Susan Logan, a veteran criminal defense attorney with the Office of the Public Defender for Tennessee’s 21st Judicial District, has been named the recipient of the 2024 Vanessa Pettigrew Bryan Equal Justice Award, the Williamson County Source reports. The award recognizes Logan’s dedication to the relentless pursuit of justice. The award honors Vanessa Pettigrew Bryan, a retired public defender whose career spanned more than 30 years in the judicial system, starting as a magistrate and later serving as public defender for a four-county district that included Hickman, Lewis, Perry and Williamson counties.

In 2024, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) changed its policy regarding who is allowed to mail books to incarcerated individuals, removing a number of books-to-prisons nonprofits from its list of approved book vendors, according to WPLN News. Now, prisoners who want a specific book must buy it, or have someone else buy it for them, from a more limited number of authorized booksellers and publishers. A TDOC spokesperson said the change was made “to mitigate the introduction of contraband through mail.” The director of the Prison Book Program said the policy will significantly reduce the number of prisoners who can access books. “You need a loved one on the outside with both the connectivity and the disposable income to order books directly from one of those sources. And that’s almost nobody in prison,” she says.

Attorneys general from 21 states say the American Bar Association's (ABA) law school diversity rules are unlawful. According to Reuters, the coalition sent a letter opposing both the current diversity standard and a proposed revision under consideration. A letter, led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, argues that both versions of the rule "impermissibly impose race-based admissions and hiring requirements as a condition of accreditation." The ABA on Monday closed its public comment period on the revised rule. As of Tuesday morning, publicly available comments were mixed, with several legal groups joining the state attorneys general in opposition, while the Law School Admission Council and other ABA entities defended the proposed standard as legal. The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar could vote on the revision when it meets Feb. 21.

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Since 2010, each president has dedicated the month to raising awareness about human trafficking and educating the public on how to identify and prevent this crime. President Joe Biden, who authored the Violence Against Women Act as a U.S. senator, signed this year's White House proclamation on Dec. 30, 2024. The U.S. Department of State also works to raise awareness of human trafficking internationally through U.S. embassies and consulates. It supports the designation of Jan. 11 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day or #WearBlueDay. The Blue Campaign encourages people to wear blue — the international color of human trafficking awareness — and post photos of themselves on social media using the hashtag #WearBlueDay.

The TBA will host its annual Construction Law Forum on Jan. 24 at the Tennessee Bankers Association in Nashville with the theme "Let's Get Technical." The 2025 event will feature discussions on topics such as licenses and lien rights, board complaints, violation hearings, what an "appropriate environmental due diligence" inquiry looks like and the administrative enforcement process. Featured speakers will include attorneys Theresa Critchfield with TLC Law Office, Stephanie Durman and Ellery Richardson with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Kelly Gilliam of Amazon, Thomas Hall with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, Jerry Martin of Martin & Jones, and Regan Steepleton with Evans Petree. Construction Law Section members receive discounted registration. Not a section member? Join here. Thanks to this year's premier sponsor Miles Mediation & Arbitration.

Chancellor Daniel Forrester was elected to the 7th Judicial District Chancery Court in August 2024 after winning both the primary and general election. “I’d been practicing for about 18 years, and it seemed like the perfect time if I was going to attempt to do it to do so,” he says about his run for office. Forrester was sworn in on Aug. 30 by Circuit Court Judge Ryan Spitzer. After just a few months on the bench, one duty in particular stands out. “I love doing the adoptions,” Forrester says. “It’s always been a favorite in private practice and when we get to do them, they’re always happy. You have a courtroom full of families and people, and they’re always wonderful. It’s one of the few things we get to do as judges and attorneys where everyone’s smiling and happy to be there.” Read more about Forrester's career from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) will hold three legal advice clinics this week. Tomorrow, the group will hold a clinic for veterans from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S., Nashville 37203. On Thursday, a walk-in clinic will take place from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Greenhouse Ministries, 309 S. Academy St., Murfreesboro 37130. On Saturday, the group will hold its McHugh Clinic from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Nashville Public Library's Edgehill Branch, 1409 12th Ave S, Nashville 37203. All times central. Get details and links to sign up for each clinic on the LAS online calendar.

Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, and Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, have proposed HJR12, a resolution to amend Tennessee's constitution allowing local municipalities across the state to raise fines to an amount they see fit in situations surrounding illegal construction. Currently, the fine is $50 per infraction. Yarbro told the Tennessean that for large construction companies, "multiple $50 fines just becomes the cost of doing business, albeit illegally." Behn said, "This has been an issue statewide for localities looking to hold bad actors accountable." The Tennessean has the story.

"Valley So Low: One Lawyer's Fight for Justice in the Wake of America's Great Coal Catastrophe," published last year and written by Franklin author Jared Sullivan, was named one of 2024's "Best Books" by The New Yorker. The book follows Roane County attorney Jim Scott's representation of dozens of workers who were sickened after working on the cleanup site of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal ash spill in December 2002. The lawsuit was eventually settled in 2023. Williamson Source reports on the book and the honor.

In a report released last week, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) recommended that the House Ethics Committee open a full-scale investigation into U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles over discrepancies in his campaign finance disclosures. According to Axios Nashville, the report concludes there is "substantial reason to believe that Rep. Ogles omitted or misrepresented required information" on his financial disclosures and found there is "substantial reason to believe that Rep. Ogles's campaign committee may have accepted excessive contributions that were reported as personal loans and contributions from the candidate."