The TBA Legislative Updates podcast is all new with some brief updates on TBA-sponsored legislation. Join TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Ashley Harbin for the latest from the Tennessee General Assembly. Are you interested in following along with the progress of TBA bills? The TBA’s new Bill Tracker webpage allows you to see a real-time tracking of what’s happening with our legislation. 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.  

TBA members will begin voting March 1 for candidates who have qualified to run for vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association. Nashville attorney Ed Lanquist and Franklin attorney David Veile are the two candidates in the race. The winner will ascend to the office of TBA president in 2024. Three attorneys are competing to win the two Middle Grand Division Governor positions: Mary Dohner-Smith, Nashville; Zachary Jones, Fayetteville; and Billy Leslie, Nashville. See a list of all other candidates who have been certified as elected because they did not draw opposition, as well as the information on a board vacancy that will be filled by a board appointment. Additional information on voting, including candidate profiles, will be distributed in advance of the voting period, which runs through April 1.

Tennessee legal groups were honored last month with the 2022 Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access for their work in producing Virtual Debt Relief Clinics. The award, given by the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, was presented virtually at the ABA Mid-Year Meeting. The review committee said the clinic was selected for its focus on increasing legal services to those of modest means and for its innovative use of technology. Since launching the initiative in 2020, the groups have held four clinics in the Eastern Division of the state. Participants include the TBA Young Lawyers Division, Knoxville Bar Association, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne Bauknight attended each clinic to provide an overview of Chapter 7 bankruptcy procedure. Volunteer attorneys were then paired with clients to provide personalized advice in private Zoom breakout rooms. With the success of the initial clinics, the groups plan to expand the service statewide this spring.

Martin Trimiew, assistant vice president and legal counsel at Unum Insurance in Chattanooga, co-hosts this month’s episode of the TBA BarBuzz podcast. In addition to legal news and bar association events, Trimew discusses his efforts to help revive Chattanooga’s S.L. Hutchins Bar Association — a voluntary association founded to help address issues, interests and concerns of African-American and other attorneys of color in the Greater Chattanooga area. The S.L. Hutchins bar was established in the late 1980s by prominent Chattanooga attorneys Judge Walter Williams, Rheubin Taylor, Judge Curtis Collier, Ardena Garth and John McClarty. It is actively seeking financial sponsorship and corporate allyship from law firms and corporations to aid in its revitalization and to continue its traditions. To help in its mission or to get involved, email Martin Trimiew. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or anywhere you listen to podcasts.  

Metro Nashville is near a settlement with former Nashville General Sessions Court probation director Robert Green, who was fired by Judge Lynda Jones in 2019, the Nashville Post reports. A lawsuit brought by Green in 2020 alleges Jones used news reports about his collaboration with federal immigration authorities as pretext to dismiss him. A Metro analysis found that Jones unilaterally decided to terminate Green without consulting the other judges after he returned from medical leave. Metro Council will consider approving the $25,000 settlement at its meeting tonight. 

Gov. Bill Lee’s office is now accepting applications to fill the vacancy on the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, created by the retirement of David F. Hensley. Applicants must have seven years’ experience in workers’ compensation matters and must be at least 30 years old. To be considered for the appointment, submit a resume and cover letter to Jonathan Skrmetti, Chief Counsel of the Governor, State Capitol, First Floor, 600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Nashville 37243 or by email to Katelin.Brown@tn.gov by 3 p.m. CST on March 1.  

Court of Criminal Appeals Judges John Everett Williams, Tim Easter and Jill Ayers heard oral arguments for three cases inside Lipscomb University’s Collins Alumni Auditorium on Feb. 9 and fielded questions from students. The judges were asked a variety of questions, including what they look for in law clerks, how they prepare for oral arguments, advice for students interested in a legal career and how the judges put aside political opinions when judging cases. Ayers, who was appointed during the COVID-19 pandemic, noted that this was only her “third time to sit live” given that the court has been hearing arguments virtually during the pandemic. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts. 

Knox County Law Director David Buuck yesterday told two county school board members that he will not hire private attorneys to fight a federal judge’s mask rule that was put in place last fall, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Board members Betsy Henderson and Kristi Kristy had written to Buuck last week, asking him to hire outside counsel to challenge the mandate. But, in his letter responding to their request, Buuck was direct in saying that he won't hire private attorneys to help the district lift a mask requirement in schools; that even if he did, it wouldn't be helpful; and that the two can't act on behalf of the board. Federal Judge Ronnie Greer last year ordered a mask mandate be put in place for Knox County schools while a lawsuit filed by families of students with disabilities against the governor and the Knox County Board of Education played out. In December, the school board’s request to pause the temporary mask requirement was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.

The Tennessee Bar Association has been honored with the Tennessee Society of Association Executives (TNSAE) Excellence Award in Continuing Education for the 2021 Scaling Small Program. Scaling Small Law, a comprehensive business education and development program, was chosen for the award based on its “incredible contributions to the association community across Tennessee,” according to TNSAE. The four-month program offers training in business planning, marketing, solo/small firm finance and budgeting, client service and experience, ethical considerations and outsourcing and leveraging technology. It is designed for entrepreneurial lawyers, solo practitioners or newly formed solo/small firms looking to strategically and sustainably scale and modernize their law practice.

TBA President Sherie Edwards was selected as one of three honorable mentions for the National Conference of Bar Presidents' 2022 President’s Page Award. The group recognized Edwards’ column “Destigmatizing Mental Illness Takes Courage,” which was published in the November/December 2021 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. The award was announced at the conference’s virtual mid-year meeting last Thursday. The group says the column will be shared in an upcoming issue of its e-newsletter and on its website.