Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge Alex McVeagh took office as president of the TBA’s Young Lawyers Division (YLD) at the group's Annual Convention meeting in Franklin. He plans to focus on supporting recovery courts in the state and offering a Leadership & Law Academy for high school students. Joining him in leadership of the division is President-elect Jennifer Sneed of Memphis, Vice President Darius Walker Jr. of Nashville, Secretary Judge Zachary Walden of Jacksboro and Treasurer Ashley Tipton of Nashville. During the Lawyers Luncheon, McVeagh thanked outgoing president Sean Aiello for his year of service and honored the mock trial team from Montgomery Bell Academy, which won this year’s state and national high school mock trial competitions. Also during the convention, the YLD held its Annual Meeting and a CLE program on the state of DEI in the legal profession. The YLD Board met on Saturday for committee planning sessions and its first meeting of the new bar year. See the full list of board members.

The TBA Environmental Law Section has announced that Layton Coker, a student at the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law, has won the 2025 Jon E. Hastings Memorial Award Writing Competition. The judges reported that Coker’s essay, Paradise Lost: Environmental Justice Gaps in TVA’s Clean Energy Transition, was both timely and captured the spirit of the competition. Nashville School of Law graduate Emily Crawford's submission "Jarkesy, Juries and Justice: The Future of EPA Civil Penalties" was named runner up. Rounding out the competition were exceptional entries by University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law students Logan Hawkins and Owen King. The Environmental Law Section sponsors the annual writing competition to recognize the best legal writing by a Tennessee law student on a topic of state or federal environmental law. The juried competition is held in memory of Jon Hastings, one of the section’s founding members.

The Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection on June 16 paid a $3,500 claim filed against Knox County lawyer Gary Lee Anderson and a $17,609.40 claimed filed against Shelby County lawyer George Skouteris Jr. Both are required to reimburse the fund for the money. The Fund for Client Protection was established by the Tennessee Supreme Court to reimburse individuals for losses caused by dishonest conduct by attorneys. The fund is operated by a board, which meets quarterly to consider claims. In September 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court amended Rule 25 to require the fund to notify the Tennessee Bar Association of claims paid. News releases also are posted online.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Rutherford County lawyer Jared Michael Streich from the practice of law on June 13 for six years, with five years to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The discipline is conditioned on Streich paying restitution to two former clients and, if reinstated, the appointment of a practice monitor. The court took the action after determining that Streich failed to reasonably communicate with his clients, act in a diligent manner, expedite litigation, act competently, comply with requirements for a suspended attorney and return client property. The court also found that he charged an unreasonable fee and provided false information to the Board of Professional Responsibility. These actions violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.15, 1.16, 3.2, 3.4 and 8.4.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti has announced that 55 attorneys general, representing all eligible states and U.S. territories, agreed to sign on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. The Sackler family has also informed the attorneys general of its plan to proceed with the settlement, which would resolve litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers for their role in creating and worsening the opioid crisis across the country. Now that the state sign-on period has concluded, local governments across the country will be asked to join the settlement contingent on bankruptcy court proceedings. Tennessee is expected to receive more than $90 million. Read more in a press release from Skrmetti’s office.

Chattanooga lawyer William Robert Heck died May 2 at the age of 81 following an extended illness. Heck earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1968 and enlisted in the Army. He was honorably discharged in 1971, returned to Tennessee, and earned his law degree at the University of Tennessee College of Law (now Winston College of Law). He was admitted to the bar in 1974, establishing himself as a small firm practitioner specializing in criminal defense. For nearly 50 years, he was a stalwart presence in Hamilton County's courtrooms, defending clients across the full spectrum of criminal charges — from misdemeanors to high profile death penalty cases. Visitation will be Friday from noon to 1 p.m. EDT at the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson 37343. A chapel service will follow at 1 p.m. Burial with full military honors will be held at 2:30 p.m. at Chattanooga National Cemetery, 1200 Bailey Ave., Chattanooga 37406.

Joelton lawyer Irving Lee Fentress, age 77, died June 13. Services were held June 17 at the Austin & Bell Funeral Home in Springfield. Burial followed in the Mt. Sharon Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery in Greenbrier. Fentress graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin and the Nashville School of Law. He ran his own CPA firm for over 40 years. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Mt. Sharon Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 4634 Mount Sharon Church Rd., Greenbrier, TN 37073 or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty has reintroduced a bill that aims to prevent sanctuary cities from receiving federal funding for affordable housing, WZTV reports. The "No Community Development Block Grants for Sanctuary Cities Act" would amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, which authorized federal funding for various local government community development plans, to prohibit funding for Section 8 housing, rental assistance and other living assistance programs. "Cities that encourage illegal immigration shouldn’t be rewarded with federal housing subsidies," Hagerty said about the bill. Read more about the proposal in a press release from Tennessee's junior senator.

After four years sitting empty and unused, Hamilton County's old downtown jail building may be poised for a new life, the Times Free Press reports. County officials and the River City Co. are accepting bids to evaluate potential ways to reuse or redevelop the facility at 601 Walnut St. in Chattanooga. According to the paper, the building presents some potential challenges because of its heavy-duty construction made for security. Its configuration of concrete, iron and steel make it difficult to adapt, according to a River City Co. spokesperson.

The Southern Environmental Law Center has filed a 60-day intent to sue notice on behalf of the national NAACP, claiming xAI has committed violations of the Clean Air Act with its prolonged use of gas turbines at the company's supercomputer facility in Memphis. According to the Commercial Appeal, the lawsuit alleges xAI operated gas turbines without necessary permits, resulting in excessive emissions and lack of pollution control technology, and operated without the best safety protocols or best available control technology. "We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice — where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson.