The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) will hold its 2025 Bench & Bar Celebration on Sept. 4 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. EDT. The annual event honors the justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court and celebrates the state judiciary. The celebration will take place at the Knoxville Convention Center, 701 Henley St., Knoxville 37902. Learn more and access registration information online.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Robert E. McGuire on July 18 announced that the U.S. has reached an agreement with Knights Inn Nashville to resolve allegations the hotel violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The hotel is alleged to have refused to allow a family with a service animal to stay because it was against hotel policy. As part of the settlement, the hotel has agreed to post a large sign in a conspicuous area accessible by the public that reads “Service Animals Welcome.” The owner of the hotel also will establish and implement a written policy specifically addressing the provision of services to individuals with disabilities who require a service animal for all hotels that he owns, and will provide ADA training to all hotel staff who have contact with guests. Read more.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) reportedly has dismissed an ethics complaint against Nashville attorney Cynthia Sherwood, who represents former House Speaker Glen Casada’s ex-chief of staff, Cade Cothren. The complaint, filed by the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, alleged misconduct after a private investigator working for Sherwood visited the home of Bill Young, the registry’s executive director. Sherwood, who called the complaint "frivolous," provided the Tennessee Lookout with a copy of the BPR's confidential letter. The BPR has not made the decision public, pending an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office. Resolution of the complaint comes as Cothren and Casada, both convicted of federal bribery charges, are seeking new trials. In addition, the registery said it would revive a 2020 request for a criminal investigation into Cothren and the Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC based on new evidence from the trials.

The U.S. Department of Justice and Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawyers agreed to keep Abrego Garcia in U.S. custody in Tennessee for 30 days if the court denies the government's motion to revoke his bond, again delaying his transfer to immigration authorities. Fox 17 News reports that Abrego Garcia's lawyers requested the delay to assess legal options amid potential deportation. The government did not oppose, noting it would not impact trial preparations or the current January 2026 trial date.

The Trump administration on Monday released over 240,000 pages of FBI surveillance records on Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from his family and civil rights groups who called for empathy and historical context in reviewing them. King’s two living children, Martin III and Bernice, reiterated in a statement their belief that James Earl Ray was not solely responsible for their father's assassination and emphasized the FBI’s efforts under J. Edgar Hoover to discredit King and the Civil Rights Movement. While the release was framed by officials as a step toward transparency, critics — including civil rights leaders — view it as a political distraction. The files, which were intended to be sealed until 2027 and were unsealed early by court order, are expected to offer researchers new material, though it remains unclear whether they will shed significant new light on King’s life, work or death. The Associated Press has the story.

State lawmakers Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, and Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, plan to renew efforts to give an appointed board oversight powers over Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), arguing the district is too large to manage effectively. They say a $6 million state-funded forensic audit of MSCS, expected soon, could justify a compromise on their stalled takeover legislation, which advanced through several committees last session. The Daily Memphian reports that while some Memphis residents support the proposals — especially amid frustration with leadership changes and low test scores — others view them as overreach that undermines local control and unconstitutionally targets a single district. Both lawmakers, who represent suburban areas, also have floated the idea of breaking up MSCS into smaller districts, citing poor academic outcomes compared to wealthier neighboring systems.

Join the TBA Young Lawyers Division on Sept 24 at noon CDT for the next installment of its Rookie Series: Making the Most of Mediation. The webcast will feature Tennessee attorney and Rule 31 Civil Mediator Susan McDonald as she addresses the preparation needed by lawyer-advocates for mediation sessions. Learn more and register on the TBA website.

The TBA Criminal Justice Section will host a free Tennessee criminal law legislative update on Sept. 24. Deputy Executive Director of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference Chelsea Curtis will detail new laws and recent changes every practitioner should know. The webinar will include information on DUIs, expungements, the new persistent domestic violence registry, definitions for abortion exceptions and much more. One hour of general CLE credit is available for a $50 processing fee. Learn more and register here.

Last week, committees in both chambers of Congress voted on appropriations legislation that includes varying levels of funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee included $566 million in LSC funding as part of its Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies FY 2026 Appropriation, according to a press release from LSC. This represents a $6 million increase from FY 2025's $560 million appropriation. Earlier in the week, an appropriations subcommittee in the House of Representatives included $300 million in funding in its version of the legislation. That funding represents a 46% cut from LSC’s FY 2025 level. The full Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Thursday. Neither bill follows the White House’s May 30 proposal, which included $21 million for an "orderly closeout" of LSC. Read more from Bloomberg Law.

Maxine Strickler, who worked for the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) for 25 years, died June 21 at age 97. Former Tennessee Bar Journal Editor Suzanne Craig Robertson remembers that when she started working at TBA in 1987, "Maxine was in the membership department. Nothing was computerized then and each member record was on a card in a big metal file called the Cardex." Services were held June 27 in Goodlettsville.