TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson has been elected to serve as secretary for the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority Board of Commissioners, the Nashville Post reports. Stevenson has served as neighborhood representative since being appointed to the board by Nashville Mayor John Cooper in June 2020. The group also elected Bill Freeman as board chairman and Nancy Sullivan as vice chair. Dr. Glenda Glover, president of Tennessee State University, was also added to the board.

The Tennessee House Select Committee on Redistricting will hold its first meeting tomorrow, the Tennessee Journal reports. Assembled late last month by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, the committee is made up of eight Republicans and four Democrats. Traditionally, each chamber creates its own redistricting plan, while the House and Senate combine to draw new congressional maps. Wednesday’s meeting agenda includes a discussion of House redistricting guidelines, submission of redistricting plans and public comments.

U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman on Friday issued a temporary restraining order against Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order allowing schools to opt out of mask mandates, the Commercial Appeal reports. Bryce Ashby, an attorney representing the two families who filed suit on behalf of their children with disabilities, says he believes the order will apply to all schools in the county, including private and religious schools. WPLN reports that a mask mandate, without the option to opt out, went into effect this morning in Shelby County. Lipman’s order states the temporary restraining order will remain in effect until Sept. 17, unless the court moves to dissolve it earlier or extend it. A preliminary injunction hearing in the matter will be held Thursday.

Save the date for this year’s Animal Law Forum, taking place in person and outside at the Nashville Zoo on Sept. 24. Programming will run from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. CDT and will provide attendees with a unique opportunity to brush up on trends and advancements in animal law, while networking and enjoying the fun and activities the zoo offers. The zoo’s president and CEO and the board’s general counsel will discuss conservation efforts and laws affecting procurement and care for zoo animals. Other topics include ethical considerations for animals and the law, legislative updates, laws governing farm animals and more. Zoo admission, breakfast and lunch are included with the program.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today amended Rule 8, RPCs 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 and 7.5, after considering a TBA petition filed in October asking for the changes, as well as comments from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, the Knoxville Bar Association, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and two individual lawyers. The TBA also submitted a comment that, in large measure, replied to the suggestions and objections raised in other comments. The amendments are set out in the appendices to this order. In a separate order also filed today, the Supreme Court declined to grant the TBA’s petition to amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 8, RPC 7.6. The court instead published proposed amendments to RPC 7.6 and to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 44 and is asking for comments by Nov. 30. 

A Texas law banning virtually all abortions took effect today after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to act on an emergency application seeking to block it, the ABA Journal reports. Texas Senate Bill 8 prohibits abortions after a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat, which usually occurs around six weeks of pregnancy. The law also allows private citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone else who helps a woman obtain an abortion. Those who sue can potentially earn $10,000 per abortion if they are successful. The Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, the Lawyering Project, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups had asked the high court to intervene. Reuters reports that the Supreme Court could still act on the matter but have already agreed to hear arguments in Mississippi’s effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.

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Six lawyers have recently been reinstated after being suspended for failure to complete required CLE hours. See the full list of those suspended and reinstated in 2021 for 2020 violations. The TBA also has records of all administrative suspensions and reinstatements going back to 2005. See all lists here.

U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman yesterday denied a motion from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to end the consent decree between the county jail and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) regarding COVID-19 prevention. The Sheriff’s Office asked Lipman last month to terminate the agreement, claiming it had satisfied the terms of the decree. According to the Memphis Flyer, Lipman rejected that claim, finding that all detainees had not been offered the COVID-19 vaccine, nor had they all been given the educational materials and incentives to take the vaccine. “The consent decree did not enshrine mere box-checking. It enshrined meaningful protection for plaintiffs, a medically vulnerable group,” Lipman said.  

Logicforce, a Nashville-based law firm IT company, has been aquired by Frontline Managed Services of Atlanta, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Logicforce, which offers e-discovery, IT and cybersecurity and digital forensics services, was founded in 1995 by Phillip Hampton. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Frontline said in its announcement that it will gain more than 100 new law firm clients in the acquisition. Frontline has hundreds of employees in seven states, Washington D.C., Toronto, London and India. Logicforce has 50 employees. Nashville attorney and Logicforce CEO Gulam Zade will join Frontline's management team.