The TBA BarBuzz podcast closes out its second season with special co-host Julia Wilburn, the new editor of the Tennessee Bar Journal. Tune in for important legal news, upcoming events and a brief recap of the TBA Annual Convention. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

The Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC) last week announced it has elected new members to its executive committee. The state’s 31 district attorneys general have chosen 9th District Attorney General Russell Johnson to serve as the committee’s president. Russell, who serves Loudon, Meigs, Morgan and Roane counties, will lead the committee in managing a budget of more than $130 million and 1,100 employees. Other elected officers include 26th District Attorney General Jody Pickens, who will serve as vice president, and 13th District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, who will serve as secretary. Newly elected committee members include: 7th District Attorney General Dave Clark; 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler; 14th District Attorney General Craig Northcott; 18th District Attorney General Ray Whitley; 28th District Attorney General Frederick Hardy Agee; and 30th District Attorney General Amy Weirich. Read more from the TNDAGC.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar today to discuss sales tax issues for headquarters, data centers and call centers. Participants will learn about credits and other tax advantages for headquartering a business in Tennessee or establishing a data center or call center in our state. Register here. Participants will learn when contractors are subject to sales tax and exemptions for certain special situations. The program is part of a series offered by the department each month. The Department of Revenue has more on upcoming webinars.

Next up from the Communications Team is Digital Media & Leadership Development Coordinator Kate Prince! Kate runs the TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) program, produces and hosts the TBA Podcast Network, writes the TBA Today newsletter twice a week and handles the TBA’s social media. When she’s not at a bowling alley or on a golf course, you can find Kate fawning over her container garden or rewatching the first season of True Detective.

The #TeamTBA series offers members a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the TBA and how each staff members makes the association run. Check back every Wednesday for a new staff profile in TBA Today and on the TBA's Facebook,Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Ongoing problems at the Department of Children's Services (DCS) could lead to a class action lawsuit on behalf of children in the state’s foster care system, Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 reports. Nashville attorney David Raybin, who was involved with a similar lawsuit against DCS in 2000, said “very active discussions” about a class action are taking place "unless the state steps up.” Raybin says high turnover among case workers, high caseloads and not enough foster homes mirror the problems the department faced in 2000, which led to a court takeover of DCS. Court supervision of the department stopped in 2019, but Raybin says DCS has “just slipped right back into the old ways.” He is urging DCS and Gov. Bill Lee to make changes.

If you missed the final farewell of outgoing TBA President Sherie Edwards and remarks from newly sworn-in TBA President Tasha Blakney during last week’s convention, you may now watch those presentations and more on the TBA’s Facebook page. Watch Part One and Part Two of the Lawyers Luncheon to catch up on Blakney’s goals for the upcoming year and much more. The TBA Annual Convention concluded on Saturday with TBA Young Lawyers Division’s Diversity Leadership Institute programming and service project, YLD board and executive committee meetings and a TBA Board of Governors meeting.

Memphis Area Legal Services has found new headquarters at One Memphis Place, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The building, which is located at 200 Jefferson Ave., sits the next block over from the Shelby County Courthouse. According to MALS CEO and general counsel Cindy Cole Ettingoff, the nonprofit has also gone from 14,000 square feet to a little more than 6,000 “because the pandemic taught us that people can work remotely." Ettingoff said the group is using the money saved from its reduced square footage to embrace the newest legal industry trends in storage, accessibility, and remote working. The savings will also go toward hiring, due to what Ettingoff says is a “great” demand for public defense services.

New York-based law firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz has opened a Nashville office that will focus on copyright, royalty and other entertainment industry issues, the Nashville Post reports. Bobby Altchiler will lead the new Nashville office. He’ll be joined by attorney Megan Zarling. Wolf Haldenstein was founded in the 19th century and has additional offices in San Diego and Chicago.

Two referendums are set to appear on Aug. 4 ballots in East Ridge, allowing voters to have a say in matters relating to their city court’s system, the Chattanoogan reports. The first would allow the city manager to appoint the city court clerk instead of its current system of being elected. East Ridge City Court Clerk Patricia Cassidy says she went along with the referendum because the alternative would have been opening the position up to anyone in Hamilton County. The second measure would allow the city judge to live anywhere in Hamilton County, not just East Ridge. It also would allow a municipal judge for another city to also sit in East Ridge. Early voting will be from July 15-30 at the same locations as the May primary.

Tennessee Supreme Court officials yesterday launched the Tennessee Justice Bus — a new project from the Access to Justice initiative that will serve as a mobile legal clinic for rural and underserved communities, WPLN reports. Davidson County General Sessions Judge Ana Escobar spoke at yesterday’s launch, saying that those who represent themselves in matters like child support or evictions need more help. “People should not have to go to their local McDonald’s to get a reliable connection to file their lawsuit,” she said. The bus will make its first stop in Rutherford County on June 29. The public can gain access to the Justice Bus by emailing justicebus@tnbus.gov or following the bus on Facebook or Twitter.