After news last week about two university employees facing termination proceedings for comments made after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, WSMV reports that a state employee with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance also has been fired. In addition, the Nashville Banner reports that a Metro Nashville employee was placed on leave, Austin Peay State University fired a longtime theatre professor, Cumberland University fired a professor and another staffer, and East Tennessee State University suspended two tenured professors.

The Birmingham-based law firm Bradley, with offices in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville, was honored this week with the Exceptional Service Award from the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Death Penalty Representation Project. The award was presented at the project’s annual Volunteer Recognition & Awards Event and recognized the firm’s exceptional commitment to excellence in capital defense. Over the years, the firm has represented 39 individuals across five states. In 2024, 31 firm attorneys dedicated more than 1,000 pro bono hours to prisoners on death row. Over the last year years, six of Bradley’s clients either have been exonerated or removed from death row. Read more in a press release from the firm. Since 1986, the Death Penalty Representation Project has worked to ensure that those facing a death sentence have qualified counsel by locating and supporting law firms that take on pro bono cases. See a photo from the event.

The TBA’s 2025 Creditors Practice Annual Forum will take place Oct. 1 at the Tennessee Bankers Association’s Bradley L. Barrett Training Center in Nashville. The program offers three general and one dual CLE credit with sessions covering case law and rule updates, e-filing, artificial intelligence and the sovereign citizen movement. Registration begins at 9 a.m. with programming scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. CDT, followed by a networking reception. For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, Democrat of Memphis, questioned FBI Director Kash Patel about the upcoming deployment of the National Guard to the city during a hearing yesterday on Capitol Hill. According to the Daily Memphian, Cohen asked about the task force President Donald Trump established Monday and whether Patel thinks the National Guard is necessary to do the work that the FBI is doing. Patel said it is necessary: “… we’ve only secured a piece of where the criminal conduct is occurring in Memphis, and we can’t work inside perimeters that aren’t established and safe. And we don’t have the manpower to give us the space to go into the areas where the criminal activity remains.” Cohen and Patel also talked about the results of “Operation Viper” — a summer initiative that resulted in 500 arrests and about 110 indictments in the city.

Gov. Bill Lee announced recently that Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter will assume the role of deputy governor effective Oct. 15. He will replace Butch Eley, who plans to step down after nearly seven years in Lee's cabinet. McWhorter will continue in his current role. "I’m deeply grateful for Stuart’s leadership and appreciate his willingness to take on an expanded role as deputy governor," Lee said in a release. He also thanked Eley for his service saying he “has been one of my most trusted advisors and a steady hand in guiding Tennessee through seasons of opportunity, as well as uncertainty.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court imposed a public censure on Cheatham County lawyer Terrance Earl McNabb on Sept. 18. The court reports that after McNabb was hired to file a child custody modification with the Robertson County Juvenile Court, he failed to assert multiple constitutional claims that may have resulted in a temporary order being thrown out. McNabb also failed to raise a claim for failure to prosecute and for the father’s lack of parentage being established, which could have resulted in an immediate return of custody to his client. These actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a) and 8.4(d).

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a lawsuit on behalf of a Nashville woman tased and shot by police officers during a mental health crisis in 2021 can go forward. The court determined that the lawsuit, filed in 2022, “plausibly alleges that the officers violated the woman’s clearly established rights.” Last year, District Court Judge William Campbell dismissed the case, but the latest ruling means that attorneys may pursue the woman’s legal claims against Metro and two named officers. The Nashville Banner has more on the case.

A story in the Sept. 15 issue of TBA Today relied on a Daily Memphian article about the Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision not to stay a trial court decision in a lawsuit between the city of Memphis and the Memphis Police Association. That article now has been updated to clarify that the court declined to stay the decision while an appeal from the city is pending with the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The TBA also has updated its initial reporting.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) will hold its annual Pro Bono Celebration at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City on Sept. 26 at 11:30 a.m. EDT. The event will feature inspiring stories, recognition of pro bono heroes and remarks from Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Mary Wagner. The court also will recognize the current Attorneys for Justice at the event. Purchase tickets to attend on the LAET website.

Former U.S. Rep. Mark Green is joining with New Orleans attorney and lobbyist Marc Hebert to launch a business venture, the Nashville Banner reports. Business filings in Florida show that Green and Hebert have started Prosimos to help American businesses launch ventures overseas with the goal of thwarting Chinese businesses. Talking about the new role, Green said, “We’re in a battle for alliances globally and if we want to win those alliances, we should have foreign governments become addicted to American businesses. And the battle is very clear. It’s between us and China. … If an American company doesn’t do it, a Chinese company will.” Green left Congress in July. Early voting in the race to succeed him began this week.