Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Nashville Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle and 20th Judicial District Chancery Court staff attorney Justin Seamon have conducted seven bench trials and over 60 hearings using Zoom Video Conferencing and a YouTube channel with all attorneys, parties, witnesses and court staff participating remotely. Watch as they detail their experience on the CLE webcast Our 9-Month Journey Conducting Zoom Trials During the Pandemic. The pair will discuss the pros, cons and logistics of conducting trials via Zoom, how to prepare witnesses, appropriate safeguards for remote witness testimony, managing trial exhibits, public access to the proceedings, and the ramifications of this technology for the future of litigation. Catch this webcast replay on March 10 from noon until 2 p.m. CST.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings attorney and TBA member Alé Dalton has been selected as a 2021 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinder. The LCLD Pathfinder program aims to increase diversity at the leadership levels of the nation’s law firms and corporate legal departments. As a Pathfinder, Dalton will connect with other high-potential attorneys for a year-long professional development series focused on leadership and relationship building. Dalton is part of Bradley’s Nashville office and her practice covers a wide range of transactional, operational and regulatory healthcare matters. She is a member of the TBA Young Lawyers Division and a TBA Health Law Section member.

The Senate Republican Caucus on Monday asked Tennessee colleges to adopt policies that would prevent student athletes from kneeling during “The Star Spangled Banner,” the Tennessean reports. The letter comes after members of East Tennessee State University’s men’s basketball team knelt during the national anthem before a game on Feb. 16. Senate Republicans expressed outrage in legislative meetings, social media posts and on local news segments before finally sending the letter, which was signed by all 27 members of the Caucus.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee in a statement today condemned policies such as those in the letter, calling them unconstitutional. ETSU men’s basketball coaches have said the team meant no disrespect, but instead sought to prompt discussions on racial inequality.

The U.S. Senate will soon take up new legislation seeking more than $250 million for home security and 1,000 more deputy marshals to help provide better security for federal judges, CBS News reports. The bill comes as threats to federal judges have jumped 400% in the last five years, with more than 4,000 reported threats last year alone. Many of those are death threats, sometimes ending in violence. 60 Minutes spoke with federal Judge Esther Salas whose son was shot and killed in their New Jersey home in July by a disgruntled attorney. Her husband was also shot but survived. Salas, who was the intended target of the attack, has since advocated for legislation that would scrub judges’ personal information from the internet.  The last judicial security upgrade was 15-years ago after a Chicago judge’s husband was killed by an angry plaintiff.   

The ABA is hosting a program this week featuring a panel of six trailblazing Black judges who will discuss the obstacles they have overcome in the legal profession. Judge Bernice Donald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, and the first Black female judge in Tennessee, will be among the panelists in the program titled, “Judicial Trailblazers and the Hills They've Climbed: A Discussion with Preeminent African-American Judges and Their Challenges and Triumphs.” Howard University School of Law Dean Danielle R. Holley-Walker will moderate the panel, which will take place on Friday from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. CST. The event is free and registration is now open.  

The Tennessee Democratic Party is facing a “significant financial penalty” after the Federal Election Commission completed an audit of the party’s federal campaign spending in 2015 and 2016, the Nashville Post reports. New TNDP Chair Hendrell Remus told members of the executive committee that new party leaders and their legal counsel are working on negotiating the penalty. The audit focused on the first two years of former Chair Mary Mancini’s tenure as head of the party and found that TNDP understated both its collections and disbursements by nearly $150,000 in 2015. Additionally, the party did not keep proper employee records, did not properly report outstanding debts and did not properly disclose transfers from joint fundraising efforts. The party’s leadership team and finance and compliance teams have all turned over since the years covered by the audit.  

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law is seeking applications for a visiting faculty position. The fulltime position will likely begin July 1 for a one-year duration, with the possibility of renewal for a second year. The visiting faculty member will teach required doctrinal courses, likely in the areas of Civil Procedure, Business Organizations, Contracts and Sales and Evidence. Successful applicants will have a law degree and several years of practice experience, a commitment to incorporating innovative teaching methods, including technology and practical skills, and a superior academic record. Applications will be accepted until March 22 and may be sent to Melissa Van Kirk or submitted online on LMU’s website.

A three judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the state’s request to keep a 48-hour waiting period for abortions in place while it hears an appeal of a lower court’s ruling that found it unconstitutional, the Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman in October found that the 2015 law, which requires women to make two trips to an abortion clinic for mandatory counseling and then for an abortion at least 48 hours later, served no legitimate purpose and placed substantial burden on women seeking abortions. The state says Friedman erred in balancing the law’s benefits with its burdens, applying the wrong legal standard and asked the federal appeals court to set the ruling aside. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of 6th Circuit judges wrote that the facts point to the law posing an undue burden on women seeking abortions and concluded the state was not likely to win its appeal and would not put Friedman’s ruling on hold.   

Chattanooga-based law firm Summers, Rufolo and Rodgers PC has made a gift of $1 million to the University of Tennessee, with $900,000 of that going to the UT College of Law where it will be used to support the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, the Legal Clinic, the Douglas Blaze Professorship and scholarships for students interested in pursuing legal careers in advocacy. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga political science department will receive the remaining $100,000, which will be used to establish a scholarship. Summers, Rufolo and Rodgers was founded in 1969 by Jerry H. Summers. Partners at the firm include Jeffrey W. Rufolo and Jimmy F. Rodgers Jr. Other attorneys include Marya Wegenka Schalk and Benjamin L. McGowan. The College of Law website has more on the gift.

Three cases are set to be heard by the Tennessee Supreme Court tomorrow. The first case, State of Tennessee v. Tyshon Booker, will be livestreamed on the Administrative Office of the Courts YouTube page at 9 a.m. CST. The second case, Affordable Care Construction Services, Inc. v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company et al. and the third case, In re Larry E. Parrish, will be submitted on briefs. The AOC’s website has more details on each case.