President Joe Biden on Friday officially nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman nominated to the high court, the Associated Press reports. If confirmed, Jackson would fill the vacancy created by retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom she clerked  early in her legal career. A Harvard Law graduate, Jackson served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission — the agency that develops federal sentencing policy — before becoming a federal judge in 2013. Biden last year nominated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. According to National Public Radio, Biden is expected to talk about the nomination during his first State of the Union address tomorrow night. Other issues the president is expected to address include rising inflation, Russia’s military advance on Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Voting begins tomorrow for the 2022 TBA election. Two candidates are competing for the vice presidential office — Nashville attorney Ed Lanquist and Franklin attorney David Veile — with voting continuing through April 1. The vice president will serve in that role in the 2022-2023 bar year, then as president-elect the following year, and TBA president in 2024-2025. Three candidates are competing for the two Middle Grand Division Governor positions — Mary Dohner-Smith, Nashville; Zachary Jones, Fayetteville; and Billy Leslie, Nashville. Access to the electronic ballot will be sent from the email address TBA.Election@intelliscanvotes.com.  Please check your spam filters if you do not receive a ballot notification. Please feel free to reach out to elections@tnbar.org if you have any questions or concerns.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division and Belmont University College of Law yesterday hosted an expungement clinic in partnership with Legal Aid Society and Doors of Hope in Murfreesboro. Seven attorneys and nine students volunteered their time and helped 12 clients expunge 40 criminal charges. Doors of Hope is a nonprofit that helps to empower women to break the cycle of addiction, homelessness and incarceration.

Longtime Nashville attorneys Byron Trauger and Bob Tuke today announced they will dissolve their law firm, Trauger & Tuke, the Nashville Post reports. Tuke, a past chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party who ran for Senate in 2008, is set to retire. According to a release, Trauger will now join Nashville’s Wiseman Ashworth Law Group, which will rebrand as Wiseman Ashworth Trauger, effective March 1. Trauger's practice is focused on health care, complex civil litigation and regulatory agency work, and he has served on the boards of both public and privately held health care and technology companies. “Tom and I are thrilled and honored that Byron is joining the firm as a named partner,” said Ashworth, a former TBA president. “He has a depth of experience and an excellent reputation in the Bar, with his clients, and in the community as a highly respected counsellor, advocate and public servant.”

Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston has placed his wife and brother-in-law on administrative leave after an investigative report from the state comptroller found Pinkston in violation of the state's nepotism policy, the Chattanoogan reports. According to the report, Pinkston’s wife, who serves as chief of staff, and his brother-in-law, an investigator, are both under Pinkston’s line of supervision. While the office is in violation of the state’s Nepotism Policy Act, the report states it “did not find any evidence of favoritism regarding salary increases” for either position. Pinkston announced he placed his family members on administrative leave and said he is “reviewing the recommendations of the comptroller’s office.”

Three state residents have filed a lawsuit over the new House and Senate redistricting maps, the Tennessean reports. The complaint, backed by the Tennessee Democratic Party, alleges the General Assembly unconstitutionally divided more counties than necessary in the House map and numbered Senate districts nonconsecutively. The suit does not challenge the state’s new congressional map. "Tennesseans should pick their own representatives and not the other way around," Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Hendrell Remus said in a statement. According to WPLN, the state Democratic Party has agreed to pay all fees associated with litigation in the case. Republicans have maintained the maps are constitutional and meet all legal requirements. The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office said it is “ready to defend an open and fair process.”

The YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee hosted its 30th Anniversary of the Academy for Women of Achievement (AWA) this week with three Nashville lawyers among those honored: Dr. Glenda Glover, president, Tennessee State University; Diane Lance, department head, Metro Nashville Office of Family Safety; and DarKenya Waller, executive director, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands. AWA was launched locally in 1992 to honor women "who, through excellence and leadership in their chosen fields, serve as role models for other women.” The event also celebrated Wanda Lyle, UBS Nashville Business Solution Center (retired), Metro Nashville/Davidson County Councilmember Zulfat Suara and corporate honoree MP&F Strategic Communications. This year’s honorees join a prestigious group of 179 women and 31 organizations previously inducted into the AWA.

TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist tackle this week’s news from the General Assembly on the latest episode of the TBA’s Legislative Updates. New this week: a hopeful meeting with Lt. Gov. Randy McNally regarding elimination of the Professional Privilege Tax. Legislative Updates airs every Thursday on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.  

May 4 started as a typical day for Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. But things took a significant turn when she suddenly was unable to use her arm and was slurring her speech. Her colleague, Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton, suspected Blackburn was having a stroke and immediately called emergency responders. The quick action paid off. Blackburn underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her brain. She was back in the office within a week. Blackburn was so touched by the swift action of everyone involved that she asked the Metropolitan County Council to adopt a resolution underscoring the importance of knowing the signs of stroke and acknowledging the lifesaving actions of Dalton and the paramedics and firefighters who attended to her.

Nashville law firm Bass, Berry & Sims is launching a new practice group focused on investment funds, the Nashville Post reports. The group will include attorneys who have already been at the firm, including those working on the private equity team, as well as new firm member Bryan Bylica and counsel Nova Harb, both recently with McGuireWoods. The group will handle issues associated with private equity, private credit, growth equity, venture capital, endowments, pension funds, Small Business Investment Company funds and Rural Business Investment Company funds.