The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) has issued a new Formal Ethics Opinion after adopting significant comments from the TBA. In November, the TBA filed a comment with the BPR in response to the proposed opinion, which dealt with the circumstances that establish a systematic and continuous presence in Tennessee for the practice of law as in-house counsel. The BPR adopted those changes and has issued Formal Ethics Opinion 2022-F-168. Read the finalized opinion here.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined 21 states in calling on President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) under federal law. The letter from the coalition contends that Mexican cartels are responsible for producing deadly synthetic opioids at a low cost and trafficking the drugs across the U.S. boarder. Skrmetti’s office said in a release today that an FTO designation would provide state and federal law enforcement agencies increased authority to freeze cartel assets, deny entry to cartel members, and allow prosecutors to pursue stricter punishments against those who provide them material support. Read more from the AG’s office.

In a rare rebuke from the bench, and one of his last acts before retiring, Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn called law enforcement actions in the Paul Shane Garrett case “malfeasance” and accused the district attorney of knowingly leaving an innocent man in jail for a decade. He went on to say the case highlighted “intentional wrongdoing on so many occasions and at all levels of local law enforcement.” Read more from the Nashville Banner. Garrett was incarcerated for 10 years for a crime former District Attorney Torry Johnson’s office and the Metro Nashville Police Department later concluded there was “no credible evidence” he committed. In 2021, the Conviction Review Unit under District Attorney Glenn Funk vacated Garrett’s conviction. Garrett won a $1.2 million settlement this week, the Tennessean reports.

Former TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson will be the first African American woman to chair the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority Board, Tennessee Tribune reports. Stevenson has served on the board since 2020 and previously held the positions of board secretary and vice chair. She also was vice chair of the board’s Diversity Committee, secretary of its Management Committee and a member of its Vision and Finance Committee. Stevenson left the TBA in late 2022. She is now the Nashville office managing shareholder for Littler Mendelson.

In honor of Black History Month, the American Bar Association is promoting several resources for lawyers. The 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge invites participants to complete a syllabus of short assignments over 21 consecutive days. Activities include readings, videos and podcasts designed to provide perspectives into Black history, identity, culture and experience of racism in America. The second resource, Black Lawyers in America Webinar Series, offers four videos, facilitation guidelines and discussion questions. Finally, the group republished its 2019 profile of 14 black lawyers who broke down barriers and made history. Check it out here.

The American Bar Association’s presidential appointments process closes this Friday. There are approximately 700 positions open across various standing committees, commissions and other entities within the ABA. Terms typically last from one to three years. Learn more about the positions available or submit an application here. Those who would like to discuss the process or are intending to seek a leadership position should contact John Tarpley at 615-259-1366 or Jonathan Cole at 615-726-7335 with the TBA’s ABA Resources Committee.

Belmont University and Fisk University have formed the Fisk-Belmont Social Justice Collaborative, a partnership between the universities designed to expose students to civil rights and social justice movements. The collaborative is funded by the Rechter Family Foundation for a five-year period. Programs offered through the partnership will include an “Ignite Retreat,” an immersive experience designed to teach students how to create change in their communities; a spring hackathon in partnership with Fisk’s John Lewis Center for Social Justice; a speaker series; tours of regional civil rights museums; and a course centered on documenting the civil rights experience in Nashville. The program will kick off with a reception tomorrow from 3-6 p.m. CST at the Nashville Public Library.

Nominations are now being accepted from law firms, companies and organizations in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee for the first-ever Southeastern Legal Awards sponsored by Law.com/Daily Report. Visit the award webpage for more information. Nominations should be submitted no later than March 3. For questions contact pwu@alm.com.

The Memphis Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society will host Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sarah K. Campbell next Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST for in-person lunch. The event will take place at the Hu Hotel Ballroom, 79 Madison Ave., Memphis 38103. Lunch will be served from 11:30 to noon. Campbell will present on "The Tennessee Supreme Court: Who We Are, What We Do, and How We Do It." Register online or by contacting Greg Grisham, 901-333-2076.

Gianna Maio has been selected by the advisory board of the Eastern District Federal Community Defender’s Office to succeed Elizabeth “Beth” Ford as head of the office. Maio, 47, will oversee a staff of 50, most of whom are in the Knoxville office. She will work out of the Chattanooga and Greeneville offices, Knoxnews reports. Maio has been with the federal defender’s office since graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2005. Ford, a career attorney who has run the office since 1999, retired this week. Federal district courts may select public defenders through two methods: the judges of the district may choose or the court may create a nonprofit board of defense attorneys and social work and mental health professionals to make the selection.