Grab some popcorn and join your colleagues for a theater-style event designed to help you meet your CLE requirements before the end of the year. Live and in-person, the TBA’s Last Minute CLE Watch Party will show five dual (ethics) hours of the most popular CLE online videos on the big screen. Join the party on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. CST in the auditorium of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St. Don’t forget to use the three prepaid CLE credits that come with your TBA membership. Not a member? Join today!

Knox County lawyer Keri Elizabeth Rule recently filed a motion asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to reconsider denying her motion to vacate the court’s November ruling that referred Rule’s petition for reinstatement to a hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility. The Supreme Court issued an order today denying Rule’s request for reconsideration. Read the order.

According to Gov. Bill Lee, federal officials are planning to send “multiple busloads” of ICE detainees from New Orleans to Tennessee, the Tennessean reports. In a release, Lee says he was informed yesterday of the plan to transport “single adult detainees from ICE facilities” to the state as early as this week. He and other state officials, including Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, denounced the plan today and called on the Biden Administration for its reversal. “The Attorney General’s Office joins Governor Lee and our federal delegation in demanding the administration abandon their plan to release detainees into our state,” Skrmetti said in a statement. 

Federal prosecutors have brought new charges against two Tennessee men, one of whom has already been charged in the Jan. 6 attach on the U.S. Capitol, WPLN reports. Edward Kelley of Maryville and Austin Carter of Knoxville face new charges that include conspiracy, retaliation against a federal official, and solicitation to commit violence. According to recently unsealed court documents, the men were recorded on phone calls discussing a list of 37 federal agents to target and how many guns they would have to attack the FBI field office in Knoxville. Kelley was previously charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection and had his home searched by the FBI. Records say at least one agent present during the search was later identified as a target. The men are due back in court in January.

The TBA today announced the selection of 33 attorneys from across the state for its 2023 Leadership Law (TBALL) program. Now in its 20th year, Leadership Law is designed to equip Tennessee lawyers with the vision, knowledge and skills necessary to serve as leaders in their profession and local communities. The class will meet for its first session in January at Montgomery Bell State Park and spend the next six months learning about leadership in the legal profession, issues in the courts, policymaking in state government and the importance of community service. Read more on the 2023 class.  

Shelby County commissioners have voted to delay the appointment of a District 86 representative until after the special primary in January, the Daily Memphian reports. The state House seat was made vacant by the death of Rep. Barbara Cooper, D-Memphis, who won her election in November despite having passed away in October. Commissioners chose to appoint the winner of the Jan. 24 Democratic primary. That person will serve until the results of the March election are certified. With no Republican or independent challengers, the March general election is a formality. Ten people have qualified to run for the seat. Commission Chairman Mickell Lowery will move to appoint the primary winner during a Feb. 1 meeting.  

Earn one hour of dual credit before the end of the year with a webcast replay featuring the Board of Professional Responsibility's Eileen Burkhalter Smith reviewing the most recent ethics updates. Ethics Update: Current Developments from the Board of Professional Responsibility will air on Friday from noon until 1 p.m. CST. Sign up today!

Metro Nashville is now accepting applications for a state trial court administrator for the 20th Judicial District. The position will perform managerial and administrative duties to assist the presiding judge. Additionally, the position will oversee daily operations of the State Trial Courts of the 20th Judicial District, including planning, directing and supervising activities of the courts’ administrative office, and acting as liaison with judges, courts, government agencies, bar associations and the public. Head over to the TBA’s JobLink site for information on how to apply.

A new episode of the TBA’s Sidebar podcast is now streaming, featuring Administrative Law Section members Jerry Taylor of Thompson Burton and Bill Penny of Burr & Forman. Taylor and Penny discuss judicial deference to agency expertise in federal and in state courts and how agencies evaluate and interpret rules and statutes. The episode was produced by the Administrative Law Section and its chair, Rita Gibson Rayford.

The TBA Book Club will hold its second discussion event on Jan. 11 from 4 to 5 p.m. CST via Zoom. Members chose Jodi Picoult’s “Small Great Things” as the group’s second quarter book selection. The novel focuses on a Black labor and delivery nurse who is assigned to a child of white supremacists. The TBA will welcome author, poet and African American literature and cultural history expert Darius Stewart to the meeting as a special guest to provide context and insight into the book. Former TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson will lead the discussion. Register for the event.