In October 2023, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s administration announced that the Office of Community Safety had been awarded a nearly $2 million Department of Justice grant to develop a “Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative.” With three years of funding, the initiative would “take a public health, community-focused approach to address the root causes of violence in Nashville’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.” Nearly eight months later, and as Nashville enters the historically violence-prone summer, the project is still in its early stages and has made little progress, according to The Nashville Banner.

According to new data from the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate rose slightly up to 4%, reports The Hill. Economists had predicted an additional 185,000 jobs and maintaining April's 3.9% unemployment rate. The Federal Reserve will vote next week on interest rates. The central bank has maintained rates at a range of 5.25% to 5.5% since July 2023 in an effort to curb inflation, which fell to 3.4% in April from its 40-year high of 9.1% in June of 2022. “After a lower-than-expected April jobs report, the labor market bounced back, revealing its ongoing strength,” Joe Gaffoglio, president of Mutual of America Capital Management, said in a statement.

Join your colleagues in Memphis June 12-15 for the TBA's Annual Convention, the largest annual gathering of the Tennessee legal community. This year’s convention theme “A Bridge to the Future” reflects the historic role lawyers play in society, while looking ahead to how technology will affect the legal profession for years to come. Online registration for the TBA's Annual Convention closes at 11:59 p.m. CDT on June 9. Only on-site registrations will be accepted after that point. There are a limited number of hotel rooms available in the room block.

Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning book and Academy Award winning movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" has rekindled interest in the role lawyers play in leading their communities. This highly interactive three part series, taught by Doug Blaze and Buck Lewis — founders of the Institute for Professional Leadership at UT Law — will examine the lynching scene on the porch of the jail, the trial and the final scene on the Finch porch after an attempt on the Finch children’s lives. Sessions will take place virtually on July 31, Aug. 28 and Sept. 19. The full program qualifies for 4.5 dual hours of CLE. Register online for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today referred a petition for reinstatement to the Board of Professional Responsibility. Bradley County lawyer Kent Thomas Jones filed the petition on June 3 after being suspended by the court on Feb. 26 for 90 days. The board requested that the court refer the petition to it, noting that attorneys suspended for less than one year must file petitions for reinstatement with the board, not the court. The court referred the petition to the board for its consideration.

Plaintiffs in four class actions are alleging that Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster failed to protect users' private information after a cyberattack. The suits, filed in the Central District of California, allege that the personal data of 560 million customers was taken and listed on the black market. Live Nation notified regulators last week that "a criminal threat actor'' tried to sell Ticketmaster data on the dark web. The Tennessean has more from USA Today. The suits come on the heels of an announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice and 30 states, including Tennessee, are suing Live Nation for antitrust violations related to Ticketmaster’s unrivaled control of concert ticket sales.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 today that insurers have a broad right to weigh in on bankruptcies that may put them on the hook for paying claims. The decision is a victory for an insurer challenging the restructuring plan of a manufacturer of asbestos-containing products, Reuters reports. The opinion, written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, held that Truck Insurance Exchange should have been allowed to object to Kaiser Gypsum's proposed $50 million settlement of thousands of asbestos-related lawsuits through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, because the deal would be funded largely by the company's insurance policies.

Gov. Bill Lee announced today that he will back three state House candidates who are aligned with him on the issue of school vouchers, Tennessee Journal reports. The beneficiaries of his support are: Jason Emert in District 20 in Blount County, Lee Reeves in District 65 in Williamson County and Aron Maberry in District 68 in Montgomery County. The seats are being vacated respectively by Republican Reps. Bryan Richey of Maryville, Sam Whitson of Franklin and Curtis Johnson of Clarksville.

Pittsburgh-based boutique law firm, the Cozza Law Group PLLC, said this week it has opened a Nashville office and is looking to hire attorneys in the new location. “We are absolutely thrilled to begin to work with clients in Nashville," managing partner Rocco Cozza said in a statement. “When looking at strategic locations to expand, we were drawn to Nashville’s rich business community, hospitality industry and, of course, its renowned music scene. We believe our values closely align with the area’s mission for continued growth, honesty and collaboration.” The firm, which focuses on business, entertainment and employment law, will occupy space at 611 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37203. Read more in the Nashville Business Journal.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have reached a deal that clears the way for potential antitrust investigations into the dominant roles that Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia play in the AI industry. Reuters reports that the agreement means regulatory scrutiny is gathering steam amid concerns over concentration in the industries that make up AI. Microsoft and Nvidia not only dominate their industries but are also the world's two biggest companies by market capitalization.