The Memphis-based Community Legal Center has named Melissa Janoske McLean as its new associate executive director. Janoske McLean previously spent 18 years as a professor of public relations, public speaking and social media, including seven years with the University of Memphis. She earned a Ph.D. in public relations and crisis communication from the University of Maryland, and undergraduate and master’s degrees in organizational communication from Radford University.  The Community Legal Center is a nonprofit law firm that provides legal services for low-income and otherwise vulnerable Memphians.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated three lawyers yesterday and three lawyers today who had been suspended for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements in 2022. View the Aug. 30 order, the Aug. 31 order or see the list of all those reinstated online.

The American Bar Association (ABA) is mobilizing lawyers to provide legal services to victims of the recent wildfires on Maui. A telephone hotline has been activated to connect victims in qualifying counties who cannot afford an attorney to lawyers who can respond to disaster-related legal issues. Survivors can call the hotline between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Lawyers interested in assisting can find opportunities online or donate to a special fund set up to support legal services in Maui. Read more about these efforts.

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials held a community meeting yesterday as part of its pattern or practice investigation into the Memphis Police Department, the Daily Memphian reports. Maureen Johnston, acting deputy chief of the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section, told attendees that the investigation “will be looking into whether there are violations of the Fourth Amendment uses of force that are excessive,” “whether there are violations of the Fourth Amendment in the way that the police department makes stops, conduct searches” and “whether there is discriminatory policing” in Memphis. Attendees then met in small groups with DOJ employees. Read more about issues discussed.

The University of Memphis School of Law has received a three-year $300,000 grant from the Everytown Law Fund, which will be used to hire a legal fellow to handle civil legal issues impacting victims of pediatric gun violence. The funds will go the Memphis Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, the Commercial Appeal reports. New York-based nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety finances a variety of litigation projects tied to gun violence, but the law school is the first recipient of a grant for an Everytown Legal Fellow. Law school Dean Katharine Schaffzin and Katy Ramsey Mason, director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, made the announcement yesterday.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has disclosed three trips he accepted from billionaire Harlan Crow last year, according to documents made public today, The Hill reports. Thomas has denied any wrongdoing in accepting the trips, saying he was advised they fell under a personal hospitality exception and did not need to be reported. For one of the trips, Thomas said he flew private because of security concerns following the leak of the draft abortion opinion. The new financial disclosure form also includes supplemental information about a 2014 real estate transaction with Crow, which Thomas’ attorney said was “inadvertently omitted” from past reports. In 2014, Crow bought three properties from Thomas and his family.

The TBA YLD in partnership with the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission hosted two Essential Documents for Essential Workers Clinics last month. The clinics in Cookeville and Murfreesboro aided first responders and their families in drafting wills, powers of attorney and advanced health care directives. In all, 20 volunteer attorneys and notaries assisted 26 first responders in drafting these essential documents; 19 Belmont law students served as witnesses. The two events resulted in more than $13,000 of free legal services to first responders. Thanks to YLD District Representatives Morgan Hanna and Amber Vargas for hosting these events. See photos here.

The TBA YLD in partnership with the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission hosted two Essential Documents for Essential Workers Clinics this past Saturday. The clinics in Cookeville and Murfreesboro aided first responders and their families in drafting wills, powers of attorney and advanced health care directives. In all, 20 volunteer attorneys and notaries assisted 26 first responders in drafting these essential documents; 19 Belmont law students served as witnesses. The two events resulted in more than $13,000 of free legal services to first responders. Thanks to YLD District Representatives Morgan Hanna and Amber Vargas for hosting these events. See photos here.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission meeting today in Murfreesboro selected three nominees to forward to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration in filling a vacancy in the 16th Judicial District. They are: Murfreesboro lawyers Terry A. Fann, Derek R. Howard and R. Michelle Howser. The vacancy on the court, which serves Rutherford and Cannon counties, is due to the Sept. 1 retirement of Circuit Court Judge J. Mark Rogers. Read the announcement from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today appointed former judges D. Kelly Thomas and Vanessa Agee Jackson as new senior judges for the state. They will take office on Sept. 1. Thomas replaces Judge Thomas Wright, who is stepping down from the bench, for a term of two years. He has more than 30 years of judicial experience, having served on the Court of Criminal Appeals from 2006-2022 and as a circuit court judge in the Fifth Judicial District from 1990-2006. Jackson is being appointed for a term of four years. She previously was a circuit court judge in the 14th Judicial District from 2009-2022. Under Tennessee law, the court may appoint senior judges when one or more judicial districts require additional resources and the appointment will promote the effective administration of justice.