The Knoxville Bar Association and its Bankruptcy Section, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight, will hold a Pro Bono Debt Relief Clinic on Nov. 19 from 9 a.m. to noon EDT. The event will take place at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville. Judge Bauknight will present a short overview of the bankruptcy system and other solutions for clients before volunteer lawyers meet with them to discuss their options. Email ctorney@laet.org to volunteer.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law will host a wills clinic on Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to Noon EDT. Volunteer lawyers will supervise law students as they draft and execute simple wills. Sign up by emailing ctorney@laet.org.

The TBA YLD is partnering with the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Initiative, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Belmont Law and others to offer a virtual debt relief clinic to Tennessee citizens. In celebration of Celebrate Pro Bono Month in October, the next clinic will be held on Oct. 8 from 9-11 a.m. CDT and will focus on citizens in the Middle District of Tennessee, but is open to all across Tennessee. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Charles Walker will begin the clinic with an overview about the bankruptcy process. Clinic clients then will be paired with volunteer attorneys in break-out Zoom rooms for counsel and advice about debt relief options, with referral for pro bono representation for those who qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. To volunteer sign up online. For questions, please contact Alix Rogers.

The TBA YLD Pro Bono Debt Relief Clinic recently won the 2022 Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access from the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. The award recognized the clinic’s commitment to increasing legal services to those of modest means, including the innovative use of technology to hold virtual clinics at least three times each year.

The Unpublished Guide to Esquire 2022 Law Student Conference — The Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers (TABL) and the Napier-Looby Bar Association (NLBA) will hold a free law student conference on Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT. The event includes breakout rooms, panel discussions and mentorship opportunities. Register here.

Practicing Parents Committee Networking Event — Lawyers' Association for Women—Marion Griffin Chapter in Nashville will hold a “Practicing Parents Networking Event” on Oct. 12 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. CDT at Neal and Harwell, 1201 Demonbreun St., #1000, Nashville 37303. Register here. Come hang out with other practicing parents for a “wine” down networking event.

2022 Golf Tournament — Have a killer swing? Enjoy a little competition? Want to benefit others? Then save the date for Oct. 14! The MBA YLD Golf Tournament will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Memphis. The tournament will start at 1 p.m. CDT with a shotgun start. Entry fee is $100 for individuals and $375 for teams.

Volunteer Breakfast — The Barristers is looking for volunteers to serve food or sponsor the monthly Volunteer Breakfast. The breakfast serves the unhoused in Knoxville and takes place from 6:15 to 7:15 a.m. EDT on the fourth Thursday of each month at the Volunteer Ministry Center, 511 N. Broadway, Knoxville 37917. The cost is $150 to sponsor and four to five volunteers are needed for each breakfast. Contact Matt Knable at 865-360-5044 or Laura Wyrick at 865-297-5511 with any questions and/or about volunteering. Sign up to sponsor a breakfast.

Members of the TBA Book Club met virtually last week to hear from Law Professor Derrick Beetso, director of Indian gaming and tribal self-governance programs at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Beetso, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, previously served as the general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians and as an attorney-advisor for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He shared his insights about David Grann’s book “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which chronicles a string of murders that plagued the Osage Indian nation of Oklahoma in the 1920s, shortly after oil was discovered on their land. The murders became one of the FBI’s first major homicide investigations. 

Help choose the second book for the TBA's quarterly book club! The three suggested books for the second quarter continue the theme of race relations and divides. Voting is open until Sept. 30. Once the title is determined, we will notify participants and provide more details on participation in the virtual book club. Learn more and vote on the books here. 

Young lawyers from across the southeast gathered in Orlando, Fla., last weekend for the first Southeastern States Young Lawyers Regional Summit. Tennessee was one of three host states of the event. The programming featured five educational sessions, including a panel on young lawyers seeking judgeships, which included Tennessee’s youngest and newly elected Eighth Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Zack Walden; a session on diversity, featuring TBA Young Lawyers Division President-Elect Quinton Thompson of Memphis; a discussion of trust accounting with Jackson lawyer Kortney Simmons; and a session on managing non-attorney staff with Chattanooga attorney Claire Tuley. The TBA Young Lawyers Division held its Fall Board Meeting sessions in conjunction with the meeting. See photos from the event.

Just for fun: Who’s the funniest Disney princess? RaPUNzel!

Adams and Reese has launched a new practice group focused on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Serving Institutes (MSI), the Tennessee Ledger reports. For more than 40 years, the firm has advised more than 100 schools, colleges and universities throughout the nation, including HBCUs and MSIs, on a range of legal issues. In addition to that ongoing representation, the HBCU team will leverage the firm’s government relations practice to assist schools with governmental programs and funding, including COVID relief funds, to bolster infrastructure, capital needs and programming.