The TBA’s Court Square Series is headed to Gallatin on June 7. This three-hour program will provide attorneys with the latest developments in ethics, social security and elder law. Kick off the afternoon with a lunch and learn networking session with TBA leadership, followed by a legislative update from TBA Government Affairs Director Berkley Schwarz. Gallatin lawyer Chris George of George & George also will be on hand to provide a Social Security 101 primer. Programming will run from 11:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. CDT at Volunteer State Community College in the Mary Cole Nichols Dining Room B. Learn more and register here.

The 27th Annual Labor & Employment Forum set for May 5 in Nashville is a terrific opportunity to learn from some of the top professionals and judges in the labor and employment arena who will provide practical insight on emerging trends and critical issues. This year’s program features topics such as the new NLRB, FLSA case law update, a judicial panel of both state and federal judges, the ins and outs of effective mediations, and an ethics presentation on interviewing witnesses within the workplace.

Just in time for next week’s Law Day celebration, TBA member benefit partner Clio has information and resources on the history of Law Day, how to participate in marking the day and ways to write and speak about this year’s theme “Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration.” Read more here to get involved.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today reinstated Davidson County lawyer William Parker Woods with an effective date of April 19. Woods petitioned the court for reinstatement after being placed on inactive status in December 2015. The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility reported to the court that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and Woods had met the requirements for reinstatement.

Knoxville lawyer Frank Henry Marsh Jr. died on April 21 at the age of 94. After serving in the Pacific Theatre and Korea as a member of the U.S. Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps, Marsh attended the University of Tennessee College of Law. Following graduation, he opened a law practice in Knoxville. In his early career, he also managed U.S. Sen. Estes Kefauver's campaigns in Knox County and was city trial attorney. After practicing law for 25 years, Marsh returned to the university and earned a doctor of philosophy with a focus in bioethics. He then began a second career as a professor at the University of Colorado and its school of medicine. He retired from the school in 1992 and joined the Department of Philosophy at UT Knoxville. Between the ages of 80 and 82, he wrote two fiction books. A private family service was held at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Memorial donations may be made to the church’s Habitat for Humanity program, 6500 Northshore Dr., Knoxville, TN 37919 or Doctors Without Borders.

The Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Duncan School of Law is hosting its first moot court intramural competition this year in honor of alumnus Matthew B. Long. The competition will serve as the tryout for rising second-year students to join the school’s moot court team. The competition is named for Long, who died in 2020 at the age of 37. He was a member of the school’s inaugural class in 2013 and competed on the moot court team, winning awards for brief writing. In related news, LMU Law students also competed in the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition and won recognition for their briefs and oral advocacy. Of note, McKenzie Wilson was the school’s first ever 2L to compete as an oral advocate while the 3L team advanced past the preliminary rounds to be named regional quarterfinalists.

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) program will hold a pro bono clinic on May 3 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.  Those who would like to participate should register here. A VLPA staff member will contact registrants to gather more information and determine pro bono eligibility. To volunteer at the clinic email vlpa@abcnashville.org.

The state of Tennessee has received a payment of $163.9 million from the major tobacco companies that joined the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced today. The landmark settlement, finalized in 1998, resolved Tennessee’s lawsuit against the major tobacco companies for violations of consumer protection laws and deceptive marketing practices that caused damages to the state, including increased healthcare costs. To date, Tennessee has received $3.8 billion from the agreement. The new funds will be dispersed annually and will be used to help defray the cost of health care for smoking-related illnesses. The agreement also includes restrictions on companies marketing tobacco products to youth, selling tobacco-branded merchandise and sponsoring entertainment and sporting events. Read more on the attorney general's website.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the American Bar Association (ABA) for an alleged failure to safeguard members' data that was exposed in a security breach. The suit alleges that the ABA knowingly violated its obligations to abide by best practices and industry standards, the ABA Journal reports. The association notified members on April 20 that a breach had exposed usernames and certain passwords used to access the old ABA website prior to 2018 and the ABA Career Center since 2018. The passwords affected are those utilizing a process that adds random characters to plain text and then converts them to cybertext in the ABA system. Plain text passwords were not exposed, the group said.

Candidates for Memphis mayor met this week for a debate, during which all said they support enforcement of a youth curfew, the Commercial Appeal reports. The curfew idea was first introduced as part of a proposed “Juvenile Crime Abatement Program” put forward by the Memphis Police Department. It would require stricter enforcement of a 1996 curfew ordinance impacting those age 16 and under. The overall plan has met with resistance for allegedly utilizing profiling and concerns about where juveniles would be held if picked up for violating curfew. Candidates also addressed the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police officers, the number of police needed in the city, and whether the culture that led to Nichols’ death is endemic in the police department.