The names of two attorneys have been forwarded to Gov. Bill Lee to be considered for the 29th Judicial District trial court vacancy. The district includes Lake and Dyer counties. The Trial Court Vacancy Commission nominated James L. Cresswell Jr. and Mark L. Hayes for the governor’s consideration after a public hearing on Nov. 4. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the candidates.

Gov. Bill Lee has tapped Clarksville attorney Robert Nash to serve as 19th Judicial District attorney general. Nash was previously assistant district attorney for the 19th Judicial District. Lee also named Dr. Logan Hampton of Jackson and 21st Judicial District Attorney General Kim Helper to serve on the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments. Hampton is president of Lane College. Helper’s district covers Hickman, Lewis, Perry and Williamson counties. All three appointments are effective immediately. Read more from the state’s website.

Save the Date for Memphis Area Legal Services’ “Dining for Justice in Memory of Mary L. Wolff, Esq.” on Nov. 20 at 5:15 p.m. CST. The virtual event will include a dinner with paired wines created and hosted by Chef Kelly English and Sisco Larson. Ticket sales end on Nov. 12. Get tickets today.

Looking to improve your organizational skills and better manage your workload? How to Manage Your Workload: Task Management will help viewers build a master task list, utilize the organizational tools offered by Microsoft Outlook and design a method for daily and weekly planning that will vastly improve your level of organization. This one-hour webcast is worth one dual credit of CLE and will run on Dec. 13 from noon until 1 p.m. CST.  

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold four clinics this week. A phone clinic will be held tomorrow at 2 p.m. to provide general advice. The first 15 callers will be accepted. On Wednesday, LAS will hold a clinic specifically for veterans from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S. Nashville 37203. On Thursday, a clinic will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Greenhouse Ministries, 309 S. Spring St., Murfreesboro 37130. And on Saturday, a clinic will be held from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the McHugh Clinic, 2005 12th Ave. S., Nashville 37204. All times central. To volunteer contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all November clinics.

Gov. Bill Lee’s administration today announced it has earmarked $400 million of the American Rescue Plan to provide services to people with disabilities, the Tennessee Journal reports. The spending plan was developed by the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and TennCare. It aims to provide home and community-based services for those in need and strengthen the frontline workforce that delivers those services.  

Tennessee Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Bill Lee yesterday asking him to veto four bills passed during the General Assembly’s most recent special legislative session, WSMV reports. The letter from the Joint Minority Caucus urged Lee to veto Senate Bill 9014 regarding COVID-19 unemployment benefits, House Bill 9076 giving the governor power to issue executive orders and direct health departments during the pandemic, Senate Bill 9008 which allows for the temporary replacement of district attorneys who refuse to enforce certain laws and House Bill 9072 which allows partisan school board elections. Lee on Monday resisted stating his stance on the legislature's rollback of COVID-19 restrictions in the state, the Tennessean reports, instead saying his administration still needs time to review the package of bills.

Nashville lawyer Stephen Kenneth Rush passed away on July 22 after complications from a fall at his home. He was 79. After serving in the Navy, Rush earned his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School. He went on the practice law in Nashville for the remainder of his life, especially enjoying working in international affairs, music and copyright law. A celebration of life was held for Rush in July in Nashville. Donations can be made in his memory to Woodmont Christian Church, 3601 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37215.

The U.S. Senate this week confirmed Vermont Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New York, the ABA Journal reports. Her appointment marks the first openly LGBTQ woman to serve on a federal appeals court. Robinson was counsel to Vermont’s governor and a civil litigator at Langrock Sperry & Wool before she began her time on Vermont’s high court in 2011. Twenty-eight of Biden’s federal court nominees have won confirmation so far, which is the most confirmations at this point in a presidency in modern history.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan last week denied a motion that sought to disqualify the county’s District Attorney General’s Office from working on the Pervis Payne death penalty case, the Commercial Appeal reports. Though she denied the motion, Skahan also acknowledged the DA’s office had not complied with the rules of professional conduct regarding written screening measures for attorney Leslie Byrd and gave them 30 days to file such procedure with her court. Attorneys for Payne last month asked Skahan to remove the DA’s office, claiming Assistant District Attorney Steve Jones’ work as a capital case attorney while Payne’s post-conviction proceedings were pending before the court created a conflict of interest. A hearing to determine if Payne is intellectually disabled is set for Dec. 13.