Applications are now being accepted for the 2023 Reporters Workshop. Sponsored by the TBA’s Communications Law Section, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the Tennessee Press Association Foundation, the program will be held in person April 28-29 in Nashville. Organizers will select 15 print, online, television and/or radio journalists who want to develop a deeper understanding of media law issues that may affect their everyday work, including access to government information, defamation and privacy concerns in reporting, and other timely topics. Journalists interested in attending should apply before 5 p.m. CST on March 15. Read more about the program.   

With law firm mergers in the news, the Nashville Business Journal talks with Kerry Price, chief strategy officer at Bass Berry & Sims, about the firm’s future. While national players are asserting themselves in the Nashville market — combining operations with local firms or peeling off their attorneys — Price says Bass will not be following suit. "It's not something we're looking at. We're committed to remain focused on what we're doing and not being overly influenced by some of these changes," Price said. She also questioned the ability of new firms to compete with those that have maintained local relationships for decades. Bass will turn 101 years old in May. "Firms like ours are becoming increasingly rare. We hope to use that to our competitive advantage," she said.

The Tennessee Bar Foundation has awarded $1.3 million from the Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program to law-related organizations across the state. The grant amount for 2023 exceeds last year by more than $500,000, the foundation reports.Grants were awarded to 28 organizations, including two that are new to the program. The projects provide a wide array of services, including individual legal representation, dispute mediation, assistance for survivors of domestic violence, immigration counseling and housing advocacy. The complete list of organizations and awards is available on the foundation’s website.

Federal investigators said today they have opened a civil rights investigation into the death of a 29-year-old man who died three days after an encounter with Memphis police, the Commercial Appeal reports. The U.S. attorney's office, in conjunction with the FBI Memphis Field Office and Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, said they are investigating officers who stopped motorist Tyre Deandre Nichols on Jan. 7 for a traffic violation. After what police described as two confrontations, Nichols was arrested and complained of a shortness of breath. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and died on Jan. 10. The officers involved with the stop have been placed on leave.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands recently added three new employees. Amia’ Butler joins the organization as development manager, the Nashville Post reports. She will oversee fundraising, philanthropy and advocacy efforts, including the annual Campaign for Equal Justice. In addition, Elizabeth Leiserson and Zane Jud have joined the firm’s Eviction Right to Counsel pilot program for low-income renters. Leiserson will serve as project director overseeing the existing group of housing attorneys, while Jud will serve as project coordinator. Leiserson previously was with Southern Migrant Legal Services, where she served as a staff attorney. Legal Aid is partnering on the pilot with Conexión Américas and the Nashville Hispanic Bar Association. WGNS Radio News has more on the program and the new hires.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the case of Carter v. McDonough. That case, brought by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nurse, challenges a new rule from the department that he said “purports to authorize taxpayer-funded abortions and abortion counseling for veterans and their beneficiaries.” The brief opposes the rule saying the VA does not have the legal authority to issue such a rule. In November, Skrmetti joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general in sending a letter to the VA warning that it lacked authority to impose the new rule.

While the number of trials in Shelby County increased from 2021 to 2022, it is still far less than during pre-COVID times, causing the backlog of trials to grow and concern among some that the slow pace is hindering a fair criminal justice process, the Daily Memphian reports. That article cites data from the Shelby County Criminal Court system and compares it with other local courts and national trends. According to the article, there were 11,595 felony arrests in Memphis in 2022. 10,557 of them were adults and 1,038 were juveniles. The county’s Criminal Court system conducted 35 trials last year. 

The University of Tennessee College of Law has named Professor Michelle Kwon as its new interim associate dean for diversity, inclusion and community engagement. In her new position, Kwon will develop and advance diversity, inclusion and belonging at the College of Law with an emphasis on lawyers’ professional obligation to seek justice and protect individual rights. Consistent with the university’s land-grant mission, Kwon will also lead the college in utilizing its resources and expertise for the betterment of the Knoxville-area community and the state, especially among underserved populations. “As the child of a native Hawaiian-Korean father and a German mother, and the only person in my family to go to college, I am honored to lead the College of Law’s diversity and inclusion efforts,” Kwon said. Read more from the College of Law.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Board held its winter meeting last weekend at Fall Creek Falls in Spencer. YLD President Brittany Faith gave special recognition to Samantha Ellis, Darius Walker Jr. and Angela Williams as the Stars of the Quarter, while also noting that all of the board members are doing outstanding work. The Diversity Leadership Institute’s (DLI) Class of 2023 met for the first time and networked with members of the YLD. Billy Leslie, Jeffrey Moore, Princess Rogers and DLI co-chair Angela Williams held sessions with the law school students to help prepare them for their future career. See pictures from the event here.

Davidson County Chancellor I'Ashea Myles has ruled against the state’s request to prevent public disclosure of records detailing the treatment of death row inmate Henry Hodges, the Tennessean reports. Hodges filed suit over the psychological and physical care he received after an October incident in which he severely injured his own genitals. The Associated Press and the Nashville Banner filed freedom of information motions over the records the state had sealed, including video footage of Hodges taken inside Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville. Myles ruled that all content produced in the course of discovery is subject to the court order to "unseal certain portions of the judicial records" and to "conduct further in camera review" of any other portions that remain under seal.