TBA’s Young Lawyers Division and Law Student Development Coordinator Laura Labenberg has been selected to serve on two committees for the National High School Mock Trial Championship. Labenberg, who among other responsibilities, coordinates the state high school mock trial competition, will sit on the Site Selection and Grants committees. The national mock trial competition is held each May in locations across the country. Tennessee’s first place team goes on to compete at the competition each year. Labenberg joined the TBA in 2022 after serving as professor of rhetoric at Hofstra University and executive director of an educational nonprofit in New York. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Hofstra.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on Aug. 27 at 9 a.m. CDT to discuss the Tennessee Retail Accountability Program. Department staff will provide detailed information about audits/assessments, wholesaler data and more. Learn more or register here. The webinar is one in a series of educational sessions held by the department each month.

Make plans now to attend the TBA’s 2024 Health Law Primer and Health Law Forum this fall. The primer will take place Oct. 16 in downtown Nashville. Designed for those new to health practice, it will provide a general health law overview and practical tips to identify and avoid the pitfalls of real-life situations in the heavily regulated health care industry. Then on Oct. 17 and 18, the forum will take place in Franklin’s Cool Springs area. The two-day event will dig deeper into topics such as private equity, antitrust laws, digital health, cyber security, legislative and state case updates and ethics. David Higginson, executive vice president of Phoenix Children's Hospital, will give this year’s keynote address. The premier program for Tennessee health care lawyers, the forum provides all necessary CLE requirements for the year — 12 general hours and three dual hours — while providing opportunities to connect with colleagues from across the state.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting will take place in Chicago starting next week. Among the many events being planned is a Tennessee Reception hosted by the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA). The event will take place on Aug. 3 from 5:30-7 p.m. CDT at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, in the Crystal C Ballroom. The TBA regularly recognizes a distinguished Tennessee lawyer at these receptions, and this event will honor Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly M. Kirby. Justice Kirby has served on the court since 2014 and was named chief justice in 2023. Before joining the court, she made history as the first woman in the state to be named to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, where she served for almost 19 years. Any lawyers who will be attending the Annual Meeting are invited to join their colleagues for this reception. View the invitation.

Memphis lawyer Larry E. Parrish has filed a petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court, asking the court to declare its own Rule 10B, which deals with judicial recusals, to be unconstitutional. Specifically, Parrish alleges that the rule’s provision by which a party waives their right to recusal, even on constitutional grounds, by failing to file a motion under Rule 10B, violates the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment and state law. He notes that two cases presently pending in Tennessee trial courts, in which he is involved, illustrate the importance of the court resolving the questions he raises. He argues that recusal motions are stalled because the lower courts do not have subject matter jurisdiction to decide whether Rule 10B is unconstitutional.

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) program will hold a pro bono clinic on Aug. 7 for those needing legal advice on issues surrounding their creative practice. The free 30-minute in-person appointments are available to income-qualified artists, musicians, creatives and arts organizations in the state. The clinic will run from 6-8 p.m. CDT at the Nashville office of Bradley, 1221 Broadway, Ste. 2400, Nashville 37208. Those who would like to participate should register by Aug. 2. To volunteer at the clinic, email vlpa@abcnashville.org.

A number of Democratic U.S. senators have introduced legislation designed to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision curtailing the deference given to federal agencies when questions related to regulations surface in the courts. The "Stop Corporate Capture Act" would codify the so-called "Chevron deference" into law and make a series of other changes that sponsors say would modernize and streamline the rulemaking process. Reuters has more on the proposal. Read the bill or a two-page summary.

Members of Tennessee's Registry of Election Finance have criticized Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, accusing him of “an abdication of responsibility” for his handling of a campaign finance investigation it referred to his office. There were previous complaints about the time it took the attorney general’s office to conduct the investigation into the Tennessee Constitutional Republicans and the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans. Registry members have now voted to subpoena involved parties and conduct their own investigation. At a recent meeting, they also questioned a $13 million increase in the attorney general's budget in light of what they perceive to be neglect in campaign finance oversight. The Tennessean reports on the developments.

Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration officials say nearly all of the state’s “citizen-facing” systems are up and running following last weekend’s wide ranging shut down caused by a defective software update to Microsoft's Windows operating system. The interruption impacted governments and private companies across the country that use cybersecurity company CloudStrike. A spokesperson says 99% of Tennessee systems are back online and that the occasional “blue screens of death” have ended, Tennessee Journal reports. The Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims also reported it was affected.

Friends of George’s, the theater group that opposed Tennessee’s law limiting drag show performances, plans to appeal the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals' recent decision to dismiss its suit. The attorney representing the group acknowledged that the appeals process could be difficult, calling it a "strong case, but statistically speaking, it’s a long shot," according to the Daily Memphian. Regardless of the law, the theater group says it plans to proceed with its first production of the year.