The Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts is joining the law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings to provide free legal services for nonprofits and Black-owned small businesses in Nashville this Friday. Advice will cover business formation, corporate governance, contracts and navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Eligible entities may receive up to one hour of assistance. Clients should sign up online. Attorneys should email vlpa@abcnashville.org to volunteer.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands is hosting a Pro Bono Appreciation Happy Hour to thank and recognize its volunteers. The event is this Thursday from 4:30-6 p.m. CDT at 501 Commerce St. at Fifth & Broadway in Nashville, and is sponsored by Polsinelli and K&L Gates. Find more information and RSVP here. 

The Lawyers' Association for Women Marion Griffin Chapter will hold its New Admittee Breakfast on Nov. 7 from 7:15-9 a.m. CST. The event will be held at the Music City Center, Grand Ballroom C, 201 Rep. John Lewis Way, S., Nashville 37203. This year’s keynote speaker will be Magistrate Judge Alistair E. Newbern of the Middle District of Tennessee. For 47 years, the breakfast has been recognized as a signature event in the Middle Tennessee legal community. It is attended by more than 300 new admittees, judges, local bar dignitaries and attorneys. The event is free to new admittees. RSVP online by Nov. 2.

The Memphis Bar Association YLD is seeking volunteer attorneys to participate in Legal Lines with WREG on Oct. 24 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. CDT. Volunteers will be answering phones and must be able to stay for the entire event. Register for the event or email constance.brown@memphistn.gov for more information.

A portrait unveiling for former Court of Appeals Judge Richard Dinkins will take place this Friday at 2 p.m. CDT at the Nashville Historic Courthouse, One Public Square N., Nashville 37201. The event will take place in Room 411. Dinkins died Oct. 1 at the age of 71. Before being named to the appellate court, Dinkins served as a Davidson County chancellor. View the invitation to the event.

Attorney and law student volunteers are needed for a Rights Restoration Project being planned by the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission (ATJ). The commission will provide a virtual training on Oct. 20 from 1-2:30 p.m. CDT focused on the rights restoration process, available forms and resources, and recent changes in the law. The training is free but registration is required. After completing the training, lawyers will be matched with a law student and a client. Cases will be worked throughout the month of November. Those who would like more information before signing up for the training may watch a recording of an informational meeting about the project (use passcode 8UW#%GnU) and follow along with this slide deck.

The NAACP Sumner County Branch and the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold an expungement clinic on Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at the Gallaton Shalom Zone, 600 Small St., Gallatin 37066. Registration is required.

Memphis lawyer Cynthia Pensoneau and former Hardeman County General Sessions Judge Steven C. Hornsby will present an experiential learning retreat Oct. 26-27 at Gray Bear Holistic Retreat Center in Hohenwald. The two-day event, “Wisdom Practices for Layers: Nature is the Best Teacher,” will focus on yoga, meditation, guided visualization and practical approaches to energy management. Learn more in this flyer or make reservations online.

Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (TADP) and the American Baptist College Presidential Lecture Series will present “Doomed to Repeat: The Legacy of Race in Tennessee’s Death Penalty and Criminal Legal System” over a six-week period beginning this Friday. The speaker series will run from 6-7:30 p.m. CDT each Friday. The lectures will be free and open to the public, and video recordings will be available following each event. The goal of the series is to provide students and the community an opportunity to hear from legal experts and those who have been directly impacted by the death penalty. Learn more in a news release from the groups. Register for this week’s program.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) will hold a child support clinic on Oct. 19 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. EDT at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court. The in-person event will provide advice to those seeking to secure child support. Pre-registration for clients is encouraged. Attorney volunteers are needed. Those interested in helping should email Mary Frances Devoe at mdevoe@laet.org. View a flyer for the event.