The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of General Counsel is adding a senior historic preservation attorney to its team to support the Tennessee Historical Commission and its staff. This position covers a wide range of legal needs, including implementation of the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, acquisition and disposal of property, maintenance of historic sites, grant administration and procurement. More information on the position and instructions on how to apply can be found on the TBA’s JobLink site.

Disability Rights Tennessee has released a new report with recommendations on fixing the “broken youth justice system” at the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Nashville’s WKRN reports.  The 17-page report's key recommendation proposes a "families not facilities" framework as the most successful and cost-effective way to prevent children from getting into the youth justice system in the first place—and to rehabilitate those already there. According to WPLN, the report gives six recommendations, including addressing racial and geographic disparities, creating community-based mental health services for youth and families, stopping the transfers of youth to the adult criminal justice system and more. Read the report.

Nashville firefighter Joshua Lipscomb is set to receive a $450,000 settlement after he was suspended from his city job for calling Nashville Council members “white supremacists” in a social media post, the Tennessean reports. Lipscomb was suspended for 16 days after a Nashville Fire Department panel determined his post violated policy. He then filed suit against the fire department in August, claiming the suspension was an unconstitutional restriction of his right to free speech. Lipscomb was represented by Tricia Herzfeld of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings and Nashville civil rights attorney Abby Rubenfeld of Rubenfeld Law Office. “You don’t give up your rights to free speech just because you work for the government,” Herzfeld said in a release. Per the conditions of the settlement, Lipscomb must resign from his job, and the fire department policies at issue in the suit have been changed.  

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said yesterday that the decision on whether to file charges against police officers who shoot someone will no longer be made by assistant district attorneys, the Commercial Appeal reports. Instead, that decision will now fall to the county’s new Justice Review Unit – an independent body assembled to look at previous convictions and sentences to make sure they were correct and justly given. Mulroy announced the change during a speech marking his first 100 days in office. Mulroy also rebuked the idea that the Shelby County justice system is a “revolving door” during the speech, citing longer prison sentences and more juveniles tried in adult court as causes of people being repeat offenders.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee recently presented awards to employees in the Tennessee Appellate Court’s Eastern Division for their years of service. The following employees were recognized: Missy McConkey, 25 years; Renee Hammond, 20 years; Jennifer Rosser, 15 years; Sally Goade, Tammy Capps and Rebekah Bradley, 10 years; and Daniel Parkhurst, Amy Sosinski and Lilas Taslimi, 5 years. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more pictures.

Don’t miss the webcast replay of “Frequently Encountered Issues in Legal Ethics 2022” on Dec. 28 from noon until 1 p.m. CST. Steven Christopher with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility will cover commonly encountered ethical issues, including ghost-writing, attorney advertising, conflicts of interest and ethical concerns regarding pro bono representation. Register for the program here.

Throw on your best holiday sweater, grab some eggnog and settle in for a special holiday episode of the TBA BarBuzz podcast! Nashville attorney Courtney Leyes of Fisher Phillips co-hosts this month’s episode to discuss upcoming events at the TBA, legal news and special holiday traditions. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and is available on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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.