The TBA and its Attorney Well Being Committee are launching a new self-guided challenge to help members establish new habits in 2022. The “Choose Your Path to Well Being” initiative offers three challenge areas: movement, which encourages more activity in daily life; nutrition, which encourages healthier food options and elimination of unhealthy foods; and mental health, which encourages more self-care. Participants can choose one, two or all three paths, set their own goals, and self-report on their results at the end of the challenge. To help members stay on track, the TBA has created a web resource with suggestions for activities to build strength in each of the paths. Participants also will receive emails to encourage their progress. And those who sign up to participate will be entered in a drawing that will be awarded during the Better Right Now program at the TBA Annual Convention in June. The deadline to sign up is Jan. 15. The wellness challenge is one of TBA President Sherie Edwards’ initiatives for 2022.

Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark recently announced that his office has received a grant to hire a prosecutor who will specialize in domestic violence, the Oakridger reports. The grant includes funding for an assistant district attorney general and associated costs for a period of two years. The federal funds came through a program administered by the Tennessee Department of Finance – Office of Criminal Justice Programs

Four Waller Lansden attorneys have joined the Nashville office of New York-based law firm Epstein Becker Green. Christopher Dunn, Jeremy Oliver and Keith Randall are joining the firm as members, while Briant Shumard is joining as an associate, Nashville Post reports. The four focus on health care construction matters, including design, construction and real estate litigation for health care providers and real estate investors. The firm established its Nashville presence in 2017 and picked then-Waller partner Richard Westling to launch the office.

The Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims says it will continue to proceed with its plan to hold in-person settlements beginning this month but with “a broad caveat.” The court now says it will be up to local judges, the employee and their counsel, and the employer and their counsel to make a collective judgement about how to proceed. Bottom line? The court says to call the office where an in-person settlement is sought to see if it can be safely arranged.

Longtime Tennessee Bar Journal Editor Suzanne Craig Robertson has announced that she plans to leave the TBA later this spring. Robertson has edited the Tennessee Bar Journal and anchored the TBA’s award-winning communications team for more than 34 years. “We are sad to lose her, and grateful for all she has given to the TBA over the years,” TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson said. “She will be greatly missed by all of us and the hundreds of members she has worked with over the years who appreciate her talent as a writer and editor, her intelligence, her passion, her personality and her loyalty.” Robertson said it has been “a wrenching decision because I love this magazine and this association. It has been my honor to work with this staff, Editorial Board, columnists and other volunteers all these years, doing this important work for Tennessee lawyers.”

Two federal judges have blocked President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for the Head Start program within the past few days. Louisiana Judge Terry Doughty blocked the mandate in 24 states — including Tennessee — while Judge James "Wesley" Hendrix issued an almost identical ruling in Texas, Knoxnews reports. Doughty's ruling said the Biden administration failed to provide proper notice and public comment period for the order and does not have the power to issue the mandate without congressional authority. It was Doughty's second injunction against a Biden vaccine mandate. He earlier blocked a requirement for health care workers.  Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III joined the multi-state lawsuit on Dec. 21.

The state has asked a federal judge to halt his previous order on masks in schools while a newly filed appeal is pending in a higher court, the Tennessean reports. Last Thursday, attorneys for the state filed a motion in federal court asking U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw to delay implementing his Dec. 10 order, which blocked a new state law that would prevent schools from issuing mask mandates and strip local health and school officials of their ability to set COVID-19 quarantine policies. Crenshaw had blocked the state ban on mask mandates at the request of parents seeking to protect students with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The state argues that existing disability accommodation laws provide enough protection for students and the law in question allows for individual ADA accommodations.

The TBA this week launched the SOLACE Program to support all members of the legal community, including judges and court personnel, attorneys, law clerks, paralegals, legal secretaries, and their families. Started in 2002 by the Louisiana Bar Association, SOLACE is a voluntary program that matches those in need — due to a death, catastrophic illness, injury or other loss — with those who can help. Several bar associations across the country have adopted this program and the stories of how the legal community is helping are inspiring. In Tennessee, the program will accept requests for financial assistance, clothing, housing, transportation and medical community contacts. Requests should be sent to SOLACE@tnbar.org. The TBA will review requests and share them in TBA Today, allowing volunteers to connect directly with the parties in need. The TBA will not collect donations or facilitate any transactions. The program, which stands for “Support of Lawyers/Legal Personnel — All Concern Encouraged,” is one of TBA President Sherie Edwards’ initiatives for 2022. Learn more about the program and how it works at TBA.org/solace.

Legal tech blogger and Massachusetts lawyer Bob Ambrogi has released his annual list of top 10 legal trends from the last year. When examining 2021, Ambrogi names uncertainty as the number one trend, “as if we are serving time in a legal tech limbo.” Unlike 2020, Ambrogi also adds lack of progress in the world of regulatory reform to the list. The inequalities of remote work, lack of diversity in the legal profession and the courts’ adaptation of new technology are also featured on the list. Ambrogi rounds out the top 10 by asserting that the hybrid legal industry isn’t going anywhere. “The key takeaway from the past two years is that hybrid is actually better in most cases,” Ambrogi writes. “For legal professionals, it offers healthier work-life balance without diminishing productivity.” Read the full list here.

The City of Chattanooga’s Department of Equity and Community Engagement will hold its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 17, the Chattanoogan reports. Honoring the 2022 theme, “The Beloved Community … ”It Starts With Me!”, a short program will be held to kick off a donation drive that will be open from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. EST at City Hall. Mayor Tim Kelly will give welcome remarks, followed by music by The Littleton Mason Singers, a spoken-word performance by Jayden Coleman and reflections on service from the Mayor’s Youth Council. The NAACP will also be in attendance to conduct voter registration and a membership drive. Donations will benefit organizations located in the ML King Boulevard and 11th Street area, including Arts Build, The Community Kitchen, Patten Towers residents and more. Items needed are gently-used clothing, non-perishable food items, art supplies and personal hygiene products such as toilet paper, paper towels, soap and disposable masks.