The TBA Young Lawyers Division has been named a finalist for the 2022 ABA Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access for its Tennessee Debt Relief Clinic. The YLD’s virtual Tennessee Debt Relief Clinic began in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual delivery of the clinic not only improved access to legal services to clients residing in rural communities and those unable to travel, but it also provided a safe way for attorneys and clients to meet during COVID-19. The clinic continues to grow with plans to expand across Tennessee in 2022. The award is sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Delivery of Legal Services and is presented to programs and projects that advance access to legal services for those of moderate incomes. The program is also up for a Brown Select Award, which is awarded to the nominee that receives the most online votes from the public. Vote today for the virtual Debt Relief Clinic before voting ends on Jan. 21 at noon CST.

The Tennessee Supreme Court appointed Nashville lawyer Carolyn Schott to a two-year term on the Board of Law Examiners this week. Schott’s appointment took effect Jan. 1 and will run through Dec. 31, 2024. She is a member at Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, practicing in the areas of in the areas of business, tax, trusts and estates. She replaces her colleague and former TBA President William L. Harbison, whose term ended on Dec. 31, 2021. Download the order.

The Virtual Debt Relief Clinic developed by the TBA Young Lawyers Division, Legal Aid of East Tennessee and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne Bauknight in 2020 is one of four projects being considered for the ABA 2022 Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access. The clinic is also eligible for the Brown Select Award, which is given to the project that receives the most online votes from the public. Support from lawyers across the state would make a big impact. Please take a minute to vote before noon CST on Jan. 21.

The TBA announced today the selection of 34 attorneys from across the state for its 2022 Leadership Law (TBALL) program. TBALL is designed to equip Tennessee lawyers with the vision, knowledge and skills necessary to serve as leaders in their profession and local communities. The class will meet for its first session in March and spend the next six months learning about leadership in the legal profession, issues in the courts, policymaking in state government and the importance of community service. The program, now in its nineteenth year, is produced by a steering committee of 12 attorneys, all former class members. Co-chairing the program are Terica Smith from the 26th Judicial District Attorney General's office in Jackson and Jeffrey Maddux of Chambliss Bahner & Stophel in Chattanooga. Meet the Class of 2022.

Judson Kyle “Judd” Davis was sworn in as Knox County General Sessions Judge, Division 2, at the end of December and took office on Jan. 4. He was appointed by the Knox County Commission due to the early retirement of Judge Geoffrey P. Emery, who served on the bench for more than 35 years. Davis previously worked in the Knox County District Attorney's office, where he served as a prosecutor in all criminal divisions of general sessions court as well as the county criminal courts. Before joining the district attorney’s office in 2016, Davis worked in the law offices of Banks and Jones, where he defended both criminal and civil law matters. Knoxnews has more on the appointment and what it means for the 2022 election.

The TBA will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day. The virtual office will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m. CST.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III today announced that Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan providers, will pay $1.85 billion to resolve allegations of deceptive practices in originating predatory student loans. According to a coalition of 39 attorneys general, Navient steered struggling students into costly long-term forbearances despite saying it would help borrowers find the most affordable income-driven repayment options. Under the terms of the settlement, Navient will cancel the remaining balance on more than $1.7 billion in subprime private student loan balances owed by approximately 66,000 borrowers nationwide. In Tennessee, $2,861,854 will be available in restitution and $47,626,335 will be available in debt relief. The state will also receive $687,456 of the settlement. Read more from the AG’s office.

The U.S. Supreme Court today blocked a Biden administration policy that would require employees at larger businesses be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask, the Tennessean reports. "Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly," the court wrote. The high court let stand a second vaccine mandate for those employed at health care facilities that receive federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid. That measure will go into effect this month.

The University of Tennessee has racked up more than $1 million in legal fees for its NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations committed by ex-football coach Jeremy Pruitt and some on his staff, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The university announced in November that its internal investigation, which began in November 2020, had concluded, but failed to comment further. Based on invoices provided to the Sentinel, UT has paid the firm Bond, Schoeneck & King a total of $1,077,638. The December invoice had not yet been released. Tennessee’s statement hinted at the possibility of self-imposed sanctions, which could potentially soften the blow from the NCAA if the school is found to have violated the rules. Those penalties could be scholarship reductions or recruiting limitations.

Hall Booth Smith PC, with offices in Memphis and Nashville, has announced that is expanding to Denver, Colorado, with the addition of 17 attorneys and 18 staff members from litigation defense firm Nixon Shefrin Ogburn Drew PC. The firm, headquartered in Atlanta, says the move is part of its continuing effort to expand westward. The Denver team will focus on medical malpractice, high-stakes litigation, personal injury, professional liability, insurance coverage and health care matters.