The TBA Annual Convention in Knoxville next week will feature a two-part wellness program on how to improve personal and group well-being. Don’t miss our panel of judges and lawyers discussing topics such as the impact of well-being on productivity, establishing healthy and sustainable habits, seeking professional help, and using mentoring as a tool to promote individual and group wellness. The program will take place June 16 from 9:45-11:45 a.m. EDT at the Marriott Knoxville Downtown Hotel. Want to join colleagues just for this program? The TBA is making a select number of programs available for purchase separate from the full convention registration. Sign up here.

Join your colleagues in Knoxville at the TBA Convention on June 15 for the CLE/CME: Mediator Ethics: Where Do We Draw the Line? It is not unusual for mediators to develop tactics to achieve their settlement goals. But when do these tactics become manipulative or even deceptive? And is all manipulation inappropriate? If you can't make it to the full convention, you can just register for this course. 

The TBA Annual Convention in Knoxville next week will feature a timely session on how ChatGPT can help attorneys in their practice. Sydney Beckman with Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law and Wesley Clark with Brazil Clark will discuss why lawyers should embrace, rather than reject, ChatGPT’s capabilities. They also will focus on the limitations of artificial intelligence, highlighting the human qualities that clients need but AI cannot provide. The session, moderated by Lincoln Memorial University’s Melanie Reid, will take place Thursday from 4-5:30 p.m. EDT at the Marriott Knoxville Downtown Hotel. Want to join colleagues just for this program? The TBA is making a select number of programs available for purchase separate from the full convention registration. Sign up here.

Join your colleagues at TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville to learn about employment law issues that arise in a multitude of legal practice areas. “Top 10 Employment Law Updates All Tennessee Lawyers Should Know About” will discuss emerging issues in federal and state employment law that all Tennessee lawyers should know about to effectively spot issues, help their clients navigate them and identify resources to do so effectively. Visit the Convention CLE page for more information on this and other CLE programming. Can't make it to the full convention? You can register for just this individual course. 

Can't join us for the full TBA Convention later this month? Or maybe you need to add on a guest ticket? Individual tickets are now available for purchase for Thursday's law school breakfasts, the Bench Bar Luncheon and the social event with judges at Neyland Stadium, as well as Friday's Lawyers Luncheon. Visit our ticket site for more info.

During this year's TBA Convention in Knoxville, the TBA is offering individual registration for a select number of our CLE courses. Options include Mediator Ethics, Top 10 Employment Law Updates All Tennessee Lawyers Should Know, Embracing ChatGPT for Lawyers, Positive Psychology and Leadership Hour, and Attorney Wellness Inside and Out. Visit the individual registration sites for dates and times.

An exciting addition to the TBA's Annual Convention is an event featuring several Tennessee lawyers and friends who have recently published new books. Convention attendees will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the authors, and purchase those books and have them signed. The book signing will take place on June 15 in the Atrium of the Knoxville Marriott from 10:30 a.m.-noon EDT and 1:30-2:30 p.m. EDT. Authors in attendance will include Wendy Bach, 'Prosecuting Poverty, Criminalizing Care;' Ben Barton, 'The Credentialed Court;' Amanda Swanson and Bill Haltom, 'Full Court Press;' Angelia Nystrom, 'Legal Ease and Life Hacks,' Nick McCall, 'Pogiebait's War,' Suzanne Craig Robertson, 'He Called Me Sister;' Georgiana Vines, 'East Tennessee Newsmakers;' and Ashley Wiltshire, 'Everyday Justice.' Our thanks to Union Ave. Books in Knoxville for their assistance with this event.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) has selected Sue Mathews as the 2023 CASA Volunteer of the Year. Mathews is a volunteer with CASA of Maury County and has served as a court-appointed special advocate for 15 years. In nominating Mathews for the award, CASA of Maury County Executive Director Jessica Ballard said that Mathews regularly “goes above and beyond” to support, mentor and advocate for the cases she is assigned, and “embodies what it means to be an effective CASA by making sure the children’s needs are being met and their voices are heard.” The award will be presented at the YLD Board’s annual dinner on June 16 in Knoxville as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention. CASA’s mission is to train and support court-appointed volunteers who then advocate for abused and neglected children who have come to the attention of the courts. Read the TBA’s full press release here.

This year, the TBA Convention will offer two blocks of concurrent CLE programs. On June 15 from 2-3:30 p.m. EDT, attendees will choose between "Mediator Ethics: Where Do We Draw the Line?" with retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Janice Holder and Nashville lawyer Gail Ashworth, and "Top 10 Employment Law Updates All Tennessee Lawyers Should Know About" with Casey Duhart of Acadia Healthcare Inc. and Jeb Gerth of Epstein Becker & Green. Then from 4-5:30 p.m., TBA will offer "Embracing ChaptGPT for Lawyers" and "Policing in America" with the Tennessee Alliance of Black Lawyers (TABL). Visit the TBA Convention page for more details on these and other CLE programs.

Elk Valley Times writers Lora Scripps and Wanda Southerland will receive the Fourth Estate Award during the Tennessee Bar Association’s annual convention in Knoxville. The award will be presented at the Lawyers Luncheon on June 16. Scripps, the paper's general manager and editor, and Southerland, one of its reporters, are being recognized for six months of reporting on the Lincoln County mayor’s decision to exclude Jack Daniels from certain planning and zoning requirements, including site plans, permitting and fees. The move comes as local residents express concern about “whiskey fungus” created by unregulated barrel houses. The Fourth Estate Award was established to recognize and encourage journalists who promote public understanding of the rule of law and improvements in our system of justice through their vigorous exercise of their First Amendment rights. Read TBA’s full release on the award.