Gov. Bill Lee will host a criminal justice roundtable tomorrow featuring former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, TNJ: On the Hill reports. In a press release, the governor’s office said the roundtable will be held to kick off Second Chance Month, an awareness effort led by the justice reform advocacy group, Prison Fellowship. “I look forward to a thoughtful discussion on how Tennessee can lead the nation in balancing the notion of justice with the public safety outcomes we all expect,” Lee said of the event. Pat Nolan, Brooke Rollins and Josh Smith will also join the panel. Read the full release on the state’s website.

Court records were filed on Monday requesting that trial attorney, former U.S. senator and former presidential candidate John Edwards be added to a wrongful death lawsuit against Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the Tennessean reports. Edwards intends to represent the family of a woman who died at Vanderbilt in 2017 in the lawsuit, which seeks $45 million and might include allegations of falsified medical records. Before launching into politics, Edwards began his legal career in Nashville at the firm of Dearborn & Ewing in 1978 and later became a well-known trial attorney in North Carolina. He is not currently licensed in Tennessee, but Afsoon Hagh, the current attorney on the case, has asked the court to add Edwards to the suit. The case is set to be heard this summer.

Madison County Juvenile Court Judge Christy Little and other local children’s advocates last week met with U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-TN, to discuss the needs of children dealing with mental illness and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), the Jackson Sun reports. Little was joined by executives from the Madison County CASA and West Tennessee Healthcare and Juvenile Court Services Director Amy Jones. The group, hoping to obtain Hagerty’s support for federal funding, spoke with the senator about the financial issues that are preventing children in Madison County and rural West Tennessee from getting the things they need. Little added that children dealing with ACEs and other mental illness need more consistent and permanent help from an early age. “And if we could somehow get funding for that type of help on the front end, it would solve a lot of issues we deal with when they come into this courtroom,” she said.

The TBA’s Tax Law Section will launch the first installment of its CLE series tomorrow from noon until 1 p.m. CDT. What’s New with the IRS? An update on new IRS programs and procedures in a Post-2020 World will cover a variety of IRS initiatives impacting everything from new installment agreement procedures for qualified taxpayers, to new e-filing procedures for forms 2848 and 2019-specific tax relief to avoid liens for qualified taxpayers. Register for this program using the three prepaid CLE credits you receive when renewing your TBA membership.

The digital you is the new YOU in 2021. Help clients and colleagues find you with an updated profile photo. After you update your photo, you can customize your contact information with TBA’s address preferences – members can choose different addresses for directory, mail, and billing. Watch this tutorial on how to update your information. Still need to renew for 2021-2022? Login and access renewal information through your MyTBA dashboard.

The Memphis Bar Association and Center for Excellence in Decision Making will present Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America on April 6 from 3 to 6 p.m. CDT. The virtual program will be presented by the director of the Who We Are Project, Jeffrey Robinson, and will explore how legalized discrimination and state-sanctioned brutality, murder, dispossession and disenfranchisement put African Americans at a great disadvantage when trying to accumulate wealth and gain access to jobs, housing, education and healthcare. The webinar is free to all registrants.

Frustrated by the lack of comfortable professional clothing, Harvard Law School student Logan Brown has launched a new clothing company that offers the “Ultimate Work-From-Home Blazer,” Above the Law reports. Brown, who attended college at Vanderbilt University, created Spencer Jane after cross-enrolling in a Harvard Business School class and working with the Harvard Innovation Labs. Brown created a survey with questions about pantsuit shopping essentials for her business course, but decided she could fix the problems that others had identified about professional clothing. The Ultimate Work-From-Home Blazer was designed to “seamlessly transition from a Zoom meeting to an in-person boardroom and whatever else you’re up to.” Brown tells the TBA she plans on returning to Nashville upon law school graduation.

A new report from the Knoxville News Sentinel, in partnership with Compass Knox, is raising questions about the legality of Knox County’s partnership with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The controversial 287(g) program gives Knox County deputies federal authority to conduct immigration screenings and to detain immigrants who entered the country without proper documents. According to the report, a 2007 amendment to state employment law requires local law enforcement to obtain “approval by the governing legislative body” before entering into federal immigration enforcement agreements. Former Knox County Sheriff J.J. Jones entered into the ICE agreement in 2017, but failed to seek approval from the Knox County Commission. Read more on the county’s 287(g) program.

On this week’s episode of the TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz is joined by TBA staff member Kate Prince to discuss the latest developments at the state legislature. Schwarz details the TBA’s concerns over House Bill 1386, which, in cases of salary disputes among public employees, would require attorneys to take their case to trial within 90 days and would cap attorney’s fees at $15,000. A new episode of Legislative Updates drops every Thursday and can be found on the TBA’s Facebook page or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

TBA member Kristen Johns has accepted the position of chief legal officer with the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which manages digital streaming services licenses. According to the Nashville Post, Johns will oversee the company’s legal affairs, including its blanket licensing process and compliance work. Prior to MLC, Johns was a partner at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis where she led the blockchain practice as a member of the firm’s intellectual property group.