A decision issued last week from the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Panel found two significant provisions of The Reform Act to be constitutional. Though the case — Worrell v. Obion County School District — was not the first to challenge the law, the decision was the most substantive appellate opinion on the subject to date, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims writes in a blog post. The court details the specific provisions of the act that were challenged and upheld. It also notes that full Supreme Court declined to hear the case, so the panel decision is final. 

Nashville lawyer Ashley L. Upkins recently was elected president-elect of the National Bar Association (NBA) at the group’s annual meeting in Las Vegas. She will take over as president in 2025 and will be the first Tennessee woman to serve in the role. During her year as president-elect, Upkins will help plan the organization’s landmark 100th Annual Convention in Chicago next year, where she will be sworn in as president. Upkins has been an active NBA member since her days as a member of the inaugural Belmont University College of Law class and has held several leadership positions. She currently leads litigation at Silicon Ranch, an independent power producer. Founded in 1925, the NBA is the nation’s oldest and largest association of Black lawyers, judges, law professors and law students. Read more in a release from the group.

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.

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.