A variety of bills passed by the state legislature this year will go into effect on the first day of 2021, the Tennessean reports. Among those new laws, HB2269/SB2202 will raise to 21 the state’s legal age to purchase tobacco, including e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges. HB2708/SB2520, known as the "Tennessee Pregnant Workers Fairness Act," requires that any reasonable accommodations provided for employees with medical conditions be extended to employees who are pregnant. HB1933/SB1958 will allow emergency operators to be trained in T-CPR, which is dispatcher-delivered directions to callers in emergency situations. Several other bills will also go into effect, including training for veteran suicide prevention, regulations for the car-sharing industry and lower retirement criteria for jailers and emergency services personnel. 

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission (ADRC) has created an ADR Resolution Plan to assist courts facing a backlog of civil cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan, which has been approved by the Tennessee Supreme Court, creates a process that makes mediation more available to civil litigants to help provide faster, less expensive and potentially more satisfying alternatives to continuing litigation. The four-hour training will discuss the ADR plan, train attendees on virtual mediation technology, discuss working as a mediator when both parties are self-represented and more. The program will take place on Jan. 22 at 9 a.m. CST. Register for the program here.

Lifelong Murfreesboro resident and 16th Judicial District Circuit Judge David Bragg is set to retire tomorrow after 12 years on the bench. Though he became interested in the law at an early age, Bragg served as director of university housing at Middle Tennessee State University and later as publisher of the Woodbury newspaper, Cannon Courier, before applying to Nashville School of Law. After 14 years of private practice, Bragg won his seat on the bench in 2008. He says presiding over the Rutherford County Recovery Court and serving alongside so many dedicated judges were highlights of his career in the judiciary. Read more on Bragg’s career and plans after retirement on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.  

The TBA will be closed tomorrow in observance of New Year’s Day. We will reopen Monday. Happy New Year!

The TBA’s Corporate Counsel section will host 2021 Knowledge Nibbles — Due Diligence on Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. CST. The program will examine the ways in which the pandemic has changed how buyers and sellers approach mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, it will cover the revised and heightened approach to due diligence lawyers must be prepared to bring to ensure buyers and sellers are fully informed of transaction risks and exposures and the resulting scrutiny of lenders and strategic and private equity partners. This course will utilize Zoom Webinar and attendees will be able to ask questions through the chat feature.

Gov. Bill Lee this week released updated guidelines to the state’s vaccine distribution plan, notably excluding lawyers from the list of essential workers who will be among the first to receive the vaccine. Despite appeals from TBA President Michelle Greenway Sellers, the Tennessee COVID-19 Vaccination Plan deviates from the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices plan, which includes “judges, lawyers and others providing legal assistance” in its recommendation for vaccine distribution. Greenway Sellers recently reached out to Lee, strongly urging his administration to take the concerns of Tennessee lawyers into consideration when revising the plan. “Many attorneys have no choice but to continue sustained interaction with the public and corrections residents, including court administrators, district attorneys, public defenders, guardians ad litem, appointed attorneys, attorneys handling juvenile emergencies, conservatorships involving abuse, protective orders, restraining orders, and criminal matters,” Greenway Sellers said. Read more on her efforts and the full statement from the TBA here.

Psychology Today reports that a large-scale study performed at Iowa State University and published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has found a link between diet choices and one’s degree of cognitive ability later in life. The findings suggest that Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline may be preventable, or at least minimized or slowed down, for those who consume cheese, a responsible amount of alcohol and lamb daily and those who use less salt. A large emphasis is placed on responsible alcohol consumption, defined as one drink for women and two for men. Although genetic factors play a big role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, these researchers found that diet may also have a significant influence on cognitive health over time. 

The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today upheld the decision of a three judge panel to give former Pilot Company president Mark Hazelwood a new trial, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The panel overturned the convictions of Hazelwood and two subordinates in October, ruling that U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier was wrong to allow prosecutors at the 2018 trial to play secret recordings of Hazelwood making racist comments. The one-page order offered no explanation but rejected a request by federal prosecutors to reconsider the decision. Prosecutors must now decide if they can reconstruct the case in which many witnesses were made up of reluctant former Pilot employees who received sentencing breaks in return for their testimony.

The Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board will hear oral arguments by videoconference in January and February. On Jan. 28, the board will hear the following: Tate v. Doney, d/b/a Middle Tennessee Respiratory; Harris v. Nashville Center for Rehabilitation and Healing; and Day v. Great Salons of Knoxville. On Feb. 4, it will hear Turner v. Pee Dee Country Enterprises, Inc. Read summaries of each case on the board’s website.

The University of Tennessee College of Law is seeking volunteers to conduct mock interviews with its law students from Jan. 13 through 15. All interviews will be conducted virtually and can be scheduled at a variety of times throughout the day. Each interview will take 30 minutes, allowing for 20 to 25 minutes to conduct the interview and five to 10 minutes to provide students with feedback. A user guide will be provided to all volunteer attorneys. Volunteers are asked to sign up for a minimum of two interviews, if possible. The sign-up sheet can be found here. Questions about the program can be emailed to Christie Laird.