TBA member and Miller & Martin partner Kyle Eiselstein has been appointed to serve on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Chattanooga, the Chattanoogan reports. Board Chair LaTonya Lyons said she looks forward to Eiselstein’s “engagement and assistance in guiding our objectives of building great futures for Chattanooga youth.” Eiselstein is the vice-chair of Miller & Martin’s Litigation Department and concentrates his practice in the area of civil litigation with an emphasis on complex commercial disputes. He is also a member of the TBA’s Litigation Section.

Volunteer registration is now open for the Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition. Presiding judges, attorneys, law students and paralegals can sign up now to volunteer as a judge, scorer or bailiff. Additionally, the schedule for the final championship featuring eight teams from across the state is now available. Winners of the competition will be announced on March 20.  

Several Tennessee lawyers have been named to the University of Tennessee’s inaugural class of Volunteer 40 Under 40. Attorneys Martesha Johnson, Will Perry and Todd Skelton were honored with the awards, which are given to UT alumni who have excelled personally and professionally since completing their degree. Johnson is the first African American to be elected as chief public defender for Metro Nashville. Perry is a partner at Butler Snow’s Memphis office where he practices in commercial contract disputes and other business litigation. Skelton, who was previously deputy counsel to former Gov. Bill Haslam, is the chief legal counsel for Strategic Acquisitions Group of Knoxville. UT College of Law alum Wesley Rich was also named to the list. Rich lives in Texas where he works for Google. UT has more on each award winner and the full list of the Volunteer 40 Under 40.

If you missed the Tort and Insurance Law Section’s 2021 Winter Forum, the program is now available on demand. The forum provides an overview of the ethical issues that attorneys face in conducting investigations and interviewing current and former employees of an opposing corporate litigant. It will also feature a discussion of emerging legal issues on the enforceability of arbitration agreements and provide recent legal developments involving claims for health care liability actions. Members of the Tort and Insurance Law Section receive special pricing for the program, so join the section today!

Gov. Bill Lee has released a list of legislative initiatives he had previously outlined in his State of the State address, WKRN reports. Among those initiatives are Senate Bill 765/House Bill 786, which would allow citizens to carry handguns without a permit, SB768/HB785, also known as the “Reentry Success Act of 2021,” SB0767/HB0784 on “Alternatives to Incarceration,” and more. You can find the complete list on the state’s website.

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle yesterday recused herself from a high profile education lawsuit against the state, the Tennessean reports. The recusal comes just days after the filing of House Resolution 23, which seeks to have Lyle removed from the bench based on her ruling that expanded absentee voting during the pandemic. (See related story on TBA statement related to HR 23.) Lyle recused herself yesterday from the suit brought by Shelby County and Metro Nashville over the state’s Basic Education Program (BEP) — a complicated rubric the state uses to determine how much funding schools get for teacher salaries, books and transportation. The recusal order did not include information on her reasons. The outcome of the trial could have major implications for how public schools are funded. The case will now be reassigned to a new judge.

Several Tennessee Supreme Court justices and intermediate appellate judges on Monday joined other state leaders to help escort the three State of Tennessee Constitutions to the new State Library and Archives on Bicentennial Mall. The event began at the old library and archives next to the Nashville Supreme Court building, where Chief Justice Jeff Bivins, Justice Holly Kirby, Justice Roger A. Page, Court of Appeals Judge Andy D. Bennett, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Tim Easter, and Court of Appeals Judge W. Neal McBrayer joined. The procession wound its way through the streets of Nashville where it was joined by Attorney General Herbert Slatery, Gov. Bill Lee and members of the General Assembly. The documents traveled in custom-made boxes to their new home where they will be displayed for a limited time after the grand opening and again on Statehood Day in the Library & Archives’ new exhibition space. 

A controversial bill that would block transgender student athletes from playing middle school and high school sports under their gender identity was passed in a 27-6 vote by the Senate last night, the Tennessean reports. The bill, SB228/HB3, would require transgender athletes to compete under their sex at birth, regardless of whether they are receiving gender-affirming care, such as hormone blockers. Following the vote, the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee released a statement signaling its intent to take legal action “should any transgender student be excluded because of this legislation.” The bill will next go to the House for a final vote, which has not yet been scheduled.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday suspended Richard Louis Reynolds from the practice of law until further orders. Reynolds pled guilty and was convicted of misprision of a felony in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division. The matter has been referred to the Board of Professional Responsibility to institute formal proceedings to determine the extent of the final discipline to be imposed upon Reynolds as a result of his convictions of misdemeanors and a serious crime.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs today announced the top 10 complaint categories for 2020, with home improvements, repairs and warranties taking the number one slot at 497 complaints. Other categories in the top 10 were: price gouging, 343 complaints; personal/professional services, 329 complaints; landlord/tenant, 289 complaints; internet sales, 281 complaints; motor vehicle-used sales and advertising, 266 complaints; health services and products, 228 complaints; debtor/creditor, 225 complaints; timeshare/vacation clubs, 223 complaints; and travel, 183 complaints. DCA received 4,053 complaints total in 2020, a slight decrease from 2019’s 4,250 complaints.