On Aug. 28, 1963, more than a quarter million people walked in the historic “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” — the same march that saw the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. give his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Now, 60 years later, the march was recreated Saturday to highlight the fight still ahead for equality. The 1963 march helped lead to a host of new laws, including the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Read more about the genesis of the march and its legacy from The Hill, and what current day organizers hoped to achieve with Saturday’s event from the Associated Press.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has announced creation of the Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence to examine the impact of AI on law practice and the ethical implications for lawyers. The task force will explore emergent issues including use in legal education, utilization to increase access to justice, risks posed by the technology and ways to mitigate risks. The goal of the effort is to provide practical information that lawyers need to navigate this complex technology. Read more about the task force.

The U.S. Department of Justice will hold two public meetings this week in Memphis in connection with its pattern or practice investigation into the Memphis Police Department. The first event will take place Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. CDT at the National Civil Rights Museum, 450 Mulberry St., Memphis 38103. The second meeting will take place Thursday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. CDT at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, 70 N. Bellevue Blvd., Memphis 38104. Those planning to attend one of the events are asked to register online. Those unable to attend either of these forums, can speak to a DOJ team member on a walk-in basis at various public libraries throughout the city. See the attached event flyer for times and locations.

Longtime Memphis lawyer Odell Horton Jr. has been named general counsel and chief legal officer for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the Tennessee Tribune reports. He replaces Kenneth M. Walker II, who has accepted a position with the Austin, Texas, Independent School District. Horton previously served as assistant attorney general for the state; chancellor for university relations and associate general counsel at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center; vice president and general counsel for Memphis Light, Gas and Water; and a partner with Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs.

National law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough plans to relocate its Nashville office to Gulch Union, a new office building at 1222 Demonbreun, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The firm previously was located in downtown’s One Nashville Building at 150 Fourth Ave N. Gulch Union offers 330,000 square feet of office and retail space. Nelson Mullins opened its Nashville office in 2012. Geof Vickers, managing partner of the office, says the move “reinforces the firm’s presence in Nashville" as well as in "Tennessee and the southeastern United States.”

Law firms are “once again snapping up office space at the highest clip in years,” Law.com reports. Building off a strong first quarter, U.S. law firm leasing activity remained robust in the second quarter, resulting in the strongest period on record since the start of the pandemic, according to real estate services company Savills. In all, the 3.3 million square feet leased in the first half of the year was up 22.3% compared to the same period in 2022. Tom Fulcher, chair of the Legal Tenant Practice Group at Savills suggests that leasing will continue at a more stable pace as law firms settle into a “new normal.” Read more from the company's U.S. Law Firm Activity Report Q2 2023.

The American Bar Association (ABA) released a statement today from President Mary Smith in response to "recent efforts of some elected officials and advocacy groups to attack diversity programs at law firms." Smith argues that, "Diversity, equity and inclusion programs help remove the barriers that block the recruitment and retention of legal talent from underrepresented groups" and that efforts to expand the legal field would be "significantly damaged by the loss of diversity and pipeline programs." Forbes has a breakdown of two lawsuits challenging corporate diversity programs at law firms in Dallas and Miami.

Three Tennessee lawyers recently were honored by national legal organizations. Former TBA President Danny Van Horn was named a new member of the American Law Institute, which works to refine, clarify and improve the practice of law. Van Horn practices in the Memphis office of Butler Snow. In addition, Chattanooga attorney Justin Faith was named a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, which conducts research on law, legal processes and legal institutions. Faith practices with Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon. Finally, Nashville lawyer Junaid Odubeko was reappointed co-chair of the American Bar Association Litigation Section's Privacy and Data Security Committee. He practices at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.

The corruption trial of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his Chief of Staff Cade Cothren has been rescheduled from October to March 5, 2024, following their request for more time to review evidence. The pair is alleged to have engaged in a kickback scheme through Cothren's company, Phoenix Solutions, which profited from House members' mailers. Former Rep. Robin Smith, who was involved in the case, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities. Additionally, former Sen. Brian Kelsey is appealing a 21-month prison sentence for federal campaign finance violations. The Tennessee Lookout reports on both developments.

Tennessee conservatorship attorneys are reflecting on the "unusual nature" of the conservatorship at the center of Michael Oher's lawsuit against Shaun and Leigh Anne Tuohy. The Washington Post reports that local experts agree the choice of a conservatorship was, at the very least, unusual when there are other options available, and possibly more appropriate to the situation. Patrick McKenrick, a Knoxville attorney and adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law says, "Tennessee conservatorships were designed for people with mental or physical disabilities," but in the 2004 filing, the Tuohys acknowledge Oher has no known disabilities.  Nashville attorney Barbara Moss says there are "several other 'unusual' aspects of the conservatorship agreement, including a request that Oher be declared 'a resident member of [the Tuohys’] household' as part of the conservatorship." Moss noted that it was also “strange” that the petition was signed by an out-of-state attorney, a family friend of the Tuohys who was later listed as Oher's attorney in the contract for "The Blind Side" movie.