The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law has announced the appointment of Joan Heminway as director of the Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law, effective Aug. 1. Founded in 1995, the center was created to strengthen business law education the law school. Currently the Rick Rose Distinguished Professor of Law, Heminway joined the law school faculty in 2000 and has been closely involved with the center’s growth and success, according to a release from the school. She replaces George Kuney, who served in the role for 24 years and retired in 2024, and associate professor of law Brian Krumm, who served as interim director. KnoxTNToday has the story.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton last week called for Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell to rescind an executive order requiring the city to report interactions with federal immigration authorities. In a statement issued on Thursday, Sexton said the order forces city employees "to act as big brother." O'Connell is defending the executive order saying it is an "appropriate, transparent measure." Axios Nashville has more on the issue.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whose deportation to El Salvador made him a flashpoint in the administration’s immigration policy, has been indicted in federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee on conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants and MS-13 gang members into the United States. The Tennessean reports that Abrego Garcia was returned to the states on Friday and appeared in an after-hours court hearing in Nashville. He will be arraigned on Friday. The U.S. Department of Justice says Abrego Garcia played a significant role in a nine-year smuggling ring. "He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found, smuggling people throughout our country … This is especially disturbing because Abrego Garcia is also alleged with transporting minor children," Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a news conference. In 2022, the Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled over a Chevrolet Suburban driven by Abrego Garcia on Interstate 40 in Putnam County. “There were nine additional passengers in the Suburban, all of whom were Hispanic males, and none of whom had any identification,” the indictment alleges. Abrego Garcia’s attorney called the charges an “abuse of power.”

Among the many social events providing opportunities for convention attendees to connect and network with colleagues will be a reception hosted by the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC). The event, scheduled for Friday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. CDT, will honor the group’s 2025 Pro Bono Award Recipients and provide an opportunity to learn more about the incredible work and lasting impact of the individuals. It will take place at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs in the Saddlebred/Highland Room. For more information about the event, please contact TJC Development Manager Aleena Robinson at arobinson@tnjustice.org. Learn more about the 2025 Annual Convention. Pre-registration has closed but full registration and individual tickets may be purchased on site from the TBA Registration Desk, which will be located in the hotel's conference center.

Registration is now open for the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) Equal Justice University (EJU) conference. The annual event, co-sponsored by the TBA, is set for Aug. 27-29 at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. This year’s conference will include more than 50 CLE sessions, inspiring keynote speakers and presentation of the Access to Justice Awards. Check out the full schedule. As a reminder, it is not too late to nominate colleagues for the three Access to Justice Awards presented at the conference. The nomination deadline is July 20.

The next legal clinic for veterans in Knoxville will take place June 11 from 12-2 p.m. EDT at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919. This is a general advice clinic sponsored by the Knoxville Bar Association, KBA Barristers, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, the University of Tennessee College of Law, the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office and the local Veterans Affairs office. Attorneys and law students are needed. Sign up to volunteer here.

Whitney Hermandorfer appeared before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday to answer questions about her nomination to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Tennessee’s senior U.S. senator and Senate Judiciary Committee member Marsha Blackburn introduced Hermandorfer and praised her clerkship experience and commitment to originalist jurisprudence, the Nashville Scene reports. Democrats on the committee focused on Hermandorfer’s experience and her position on President Donald Trump’s interpretation of birthright citizenship, according to Reuters. Several also used the hearing to criticize the administration for recently deciding to remove the American Bar Association (ABA) from its role in vetting judicial nominees. Hermandorfer was nominated by Trump in May to fill the seat of outgoing Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, who plans to take senior status.

The city of Memphis wants to use the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recent decision to retract its civil rights investigation into the Memphis Police Department to limit information it has to share with lawyers representing Tyre Nichols’ family and estate in a civil suit, the Daily Memphian reports. The city and Nichols’ attorneys have sparred for months over access to documents the city gave to DOJ as part of the investigation. The city, in court filings, is arguing that DOJ’s recent decision to drop the investigation should keep it from having to hand over the information. As part of its filing, the city provided a letter from Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon that said, in part, “The current Justice Department does not have faith in the previously reported findings in this case. Accordingly, the findings report is withdrawn in its entirety.”

Bar exam officials have released details about the structure and scoring of the new national test set to debut in July 2026, Reuters reports. The NextGen UBE will be significantly shorter than the current Uniform Bar Exam, according to a new test blueprint issued by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. It also will place greater scoring weight on the performance task portion of the test than the existing exam in an effort to rely more on practical legal skills and less on the memorization of laws. The testing time will be shortened from 12 to nine hours comprised of three testing sessions: three hours for 120 multiple choice questions, three hours for integrated questions and three hours for performance tasks. So far, 41 states and territories across the country have announced plans to transition to the new exam. Tennessee will implement it in July 2027.

The U.S. Supreme Court has made it easier for people from majority backgrounds such as white or straight individuals to pursue claims alleging workplace "reverse" discrimination, The Hill reports. The unanimous decision revives an Ohio woman's lawsuit alleging she was illegally denied a promotion and demoted because she is heterosexual. In another recent opinion, the court rejected Mexico’s lawsuit against firearms maker Smith & Wesson. Bloomberg Law has more on that decision.