The TBA Criminal Justice Section is seeking lawyers to serve as mentors for law students during the section’s annual Crim Law Day, taking place virtually this year on Nov. 15 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. EST. Volunteer lawyers will lead a small group of students through a case scenario, facilitate discussion and answer questions. Ideally, each group will be paired with two to three practitioners. This program has grown exponentially in recent years with more than 300 students from all law schools in the state expected to attend. To volunteer for the program please contact Criminal Justice Section staff coordinator Jarod Word at jword@tnbar.org.

The TBA Administrative Law Section recently announced that Vanderbilt Law School 3L Kyle M. Brinker has won its 2021 Section Writing Competition. Brinker’s article, A Gundy Revival in the Age of Public Health, looks at the nondelegation doctrine and how the doctrine should be interpreted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brinker analyzes how the U.S. Congress enacted broad laws delegating authority during the public health crisis and argues that “principles” of delegation should be more lenient in times of emergency. This year's competition was sponsored by the Administrative Law Section, Burr & Forman LLP and Memphis Area Legal Services. Brinker is articles editor on the Vanderbilt Law Review. He served as a summer associate last year at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in Washington D.C. Read more from the school.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the second installment of Crim Law Day was presented in a virtual format last week with nearly 50 attorneys and judges volunteering to mentor students from LMU Law and the University of Tennessee College of Law. Members of the TBA Criminal Law Section were paired with small groups of five to seven students to discuss the case of William James Rummel vs. W.J. Estelle Jr. Students also had the opportunity to ask section leaders about their day-to-day activities and the challenges of practicing in the criminal justice field.