The TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows met for their annual meeting Friday night as part of the TBA's 2023 Annual Convention. The group elected U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Rachel Mancl as president, Jackson lawyer Michelle Greenway Sellers as vice president, Memphis lawyer Mason Wilson as secretary and Chattanooga lawyer David McDowell as treasurer. Outgoing president Rachel Moses of Cookeville also inducted six new fellows: Chattanooga lawyers Blair Bennington Cannon, Matt Brock, Justin Faith, David McDowell and Wade Hinton, and Memphis lawyer Will Perry. Three honorary fellows also were named, including, Knoxville lawyer Heidi Barcus, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne Bauknight of Knoxville and Senior U.S. District Judge Curtis Lynn Collier of Chattanooga. Barcus was recognized for her election as TBA vice president while the judges were recognized for their assistance with the YLD’s Debt Relief Clinics. See photos from the event.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division met last week in Knoxville in conjunction with the TBA's 2023 Annual Convention. On Friday, the group held its Annual Meeting, at which Memphis lawyer Quinton Thompson took office as president. Others taking office were President-elect Sean Aiello of Franklin, Vice President Alex McVeagh of Chattanooga, Secretary Ross Smith of Nashville and Treasurer Darius Walker Jr. of Nashville. The 2023-2024 YLD Board then met on Saturday for committee planning sessions and its first board meeting. On Friday, the group met for its annual board dinner. During the evening, outgoing president Brittany Thomas Faith presented a number of awards. The President’s Award was given to Knoxville lawyer Samantha Ellis for her work developing YLD CLE programs, and Chattanooga lawyer Justin Faith for his assistance during the year. Distinguished service awards were presented to Hamilton County Judge Alex McVeagh and President-elect Quinton Thompson. The Public Service Award was presented to Mock Trial Long Range Planning Committee Chair Kati Goodner and Mock Trial Committee Chair Judge Zack Walden and Vice Chair Ashley Tipton for their work on the 2023 competition. Finally, six were recognized with Star of the Quarter Awards: Billy Leslie, for service as immediate past president; Michael Holmes, for assistance with the mock trial competition; Courtney Smith, for service as co-chair of the Diversity Committee; Lindsay Oakes for service as Publications Committee vice chair; and Charlotte Mattingly and John Murphy for work on the "Welcome to Tennessee Basket.” In addition to YLD activities, the 2023 class of the Diversity Leadership Institute met for programming during the convention and celebrated their graduation at the dinner. The group completed a service project at the Richard Bean Detention Center on Saturday. See photos from these events.

The Johnson County Commission on Thursday accepted the resignation of Judge Perry Stout for what he called “immoral” acts, WJHL reports. But Stout told commissioners he hopes to return to the bench, planning to run again in 2024. Stout serves as a general sessions and juvenile court judge. He self-reported an incident in January involving “court staff.” County Mayor Larry Potter said the incident involved “an elected official and a county employee.” During a commission meeting this week, Stout said he did not break any laws but said it was best that he step aside. “All acts were consensual with a woman twice the age of consent,” he told the panel. The commission will appoint someone until the next election.

Memphis lawyer Jim Barry has been sworn into office as the 143rd president of the Tennessee Bar Association. The oath of office was administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins during the TBA’s Annual Lawyers Lunch. Barry, who is retired from International Paper, highlighted his plans for the coming bar year, including a new housing subcommittee of the Access to Justice Committee to focus on evictions and affordable housing, an effort to expand the pool of attorneys in the state willing to do pro bono work, a new initiative to provide safe options for pets of domestic violence victims and an effort to keep lawyers engaged with the bar as they transition to retirement. He also pledged to continue several initiatives started by predecessors, including the Women in the Profession Committee, the Court Square CLE series, legislative advocacy to increase pay for indigent representation and eliminate the professional privilege tax, and the TBA book club, with the first book to be Beale Street Dynasty by Preston Lauterbach. Finally, Barry announced that the TBA would be traveling to Ireland in May 2024. Those interested in learning more about the trip can sign up here for updates. See photos from the event.

State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office has engaged external attorneys to help defend at least one federal lawsuit. The Tennessean reports that Cameron Norris with Virginia law firm Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, and Adam Mortara with Nashville-based Lawfair LLC are now representing Tennessee in an ongoing lawsuit against the state's new law banning gender transition treatments for minors. The attorneys, and any other attorneys at their firm, have been engaged at a $400 hourly rate, with a $100 hourly rate allotted for any non-attorney staff who may bill hours, according to documents obtained by The Tennessean.

The White House announced this week that several ticket brokers, including Live Nation, will be changing their ticketing policies to disclose fees upfront, Axios reports. In addition, Ticketmaster will add a feature to give consumers the option to receive all-in upfront pricing for tickets sold on the platform, and Seat Geek has committed to all-in pricing features this summer. The announcement comes after Tennessee passed first-of-its-kind legislation to ensure ticket brokers disclose fees in advertised prices. Those requirements go into effect on July 1.

At today’s Lawyers Luncheon, outgoing TBA President Tasha Blakney presented a number of awards. Chattanooga lawyer Russell Fowler received the Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing for two voting-related articles in the March/April 2022 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. Rutherford County attorney Mary Bonita Tucker received the Fourth Annual Claudia Jack Award for her work as a court-appointed private practitioner for involuntary commitment proceedings. Blakney presented her President’s Award to Knoxville lawyer and former TBA President Jason Long, who chaired the search committee responsible for hiring TBA’s new executive director Sheree Wright. In addition, Nashville lawyer and TBA Communications Section member Jay Harbison presented the Fourth Estate Award to Elk Valley Times general manager and editor Lora Scripps and reporter Wanda Southerland for their reporting on Jack Daniels' exemptions from regulations while locals complained about a “whiskey fungus” created by unregulated barrel houses. Finally, former TBA President Buck Lewis presented Knoxville attorney and University of Tennessee College of Law Dean and Professor Emeritus Douglas A. Blaze with the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows. See photos from today's event.

Five Memphis education advocates have filed suit against the Shelby County Board of Education and the district’s chief safety and security officer, alleging their First and 14th Amendment rights have been violated after they were banned from attending school board meetings. The Tennessee Lookout reports that the group, known as the “School Board Five,” was prohibited from school board meetings following a May 9 meeting focused on the search for a new superintendent of Shelby County schools. Banning the group members for an indefinite time period without giving them the opportunity to appeal violates their constitutional rights, lawyers for the group say.

The process of decertifying Memphis police officer Preston Hemphill for his role in the death of Tyre Nichols has been suspended, but he may not serve as an officer in Tennessee in the interim. According to the Daily Memphian, Hemphill, one of the officers involved in the Jan. 7 traffic stop that led to Nichols’ death three days later, appeared before the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) Thursday. The panel was considering decertifying Hemphill at the request of the Memphis Police Department, but put the matter on hold pending completion of a federal investigation.

The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld decades-old federal standards that give preferences to Native Americans and tribal members in the adoption or foster care placement of Native American children, rejecting a challenge that claimed that parts of the law were racially biased against non-Native Americans. Reuters reports that the 7-2 ruling threw out a lower court's decision that had struck down — as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law — a requirement that "other Indian families" receive preference in adoption and foster care after members of a child's extended family or tribe members.