The Nashville School of Law will host the 20th Annual Recognition Dinner to pay tribute to three local leaders who share a commitment to justice, dedication to legal education and a lifelong passion for service. The event will be held next Friday, June 7, at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville. Cocktails will be served at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and remarks following at 7 p.m. Tickets are $125 per person.

A free legal clinic will be held June 8 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Benjamin L. Hooks Library, 3030 Poplar Ave., in Memphis. This month’s clinic is sponsored by the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association and is open to all members of the public in need of legal advice. Initiated in October 2007, the Saturday Legal Clinic is sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association and Memphis Area Legal Services and is a project of the Access to Justice Committee, a collaborative effort of local bar associations and non-profit organizations to provide legal services to those in need. Volunteer attorneys provide free legal assistance to those in need on a first come, first served basis. For more information about the clinic or to volunteer, click here.

The MBA Bankruptcy Section will host a reception honoring the newly appointed Judge Jimmy L. Croom on June 7 at 5 p.m. in the historic Reading Room on the 4th Floor of the University of Memphis School of Law. After the reception, the section will treat Judge Croom to a Redbirds game, beginning at 7:05 pm. To RSVP and for more information, contact Claire Reno at claire@renofirm.com or (901) 685 5646.

The Association of Women Attorneys will host its second annual golf tournament benefiting the AWA Scholarship Fund on June 7 with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. at Mirimichi Championship Course in Millington. Registration is $150 per player, which includes scramble entry, prizes and lunch. For non-golfers, environmental tours will provide a unique opportunity to learn about the course’s Audubon International Classic Sanctuary and Golf Environmental Organization certifications. Tours are $20 per person. For more information and registration, contact Jennifer Himes at (901) 529-3009 or jennifer.himes@huschblackwell.com. Download the event flyer. 

The swearing-in ceremony for the Hon. Deborah C. Stevens, Knox County Circuit Court Division III, will be held  Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the small assembly room of the City County Building in Knoxville. Gov. Bill Haslam will be in attendance. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony.

Arts Immersion, presented by the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and the Nashville Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, will take place June 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the W.O. Smith School. The event will feature live performances, visual art and a silent auction – including opportunities to co-write with top songwriters. All proceeds benefit Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts, which has provided $1 million worth of free legal and business help to over 1,000 low-income artists and 300 nonprofit arts organizations over the past five years. Tickets are $40 and are available at the door or online. Food, beverages and valet parking will be provided.

The Jackson-Madison County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division is hosting “Pour Your Heart Out for CASA” – a wine tasting and fundraiser for the Madison County CASA program. The event will take place May 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Flatiron Grille, 1160 Vann Drive, Jackson 38305. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online. For more information contact Terica Smith at terica.n.smith@gmail.com.

The Nashville Bar Association (NBA) will hold its annual memorial service this Thursday to honor the lives and legal careers of lawyers and judges who died this past year. The event will begin at 11 a.m. at the Downtown Presbyterian Church. A reception will follow in the church’s Fellowship Hall. This year’s service will remember Charles Galbreath, Houston Hagar, Judge Shelton Hatcher Jr., Mary Schaffner, Martin Simmons, Tom Ware and William Wommack.

President Barack Obama will discuss the legality of his administration's secret drone program and other counterterrorism practices during a speech Thursday at the National Defense University, a White House official told the Associated Press. The speech is an attempt to be more "transparent" with the public about the controversial drone program that has become the centerpiece of the White House's efforts to combat terrorism. The president also is expected to discuss efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, which he has promised to do. WRCB-TV Chattanooga has more on the story.

Gov. Bill Haslam will administer the oath of office to Tennessee’s newest Court of Appeals judge, Thomas R. Frierson II, Tuesday at 9:45 a.m. at the Morristown-Hamblen High School West. Dignitaries, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary R. Wade, Court of Appeals Presiding Judge Charles Susano Jr., Hamblen County Mayor Bill Brittain and Morristown Mayor Danny Thomas will be on hand to give remarks. A reception will follow the ceremony. Haslam appointed Frierson in February to fill a vacancy created when Judge Herschel P. Franks retired at the end of 2012. Prior to his appointment, Frierson was a chancellor in the Third Judicial District, serving Greene, Hamblen, Hancock and Hawkins counties. The AOC reported the news.