This month on the TBA’s BarBuzz podcast, guest co-host John Wilks of the Nashville law firm Martin, Heller, Potempa & Sheppard PLLC, helps deliver the latest in Tennessee legal news bar association events and happenings. Wilks serves as a TBA Young Lawyers Division board member,  a member of the TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) program’s steering committee and was part of the TBALL Class of 2020. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found online and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold three clinics next week. A phone clinic will be held on Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. CDT to provide general advice. The first 15 callers will be accepted. On Oct. 20, LAS will hold a clinic specifically for veterans from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S. Nashville 37203. Finally, on Oct. 23 at 8:30 a.m. CDT, a general advice clinic will be held at the Belmont Clinic, 2005 12th Ave. S., Nashville 37204. To volunteer for any of these clinics, contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all October clinics.

Maryville attorney Nick Black has launched a campaign to serve as chancellor of the 4th and 5th Judicial Districts which cover Grainger, Cocke, Jefferson, Sevier and Blount counties, The Daily Times reports. Black is president of the Blount County Bar Association and an alum of the University of Tennessee College of Law. He seeks to fill the position made vacant by the retirement of longtime 4th and 5th Judicial District Chancellor Telford Forgety Jr., who has served on the bench since 1997. “I want people to find me to be a reasonable person with the temperament to fairly and impartially adjudicate any case,” Black said.

Women judges from across the U.S. and beyond gathered in Nashville last week for the 43rd Annual National Association of Women Judges Conference. The conference was originally set to take place last year to mark the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous plenary and breakout sessions were held throughout the conference, including panels on developing recovery courts, ethics and professionalism, access to justice for LGBTQ youth and much more. Various sessions on women’s voting rights were held throughout the conference, capped off with a special reenactment of the Tennessee Vote on Ratification of the 19th Amendment. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more details on each session and the judges and attorneys who played a vital role in making the conference a success.

Five attorneys have applied for the Court of Criminal Appeals vacancy in the Western Section created by the retirement of the Hon. Alan E. Glenn. Applicants include: Donald H. Allen; Kyle Atkins; John W. Campbell; Vicki S. Snyder; and Robert W. Wilson. The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider applicants at a public hearing on Nov. 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST at the Jackson Supreme Court Building. The council will vote immediately after the hearing and forward three names to Gov. Bill Lee for consideration. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on each applicant.

Hamilton County General Sessions and Mental Health Court Judge Lila Statom has been elected president of the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference. The conference works with the Administrative Office of the Courts to provide continuing education opportunities for its members and assists and supports judges and government officials with legal and procedural issues affecting the court. Statom was appointed to the bench by former Gov. Bill Haslam in 2012 and was elected to a full term in 2014. Before her time as judge, Statom served as an assistant district attorney in Nashville and Chattanooga for nearly 24 years. Since her appointment, Statom has helped address mental illness and substance abuse among those in the criminal justice system and has been integral to expanding recovery courts. Read more from the AOC.

An email to faculty members at Middle Tennessee State University says that Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport is “no longer affiliated with the University,” WPLN reports. Davenport has been an adjunct professor in MTSU’s criminal justice department for many years. Last week, WPLN and ProPublica released a report claiming Rutherford County and Davenport, who oversees the juvenile court system, have been “illegally arresting and detaining children for years.” In the email to staff about Davenport’s departure, MTSU President Sidney McPhee acknowledged the national attention the judge’s policies have recently drawn. Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron also released a statement to express his shared concerns over the report.

Nashville attorney Charles B. Reasor Jr., died on Oct. 5 after a suffering from congestive heart failure. He was 75. Reasor joined Nashville’s Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry after graduating from Vanderbilt Law School in 1975. He later founded the law firm of White & Reasor with David J. White and practiced there until his death. Reasor’s practice focused on commercial real estate transactions and commercial restructurings, and he lectured frequently on commercial workout techniques. He was a TBA and Nashville Bar Association member and was known to provide pro bono services to churches and other non-profits over the course of his 46-year career. A private interment was held for Reasor at his family's cemetery in Kentucky and, due to public heatlh considerations, there will not be a formal visitation. Those who wish to share their memories and sentiments may send notes to the family in care of White & Reasor PLC, Two American Center, Ste. 400, 3102 West End Ave., Nashville, TN 37203.

A new episode of The Law in Black and White podcast tackles health and wellness in the legal profession. “The Existential Crisis: Mental Health in the Legal Profession” features attorneys Brian Cuban and Scott Langley, who discuss why the legal industry, notorious for its competitive pressures, high stakes, and long hours, sometimes becomes characterized by burnout and extreme stress and what the profession can do to ensure the mental health of its attorneys. The podcast, created by alternative legal services provider Legal Innovators can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Memphis Bar Association is partnering with Vanderbilt Law School to host a Tennessee Free Legal Answer "Clear the Queue" event on Oct. 22 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. CDT. Volunteer attorneys will answer questions about qualifying civil legal issues from the Free Legal Answers queue. To volunteer, please contact Danielle Woods.