Legal Aid of East Tennessee is co-hosting a Name Change Filing Party on Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT at Edney Innovation Center in Chattanooga. The community event is presented in partnership with the Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective where clients from the Virtual Pro Se Name Change Clinic can receive free notary and printing services, be matched with emotional support volunteers and apply for filing fee scholarships. All are welcome. For more information, email mdevoe@laet.org.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee's (LAET) Chattanooga office will host an attorney workday for expungement cases on Oct. 11 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. EDT at their office at 100 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Suite 402, 37402. This is a non-client facing clinic where attorney volunteers can work together to evaluate cases and fill out paperwork for expungements. The event is co-sponsored by LAET, TBA and CBA Young Lawyers Division. For more information or to volunteer, email mdevoe@laet.org.

Volunteers are requested for a Williamson County expungement clinic to be held Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. CDT at Franklin First United Methodist Church, 120 Aldersgate Way, 37069. At this event, pre-registered participants will have the opportunity to expunge their Williamson County records, including eligible convictions. Judges will be onsite to hear motions for fee waivers that may be a barrier to expungement. Walk-in clients are welcome, only to meet with volunteer attorneys. The event is a partnership of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands, the TBA Young Lawyers Division, the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission, Franklin Justice & Equity Coalition, the 21st Judicial District Public Defenders and the Urban League of Middle Tennessee. See flyer for more information or call 615-254-0525.

The Arts & Business Council (ABC) of Greater Nashville is sponsoring a program exploring legal issues for documentary filmmakers this month and will host its pro bono legal clinic for artists on Nov. 1. The educational program for documentary filmmakers will be held Oct. 17 and will feature entertainment lawyer William L. Whitacre. ABC's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) Nashville clinic will include free legal consultations via 30-minute private meetings. Learn more or register.

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 on on Oct. 19 from 4:30-6 p.m. CDT at 501 Commerce Street at Fifth & Broadway in Nashville, and is sponsored by Polsinelli and K&L Gates. Find more information and RSVP here. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court and the Access to Justice Commission are hosting the first in-person pro bono recognition event since 2019. All who received recognition as Attorneys for Justice and Law Students for Justice for 2020 through 2023 are invited to this celebration. The event will take place on Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m. CDT at the Belmont College of Law. Members of the Tennessee Supreme Court will be on hand to honor pro bono recognition recipients. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht will serve as the keynote speaker for this celebration. Light refreshments will immediately follow the presentations. RSVPs are requested. 

Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) will hold three legal clinics in October. The “Attorney of the Day Clinic” will take place Oct. 5 and 19 from 1-3 p.m. CST at the Shelby County Courthouse, 140 Adams Ave., Room 134, Memphis 38103. The monthly clinic at the Benjamin Hooks Library will take place Oct. 14 beginning at 10 a.m. The library is located at 3030 Poplar Ave., Memphis 38111. For both clinics, clients will be served on a first come, first served basis. For questions or to volunteer contact Heather Staggs or Walter Casey.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee will host a free virtual clinic on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. EDT to assist adults seeking to change their names. Clients are pre-registered and will be paired with volunteer attorneys and law students to draft petitions and get advice on how to prepare for a name change hearing. LAET is partnering with the TBA Young Lawyers Division, Belmont School of Law and Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands to hold this event. Attorneys interested in volunteering should email mdevoe@laet.org.

This year’s Tennessee Supreme Court Boot Camp will kick off tomorrow morning with the addition of two special elements. As in past years, attendees will observe oral arguments in real cases and then engage in a discussion about the preparation and considerations for deciding to seek review in the court. But this year, attendees also are invited to see Justice Holly Kirby sworn in as the court’s newest chief justice prior to the CLE at the state capitol, and then hear former TBA president Bill Harbison present a special program on the history of the court at Holland & Knight after the Boot Camp. The TBA's Boot Camp program will kick off at 9:30 a.m. CDT at the Tennessee Supreme Court building in Nashville with oral arguments before the full court. An analysis and discussion will follow with Miller & Martin's Robert Parsley and Nashville lawyers Donald Capparella of Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella and Edmund Sauer with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. The program will wrap up at 4:30 p.m. CDT.

West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) will hold a number of activities this month as part of Celebrate Pro Bono Month and is looking for volunteers to help. On Oct. 5, the group will offer a free CLE to train lawyers how to assist rural clients with conservatorships. A virtual expungement clinic will be held the weeks of Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 to assist clients in Crockett and Obion counties. Two free virtual trainings will be held to help volunteers prepare for this work. Then on Oct. 25, the group will host “Breaking the Stereotype: What Pro Bono Looks Like in 2023,” which will feature Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins and WTLS Pro Bono Coordinator Andy Cole discussing the different ways attorneys can fulfill their ethical obligations to complete pro bono work. One free hour of CLE credit will be available to attendees.