The planned Women's Suffrage Museum in Knoxville will be bigger than originally planned with a gift to purchase another Gay Street building, Knox News reports. Following an initial fundraising campaign of $2 million, a home for the museum was secured at 706 S. Gay St. Now, a new gift of $500,000 will allow the Suffrage Coalition to also purchase 708 S. Gay St. The coalition will need to raise $2.4 million to complete the purchase of the second building and restore it. The museum, which is scheduled to open in 2028, will highlight East Tennessee's role in ratifying the 19th Amendment, celebrating figures such as Lizzie Crozier French and Harry T. Burn. Donations may be made online at WomensSuffrageMuseum.org or mailed to P.O. Box 14322, Knoxville, TN 37914. See photos from an event announcing the project. 

Laura Sosh-Lightsy worked as a dean at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) for over two decades before getting fired for a social media post about Charlie Kirk. This week, she filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school, WPLN reports. On Sept. 10 — the day Kirk was assassinated — Sosh-Lightsy posted that she did not have sympathy for Kirk due to his prior comments about gun violence. In the complaint, Sosh-Lightsy argues her comments were made as a private citizen speaking on a matter of public concern and, thus, protected by the First Amendment. The school says she was fired because the comments caused a “disruption and interference with University operations.”

The Memphis Bar Association's Access to Justice Committee, together with the TBA Young Lawyers Division and other organizations, are hosting a Restorative Rights & Resource Fair on Nov. 22. Services to be offered include expungements, voter reinstatements, driver's license reinstatements and resume help. The event will take place at the Hickory Hill Community Center, 3910 Ridgeway Rd., Memphis 38115 from 9 a.m. to noon CST. Fill out this form to volunteer. See a flyer for more information.

TBA's Real Estate Law Section, in partnership with the Tennessee Land Title Association, will host its annual Hot Topics in Real Estate program virtually tomorrow, Nov. 7. This event is a staple for Tennessee dirt lawyers, designed to keep you on the cutting edge of developments in your practice. Topics will include a comprehensive legislative update, FinCEN, the new foreclosure law, ALTA 49 endorsements and wholesaling. Additionally, Jeff Lanier, a financial expert at Stewart Title, will provide a business and economic update titled "Rates, Resilience and the Road Ahead: Understanding the Economic Forces and Strategic Shifts Impacting Title Insurance." Don't miss this annual favorite!

The latest issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is live online and full of articles of interest to lawyers across practice areas! In this issue's cover story, Nathan Drake, Amy Bryson Smith and Mary Lauren Teague of Belmont University College of Law look at three recent copyright decisions and how courts are analyzing the legitimacy of using copyrighted material without permission to train AI platforms. Brad Bald's feature focuses on the importance of change orders in construction projects and how to effectively manage them. And TBJ turns 60 this year! Heidi Barcus' President's Perspective column kicks off our celebration. Enjoy a retrospective timeline of the last six decades of the Journal. Our regular columns Crime & Punishment, History's Verdict and The Buddy System are inside, as well as a book review and information about running for TBA office in 2026. Look for the print version in mailboxes in the next few weeks!

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider seven applicants when it meets to select nominees for an upcoming vacancy on the Court of Appeals Western Section due to the retirement of Judge Kenny Armstrong on Feb. 9, 2026. The applicants include Lori R. Holyfield, Eileen Kuo, Steven Wayne Maroney, Jeffrey E. Nicoson, Gadson William Perry, Monica Rae Rejaei and John B. Turner Jr., according to a press release. Public interviews of the applicants are scheduled for Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. CST in the chambers of the Jackson City Council, 109 E. Main St., STE 107, Jackson 38301. At the conclusion of the interviews, the council will vote to send three applicants to the governor. Any member of the public may attend the public hearing and can express, orally or in writing, objections concerning applicants for the vacancy. For questions contact Administrative Office of the Courts Assistant General Counsel Laura Blount at 615-741-2687.

An attorney for former state Rep. Robin Smith of Hixson is calling for a full presidential pardon following her federal sentencing in a public-corruption case, NewsChannel 5 reports. Smith pleaded guilty to honest-services wire fraud connected to a taxpayer-funded mailer scheme. After her guilty plea, she cooperated with prosecutors in their cases against former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and one of his top aides. In October, she was sentenced to eight months in prison, followed by one year of probation and a $7,500 fine. Her attorney argues that Smith has met the conditions they say merit clemency. Smith’s sentencing order begins Jan. 5, 2026.

The U.S. Marshals Service released immigration arrest totals from the Memphis Safe Task Force for the first time since mid-October, reporting that Task Force officers made 319 administrative, or immigration-related, arrests in October. According to the Daily Memphian, that is about 17% of the total 1,862 arrests during the month. Other arrests included 813 served warrants for unspecified charges, 203 for narcotics, 162 for firearms and 10 for homicide.

Baker Donelson and the University of Tennessee Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs will host an invitation-only event Nov. 12 from 2 to 6 p.m. CST at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville to celebrate the 100th birthday and legacy of former U.S. Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr. Baker, Tennessee’s first popularly elected Republican senator, was known for his civility, bipartisanship and decades of public service, including roles as Senate majority leader and White House chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan. The program will feature former U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, and  Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota; attorney and former ambassador A.B. Culvahouse; Knoxville businessman James A. Haslam II, who worked as a fundraiser for Baker; health care executive Alan Levine; author Jon Meacham; and Emily Reynolds, who worked as a special assistant to Baker. The group will share reflections on Baker’s enduring influence on public service and civic life. Read more in a news advisory from Baker Donelson.

Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that $5 million in state funds will be distributed to food banks in all 95 counties, with grants allocated based on the number of people receiving SNAP benefits in each region. The announcement comes as families across the state continue to face uncertainty over federal food assistance programs during the federal shutdown. Lee said the funding is part of the state’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative, which is coordinating relief efforts statewide, NewsChannel 5 reports. Tennesseans needing food assistance or wanting to volunteer can visit FeedTN.org for more information. The Trump administration said earlier this week that it will partially fund food aid for millions of Americans after two federal judges ruled it must use contingency funds to pay November benefits.