MEMBER CENTER
Thursday, August 5, 2021
How a Work of Fiction May Illuminate Failures of Conservatorship Statutes
Have you caught Netflix’s I Care a Lot yet? In the show, Marla Grayson bribes doctors into declaring older adults as unfit to care for themselves, and utilizes the legal system to become their court-appointed conservator. While this is a work of fiction, the film poses a disturbing question for members of the legal profession: Can the indignities endured by Grayson’s wards become a reality in Tennessee, given the protections that our conservatorship statutes afford wards? And, if so, under what circumstances? Kimiya Sarayloo looks into it in this gripping feature story, "Insufficient Care: The Failure of Tennessee Conservatorship Statutes to Account for Future Interests in Low Asset Cases."
Bail in Tennessee: What the Statute Says vs. What the Practice Is
In his TBJ column this month, Wade V. Davies points out the discrepancies between what is on the books and what the practice is, when it comes to bail in Tennessee, and he lists practical issues to consider from existing statutes. This column is designed to emphasize that statutes are already in effect that, properly applied, should minimize unfair detention — but for whatever reasons, often don't. Read "Getting Clients Out of Jail: Bail Statutes Versus Reality"
Members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows celebrated the group’s 30th anniversary during the 2021 TBA Convention with a reception and dinner in Memphis. See who those intrepid lawyers were and learn who is in the new class.
Write it Yourself: Don't Rely on Automated Legal Writing
Certain tools can help writing, such as "software that checks quotations for accuracy or scans for case citations, spelling and grammatical errors," writes Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law professor Michael A. Zuckerman in ABAJournal.com. "Some tools also have motion templates for very basic tasks. Those are often very helpful to the busy writer and do no meaningful harm in the law school environment." But what worries Zuckerman is "technology where it has the potential to replace the professional judgment that law students must develop. A computer program cannot solve a legal problem or persuade a judge, nor dictate how to effectively represent a client. In legal writing and analysis, the magic and power of our combined words come in their variation, style and strategy—and most importantly, from our own minds."
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