The Court Improvement Program will sponsor attendance at the Fall 2022 Red Book Training Series, presented by the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC). The virtual training series is being offered to parent attorneys, guardian ad litems, judicial officers, juvenile court staff and other individuals working in the state’s child welfare system. The seven-week training focuses on a broad array of topics in child welfare law and core dependency practice. Sessions will be held via Zoom on Thursdays at 4 p.m. CDT from Sept. 8 to Oct. 27. Learn more or apply to participate. Contact the program by email with any questions.

For the second year in a row, a law student from Belmont College of Law has won the 2022 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest. Frank Toub, who is entering his third year, won for his short story “Dope Fiend” — his first stab at fiction writing. The central theme of the story came from advice given to Toub’s wife, who works remotely for a Pennsylvania law firm: “If you can do something for another that means a lot to that person, but it costs you little, you should do it every time.” A criminal defendant in the story follows this advice when she helps her alcoholic lawyer. Toub said he wanted to explore addiction “through the lens of an attorney who could clearly see his client’s issues but not see the issues in himself.” Toub is a former project engineer and Army veteran who decided to go to law school on the GI Bill. After he graduates, he will join the law firm of Baker Donelson. The ABA Journal reports it will publish the story on its website the week of Thanksgiving.

The TBA’s BarBuzz podcast is celebrating three years of being on the air! Tune in to the first episode of Season 3 with special co-host David Aguilera, the policy and research advisor for the Tennessee Senate Minority Leader. Aguilera immigrated to the U.S. from Bolivia when he was 12 and realized a passion for advocacy while working construction in New York City to earn money for college. He recounts his 19-year-long journey to gaining U.S. citizenship and his path to becoming an attorney, plus your monthly dose of legal news and bar association events! BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and available wherever you listen to podcasts or on the TBA’s website!

Some bar exam test takers are scrambling to get older laptops after learning ExamSoft's Examplify software will not work on certain newer machines, Reuters reports. According to an email from the software company, laptops running Windows and using Intel’s newest chips are not compatible with the bar exam. Tennessee uses the Examplify software as part of its exam, however, Board of Law Examiners Executive Director Lisa Perlen says there have not been issues here. She said the board early on told applicants about the potential compatibility issue, and so far no one has encountered a problem. 

Twitter sued billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, asking Delaware’s Court of Chancery to order Musk to complete a $44 billion takeover deal, NPR reports. Musk entered into an agreement to buy Twitter in late April but has since launched a fight with the company over the prevalence of fake accounts, which he claims is higher than Twitter lets on. The lawsuit accuses Musk of hypocrisy and bad faith in breaching his contract with Twitter. It says that after Tesla shares declined in value Musk began to disparage the company and make public requests aimed at making Twitter appear negligent. Musk has 20 days to respond to the complaint, but lawyers for Twitter have proposed an expedited timetable, arguing a delay would hurt the company.

Attorney John Coke has been selected to serve as general counsel for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Coke has been assistant general counsel since 2016 and transitioned into the new role on July 1. The AOC general counsel heads the legal service and judicial development team, oversees administrative functions and judicial conferences, and supports trial and appellate judges across the state. Before joining the AOC, Coke clerked for 20th Judicial District Judge Joe Binkley Jr. and for Judge Hamilton Gayden, also of the 20th Judicial District. He replaces former General Counsel Rachel Harmon who was promoted to deputy director earlier this year. Read more from the AOC.  

A survey of law students from 39 law schools has found that students are reporting a need for help with emotional or mental health problems, and more are reporting a past diagnosis of depression or anxiety, the ABA Journal reports. Eleven percent of the law students had thought seriously about suicide in the past year, compared to 6% in 2014. Nearly 33% of the students reported they had thought about attempting suicide in their lifetime, up from 21% in 2014. Nearly 70% of the law students thought they needed help in the last year for emotional or mental health problems compared to 2014’s 42%. The study’s authors suggest law school faculty and staff should “invest more energy and creativity and resources in supporting law student well-being.” They also suggested that law school deans of students should hold information sessions on how seeking help might impact the character and fitness evaluation for admission to the bar. Read the survey.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue has added attorney Courtney Swim as its new chief of staff, the Chattanoogan reports. Swim previously served as the department’s director of legislation from 2019 through 2021. She first joined the agency in 2017 as an associate general counsel. In her new role as chief of staff, Swim will oversee the department’s offices of Legislation, Communications, Research and Tax Policy. Prior to rejoining the Department of Revenue, Swim was an associate counsel for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, where she researched and advised on federal, state and local laws impacting the beverage alcohol industry.

The Davidson County Chancery Court today lifted an injunction on the state’s Education Savings Account (ESA) Pilot Program. The program had been upheld by the state Supreme Court in May but a few issues remained for the lower court to resolve. In a statement following the decision, Gov. Bill Lee said, “Today the court removed the final roadblock to getting Memphis and Nashville families additional options for high-quality education. Starting today, we will work to help eligible parents enroll this school year, as we ensure Tennessee families have the opportunity to choose the school that they believe is best for their child.” The Tennessee Department of Education will make ESA resources available online for parents in the coming days.

Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal has denied a Memphis TV reporter access to the full Department of Children’s Services case file on a 14-year-old Bartlett boy, found dead from starvation in 2020, Tennessee Lookout reports. Moskal said WREG journalist Stacy Jacobson may not access the full and un-redacted files while a criminal case against the boy’s mother and six other adults is ongoing. Paul McAdoo, an attorney with the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press and former chair of the TBA Communications Section, is representing Jacobson. He said no decisions have been made yet on next steps in the case.