Charles Fentress, a Nashville native and one of the city’s longest-serving Metro Council members, died Monday at 93. Fentress was first elected to the council in 1975 and served as the District 34 council member until 1999. After graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1952, Fentress worked as an educator, as vice president of personnel at Cain-Sloan Company and president of the Argus Foundation, a Nashville political consulting firm. While at Cain-Sloan, he attended the Nashville School of Law and was admitted to the bar in 1969. Fentress was active in the community, serving on the boards of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement and The Children's Museum, and as president of the Nashville Boosters and Nashville Exchange Club. In addition, he served as Nashville director of the National Federation of Independent Business from 1991 to 1998.

Registration is now open for the TBA's Law & Culture in Ireland CLE program scheduled for May 2024. Two travel options are available: a four-night trip to Dublin and a six-night trip to Dublin and Belfast. In conjunction with CLE Abroad, travelers will engage with local experts, academics, officials and change makers who will offer in-depth commentary on the EU and UK legal-political systems, economics, environmental justice, history and religion. In Dublin, the group also will explore ancient castles, visit landmarks, museums and notable legal institutions, and sample local cuisine. In Belfast, travelers will learn about the region's unique political history, Good Friday Agreement, ongoing reconciliation efforts and peace process. Add on trips to the West Coast and Cliffs of Moher also are available. View a brochure for the trip or learn more online.

This year's Disability Law Forum is returning as a live and in-person program on Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT at the Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club in Hendersonville. Sessions will cover ways to prepare a successful GRID case, best practices from a vocational expert, a DDS/OHO update and an ethics course designed to help "unstick" stuck cases. A happy hour will immediately follow the program.

Members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Board and YLD Fellows gathered at the Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun, Mexico, this past weekend for the Fall Board Meeting. YLD President Quinton Thompson gave special recognition to Nashville lawyer Alix Rogers, Murfreesboro lawyer Morgan Hanna and Cookeville lawyer Amber Vargas for their work holding pro bono wills clinics this summer for essential workers. Rogers also was recognized for her work training YLD district coordinators across the state and for leading a panel of lawyers at a recent law school visit. Finally, Memphis lawyer Jeffrey Moore was awarded the “disco gavel” for his enthusiasm and efforts to bring people together. During the meeting, members planned for upcoming events, including additional pro bono clinics, the Diversity Leadership Institute, the Tennessee State High School Mock Trial competition and Diversity Law Week. They also discussed long range planning and how best to engage young lawyers across the state. See photos from the meeting, which was held during Mexico's Independence Day celebration.

The TBA Adoption Law Section will hold its annual forum on Sept. 25 at the Tennessee Bankers Association's Barrett Training Center in Nashville. 2023 was a banner year for adoption legislation in Tennessee, so you won’t want to miss this informative program! The agenda includes two full hours on legislative updates, plus an hour for case law updates. Additional topics include the basics of adoption law for newer practitioners, as well as a dual hour on secondary trauma. Don't forget to register now!

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is warning of a new scam that utilizes a forged signature of Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Commissioner Carter Lawrence to lure Facebook Marketplace shoppers into purchasing a nonexistent tractor. Skrmetti also announced a settlement with Tempoe LLC, which ends the company’s misleading leasing practices and relieves consumers of unfair payment obligations. Over the past several weeks, Skrmetti also has taken action on a range of matters. He joined colleagues from other states in urging the U.S. Congress to study AI and its harmful effects on children and enact the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act; urging the FDA to ban flavored disposable e-cigarettes; and warning financial service providers that the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance (NZFSPA) may violate state and federal antitrust and consumer protection laws.

Cleotha Abston-Henderson is slated to have the first of his criminal cases go to trial in early 2024, Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee V. Coffee said Friday. The first trial will center on allegations that he raped Alicia Franklin in 2021. He has been charged with aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping and unlawful possession of a firearm as a convicted felon in that case, the Commercial Appeal reports. After disposition of that case, Abston-Henderson will stand trial for allegedly kidnapping and killing Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher in September 2022. The Fletcher case, Coffee said, should be tried by the end of 2024. Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman said the Franklin case was set earlier given that the alleged offense took place almost a year before the Fletcher case.

Nashville Mayor-Elect Freddie O'Connell on Friday announced an initial set of advisers who will guide his transition into office. Among the group are local lawyers David Esquivel with Bass Berry & Sims, Bob Mendes with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison and Junaid Odubeko with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. The group will focus on three areas: how Nashville works, how Nashville moves and how Nashville grows, the Nashville Business Journal reports.

Birmingham-based Bradley Arant Boult Cummings has tapped Nashville attorney A.J. Bahou to head its new practice group focused on artificial intelligence, the Nashville Post reports today. The cross-disciplinary AI Practice Group will advise companies on the creation, regulation and use of AI technology, including in the health care, technology and financial services sectors. Read more from the firm. Bahou is a frequent speaker at TBA education programs and serves as chair of the TBA's Special Committee on the Future Practice of Law and on the executive councils for the TBA’s Health Law Section, Intellectual Property Section and Law Office Technology & Management Section.

The Davidson County Mental Health Court Foundation will hold a reception tomorrow at 6 p.m. CDT. The event, which is a fundraiser for the group, will take place on the veranda of the Hermitage Hotel, 231 6th Ave. N., Nashville 37219. View the invitation. RSVP to spencer@bowersstrategies.com. The foundation supports the work of the mental health courts in Davidson County.