The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order Monday designed to resolve a discrepancy between the word limitation provisions of Tenn. R. App. P. 30(e) and its own rules. The order amends Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 46, sec. 3.02(a)(1) to comport with the provisions of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. The amendment took effect upon filing of the order.

The Memphis Bar Association YLD is seeking volunteer attorneys to participate in Legal Lines with WREG on Oct. 24 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. CDT. Volunteers will be answering phones and must be able to stay for the entire event. Register for the event or email constance.brown@memphistn.gov for more information.

Make plans now to join the TBA for a webcast on Nov. 9 about the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can be deployed to provide the alternative resolution dispute community more value at less risk for clients. The one-hour session "Harnessing the Power of AI for Dispute Resolution ... Responsibly" will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST.

Longtime Chattanooga lawyer and former TBA President Thomas Maxfield "Max" Bahner died this past Friday at the age of 89, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Bahner earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1960 and practiced for decades at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel. Bahner focused his practice primarily in the area of complex litigation. He also was an American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitrator and a Rule 31 certified mediator. He was serving as an emeritus member of the firm at the time of his death. Bahner served as TBA president from 1980-1981. He also served as president of the Chattanooga Bar Association, and for nearly 17 years as a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates, leading the Tennessee delegation for nine years. Service to the Tennessee judiciary included chairing the Tennessee Supreme Court's Advisory Commission on the Rules of Civil Procedure for seven years, during which time the commission wrote the Tennessee Rules of Evidence, and chairing the task force that reviewed and recommended changes to the Tennessee Rules of Judicial Conduct. Funeral services are pending. TBA President Jim Barry called Bahner's passing "a sad day for Tennessee and our profession." Read comments about Bahner's life and legacy from past TBA presidents or this profile of Bahner from 2017.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated five lawyers yesterday who had been suspended for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements. Three had been suspended in 2023, one in 2019 and one in 2014.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently rejected a motion from the Board of Professional Responsibility for additional information in its disciplinary investigation of Sumner County lawyer Andy Lamar Allman. The court directed the BPR to conduct an investigation for the sole purpose of determining the final discipline to be imposed after Allman was convicted of one count of felony theft of property valued at $60,000 or more. The BPR had requested permission to seek “facts potentially material” to the case.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently considered two petitions for reinstatement to the practice of law. On Oct. 2, the court ruled on a petition from Carter County attorney Amy D. Williams, finding that she had outstanding obligations with the Board of Professional Responsibility and the CLE Commission. The court gave Williams until Nov. 17 to resolve those issues or said it would dismiss the petition. On Oct. 9, the court dismissed a petition from Campbell County lawyer Jody Rodenborn Troutman, who had been suspended on Feb. 3, 2022, for one year of active suspension and three years of probation. Troutman filed the reinstatement prematurely on Nov. 8, 2022.

A portrait unveiling for former Court of Appeals Judge Richard Dinkins will take place this Friday at 2 p.m. CDT at the Nashville Historic Courthouse, One Public Square N., Nashville 37201. The event will take place in Room 411. Dinkins died Oct. 1 at the age of 71. Before being named to the appellate court, Dinkins served as a Davidson County chancellor. View the invitation to the event.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently announced that 19 other states joined Tennessee in submitting a comment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) opposing a rule related to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA was passed by a bipartisan coalition of Congress to protect the rights of pregnant workers and their babies, requiring workplace accommodations for “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions." The comment opposes the rule due to the inclusion of "abortion-accommodations" language.

Lawyers gathered in downtown Chattanooga last week for the TBA Young Lawyers Division’s Civil Rights Walking Tour CLE. Sites toured by the group included the historic third floor courtroom in the Joel W. Solomon Federal Courthouse, the Abby Crawford Milton Suffrage statue, the Ed Johnson Memorial and the site of civil rights protests at the former Woolworth Store on Market Street. The event concluded with a discussion of the future of civil rights law. Speakers included Judge Curtis Collier, former TBA President Sam Elliott, Immediate Past YLD President Brittany Faith, and Chattanooga lawyers Michael Jones, Donna Mikel and YLD Board member Claire Tuley. Last spring, the YLD held its first Civil Rights Walking Tour in Nashville. See photos from last week's event.