A retirement party honoring Knox County Judge Bob R. McGee will be held Dec. 13 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Criminal Courtroom of the City County Building, 400 W. Main St., Floor 1, Knoxville 37902. McGee is retiring effective Jan. 1, 2020. He has held the judgeship for the past 11 years and previously worked as Knox County General Sessions Court judge for 22 years. The primary contest to replace McGee will be held March 3, 2020, with the general election contest planned for August 2020.

The University of Tennessee College of Law Legal Clinic is partnering with the Polk County legal community to host a Saturday Expungement Community Court tomorrow at the First Baptist Church of Benton. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Groups involved in the effort include local pro bono attorneys; 10th Judicial District judges, court clerks, district attorney and public defender; volunteers with the Knoxville Bar Association; Vet to Vet; and the Tennessee Faith and Justice Alliance. For more information, contact the law school’s Reentry Legal Fellow Anna Rickels at 865-974-5972.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) will hold its Annual Memorial Service this Friday at 3 p.m. EST in the Tennessee Supreme Court Courtroom, 505 Main St., Knoxville 37902. KBA President Wynne Caffey-Knight, Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Charles D. Susano Jr. and Rev. Charles Fels will lead the services honoring seven attorneys lost in 2019. Those to be honored include Fred Bright Jr., Charles A. Maner Jr., John A. McReynolds Jr., William “Bill” Pierce Newkirk, Hon. James B. “Buddy” Scott, Pamela G. Steele and Robert M. Stivers Jr.

Several city bars will hold their annual meetings and elections in December. The Memphis (MBA) and Nashville (NBA) bar associations will hold their events on Dec. 5. The MBA meeting will take place at the Peabody Hotel beginning at 5:30 p.m. The NBA meeting will take place at the Music City Center with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner and program at 7 p.m. The Knoxville Bar Association will hold its meeting and breakfast on Dec. 13, beginning at 8 a.m. in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building.

The Nashville Bar Association will hold its Fall Memorial Service on Nov. 21 at the Downtown Presbyterian Church. Activities begins with a luncheon at 11 a.m. followed by the service in the Fellowship Hall. Those who died in the past six months will be honored: John Charles McCauley, Samuel Wilson Bartholomew Jr., David Williams II, Vaden Major Lackey Jr., John A. Spann III, Douglas Murrey Fisher, Rudolph Buford Parker Jr., James Orin Bass, Patricia Eaves McAnally, David Lamar Maddox, William Emory Weems II and Christopher M. Keyes.

The legal community and friends are invited to help recognize the Hon. J. Randall Wyatt at a portrait unveiling Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Justice A.A. Birch Building’s Courtroom 6B in Nashville. Judge Wyatt served for 43 years in Criminal Court, Division II, before retiring in 2017. “More than any judge I know, Randall Wyatt has been the rare combination of legal excellence and sensitivity to the rights of all people while on the bench,” former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Ed Yarbrough said at the judge's retirement. “His long, distinguished career establishes a wonderful example for other jurists to follow.”

The Nashville Bar Association’s Veterans Committee will participate in the city’s Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. All lawyers and their families are invited to march with the group down Broadway from 14th Avenue to 3rd Avenue. Those attending should meet at the White Castle parking lot at the corner of Broadway and I-40 at 10 a.m. The group requests that those who plan to attend RSVP online.

The New York City Bar Association and the American College of Trial Lawyers are seeking attorney volunteers for the 2019 National Moot Court Competition, an annual inter-law school event designed to promote the art of appellate advocacy. The Region VII competition will take place at the University of Memphis School of Law on Nov. 22 and 23. For more information contact Stephanie Glazer, 212-382-6635.

The Ben F. Jones Chapter of The National Bar Association will hold its annual Barristers’ Ball on Nov. 9 at The Peabody Hotel. The black tie affair will run from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. An after-party will follow at 10:30 p.m. at The Pocket, 115 Union, Memphis 38103. Guests are encouraged to dress in masquerade attire in keeping with this year’s theme of “Unmasking Our Role in Justice.” Proceeds from the ball support diversity scholarships at the University of Memphis School of Law. Sponsorships and tickets are available online.

The Tennessee Business Court will hold a panel discussion and opportunity to meet the court’s new presiding judge, Chancellor Anne Martin, Monday at noon. The event will take place in the Jury Assembly Room of the Davidson County Historic Metro Courthouse, 1 Public Square, Nashville 37201. Court of Appeals Judge W. Neal McBrayer will moderate the panel discussion with Nashville lawyers Brigid Carpenter, managing shareholder of Baker Donelson's Nashville office; Butler Snow attorney Erin Palmer Polly; Tim Warnock, founding member of Riley Warnock & Jacobson; and Bone McAllester Norton attorney Stephen Zralek. Chancellor Martin also will make remarks. Download the invitation.