd as chair of the board of directors. Floyd is general counsel to the Memphis International Airport and a YLD Fellow. She also serves on the TBA's Access to Justice Committee and the Tennessee Bar Journal Editorial Board.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and 20 other state attorneys general have sent a letter to the American Bar Association (ABA) demanding the group immediately stop requiring law schools, as part of the accreditation process, to comply with Standard 206, which addresses diversity and inclusion in hiring and admissions. The standard requires that schools show a “commitment to diversity and inclusion by having a faculty and staff that are diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity.” The group argues that requirement runs afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College.