There is still time to register for the 2021 TBA Annual Convention virtual experience! The virtual option includes all the same CLE and key programs as the in-person option but at a significant savings. Programming will be offered each day next week. Early in the week, Tennessee law school alumni will gather for virtual mixers, while virtual programs will focus on civility, the TBA’s Practice Management Center and legal trends beyond COVID. On Thursday, join colleagues gathered in Memphis for the annual Bench Bar program and popular Better Right Now CLE via Zoom. And on Friday, don’t miss the annual Legislative Update CLE and Lawyers Luncheon, where colleagues will be honored for their service to the bar and the profession, and Nashville lawyer Sherie Edwards will be sworn in as TBA's 142nd president. Register here for the virtual option.

Nashville lawyer Todd Pinckley will be presented with the prestigious Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing next week during the TBA's Annual Convention in Memphis. The award was established nearly 40 years ago and is given each year to the lawyer “who writes the most outstanding article that is published in the ... Tennessee Bar Journal for the preceding year." This year’s winning article is “The Right to Remain Silent: Law Enforcement and the Duty to Intervene,” which was published in the November/December 2020 issue. The award will be presented at the annual Lawyers Lunch, which will be held in-person and livestreamed.

Registration for the in-person TBA Convention in Memphis will close Monday at midnight CDT. After that point, registration will be limited to the virtual experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to join colleagues from across the state for the annual Bench Bar Luncheon, Lawyers Luncheon, and eight hours of CLE credit, including the Bench Bar program, Better Right Now session and Legislative Update. In-person attendees also will enjoy a joint social event with state judges, a group breakfast and the delights of Beale Street and beyond. Get details here.

Major General Albert Harvey will be honored this month with the Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award from the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court. The award was recently renamed in honor of the late Judge Reeves, who was also the first recipient of the award in 2020. It will be presented during the Lawyers Luncheon at the TBA Annual Convention in Memphis. Harvey was chosen for his decades of leadership and service to the legal profession. He is a past president of both the Tennessee and Memphis Bar Associations and is the immediate past chair of the American Bar Association’s Senior Lawyers Division. Prior to his legal career Harvey was active duty in the United States Marines. He recently retired from the Marine Corps Reserve with the rank of Major General. He is respected by his peers at the local, state and national levels and unquestionably displays the character and integrity required for this award.

The 2021 Bench Bar Luncheon, scheduled for June 17, will feature a keynote address by Lang Wiseman, deputy and chief counsel to Gov. Bill Lee. Wiseman assists the governor in his day-to-day duties and acts as a liaison between the governor’s office, the legislature and the various departments and agencies in state government, including the judiciary, the attorney general and the district attorneys general. Wiseman also coordinates the legal affairs of the executive branch, reviews judicial appointments and clemency requests, and advises the governor on legal, political and legislative matters. Prior to his appointment, Wiseman was a founding partner at the Memphis law firm Wiseman Bray. He previously worked at Baker Donelson Bearman & Caldwell, as counsel for the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and as a law clerk to the late Judge Harry Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. The luncheon will be presented live in Memphis and live streamed for virtual convention registrants. Learn more and register here for this year’s convention.

The 2021 TBA Annual Convention is being presented this year as both an in-person and virtual event. For those not yet ready to travel, the virtual option includes all the same CLE and key programs as the in-person option but at a significant savings. Programming will be offered each day the week of June 14. Early in the week, Tennessee law school alumni will gather for virtual mixers, while virtual programs will focus on civility, the TBA’s Practice Management Center and legal trends beyond COVID. On Thursday, join colleagues gathered in Memphis for the annual Bench Bar program and popular Better Right Now CLE via Zoom. And on Friday, don’t miss the annual Legislative Update CLE and Lawyers Luncheon, where colleagues will be honored for their service to the bar and the profession, and Nashville lawyer Sherie Edwards will be sworn in as TBA's 142nd president. Register here for the virtual option.

The 2021 TBA Annual Convention, presented this year as both an in-person and virtual event, will offer two roundtables for attendees to learn more about important issues affecting the practice of law. On Monday, June 14, at 3 p.m. CDT, TBA President-elect Sherie Edwards will moderate a discussion between Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee, Nashville lawyer and former TBA president Jackie Dixon with Weatherly & Dixon, and retired Memphis lawyer and former TBA president Bill Haltom, who will share their experiences and thoughts on the topic of civility in the legal profession. Then on Tuesday, leaders will discuss the TBA’s new Law Practice Management Center, which offers resources for launching, building and leading a firm. Make plans now to join your colleagues for these sessions and bring your questions and your own stories to share!

Tennessee law schools will again hold virtual mixers during the week of the TBA Annual Convention in June. These sessions bring together the deans from each school, along with alumni and sometimes students for an update on current issues, challenges and activities on each campus. Register now if you would like to attend. You will be sent a link to the Zoom session for your law school's mixer closer to the event date. Convention registration is not required.

The 2021 TBA Annual Convention, presented this year as both an in-person and virtual event, offers eight hours of CLE credit. One of the key offerings will be the annual Bench/Bar Program, which will include three distinct presentations this year. The first two sessions will address neurodiversity in the courtroom and vicarious trauma. The third session will focus on the effect of individual bias on the sentencing process. A panel, including Judge Bernice B. Donald with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, University of Memphis School of Law professor Demetria Frank and University of Tennessee College of Law professor Sherley Cruz, will discuss specific instances of bias in the sentencing phase and offer practical suggestions on how to limit the effect of individual biases. See all CLE programs being offered during the week of Convention and register here.

The 2021 TBA Annual Convention, presented this year as both an in-person and virtual event, offers eight hours of CLE credit. One of the key offerings will be the annual Bench/Bar Program, which will include three distinct presentations this year. The first session will focus on neurodiversity in the courtroom. The second session will focus on vicarious trauma and secondary PTSD. Buddy Stockwell, executive director of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP), will provide an overview of “compassion fatigue” and talk about how he dealt with distressing situations as a family law practitioner. Then TLAP Clinical Director Holly Wade will discuss even more debilitating levels of distress such as PTSD and what therapy and recovery look like for those cases. The program is designed to equip participants to recognize symptoms in themselves and others for early intervention and best outcomes. See all CLE programs being offered during the convention and register here.