The U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance is seeking an attorney advisor and a virtual paralegal specialist. The jobs are full-time, but temporary and may last from two to six months. Both positions will help review and close SBA disaster loans. Attorneys may be licensed in any state and those waiting on bar exam results may apply. Real estate experience is a plus.  

The Hamilton County Health Department has filed a lawsuit against Ed’s Supply Company in Chattanooga, claiming the business isn’t complying with a mask mandate put into place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Associated Press reports. The suit alleges that, after multiple warnings, customers and employees are still not wearing masks or social distancing. The complaint asks a judge to order the business to close if it does not comply with the mandate. The Aug. 28 filing claims workers at the business believed the masks were ineffective  cited “their installation and use of UV ultraviolet light systems within their facility’s air conditioning system to assist with disinfection” against COVID-19.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland yesterday announced a new 13-member group that will make “substantive, realistic and measurable” police reform recommendations, the Daily Memphian reports. The group will make preliminary recommendations in the next 45 days based on community input. The recommendations will focus on how to improve community relations, accountability and transparency with the Memphis Police Department. After the initial recommendations, the group will work another 45 days to set final recommendations. This is the second phase of Strickland’s call for changes in policing. The first phase included changes to use of force policies. Group members include Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner, Shelby County Public Defender Phyllis Aluko Memphis-Shelby Crime Commission President Bill Gibbons and more.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan is expected to make a ruling on Sept. 16 on whether DNA evidence in the Pervis Payne case will be tested, the Daily Memphian reports. Payne was convicted for the 1987 double homicide of a Millington woman and her young daughter and has been on death row for three decades. Skahan heard testimony on Tuesday from Payne’s defense team, who say the DNA testing could prove his innocence. “We are not here to retry this case,” federal public defender Kelly Henry said Tuesday. “We can get the DNA tested without any cost to the taxpayers thanks to the Innocence Project, who is willing to foot the bill for the testing.” DNA expert Alan Keel also testified at the hearing, saying DNA technology has drastically improved since 2006, the last time Payne’s attorneys submitted a petition for testing. The hearing comes after a Memphis coalition urged District Attorney General Amy Weirich to permit the testing. Payne is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 3.

Former Metro Public Defender Dawn Deaner this week filed a lawsuit in federal district court against Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn and the Board of Professional Responsibility, the Nashville Post reports. Deaner, who now runs the nonprofit Choosing Justice Initiative, met with a criminal defendant seeking new representation last fall and afterward filed a request on his behalf in Blackburn’s court. That filing led to a hearing where Blackburn accused Deaner of ethical violations since the defendant was already being represented by then-court-appointed attorney Anthony Thompson. Blackburn and Thompson, who claimed Deaner’s actions “assailed” his name and reputation, both reported the incident to the BPR. The board began disciplinary proceedings against Deaner, ultimately giving her the option of completing three hours of ethics training to avoid discipline. Deaner disputed the board’s ruling in a separate filing, and this week is asking the federal district court in Nashville to enjoin the BPR from disciplining her. A Washington, D.C-based attorney representing Deaner commented on the case, saying, "the problem of retaliation against defense attorneys who attempt to challenge injustice in the criminal justice system is unfortunately very widespread.”

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP attorney and TBA member Alé Dalton has been selected for the Hispanic National Bar Association’s 2020 Latina Leadership Academy. According to a press release from Bradley, the Latina Leadership Academy offers leadership training on areas that are key to shattering glass ceilings and securing the advancement and long-term success of Latina attorneys. Dalton earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and is a member of Bradley’s Healthcare Practice Group. She was a member of the TBA’s Diversity Leadership Institute Class of 2016 and is a member of the Health Law Section and the Young Lawyers Division. In a 2018 interview with Bradley, Dalton said one of her passions was increasing diversity in the legal profession, especially for women of color. “Latinas represent less than 2% of the total U.S. lawyer population and are the most statistically underrepresented attorney group in nearly every legal sector,” she said. “While the numbers are improving, there is a lot of work to be done.”

It’s election season and the TBA is offering a free Voting Rights Roundtable for members to discuss the process and historical significance of election laws and regulations. Executive Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Ethics Commission Bill Young and LMU Duncan School of Law professor Akram Fazier will host a two-part discussion on the past and present of voting, elections and ethics, including, federal voting rights jurisprudence, Tennessee jurisprudence and constitutional text on the issue and campaign finance disclosure. Join the virtual discussion from 10 until 11 a.m. CDT on Sept. 10. The roundtable is free and open to all TBA members.

The 2020 Labor & Employment Law Forum Lunchtime Webcast Series launches Sept. 14 with a case law update. Day two of the series continues on Sept. 15 with a session on workplace privacy.  Memphis lawyers Greg Grisham and Maureen Holland will address topics like employee surveillance, workplace searches, the monitoring of employee communications, dress code and appearance policies, drug and alcohol testing, and much more. Join your colleagues from noon to 1 p.m. CDT for a review of recent cases and legal developments impacting the world of employment law. Other offerings in the series include sessions on wage and hour developments on Sept. 16; arbitration on Sept. 17; and a judicial panel on best practices on Sept. 18. Registration is per webcast and each program provides one hour of general credit CLE.

Knoxville lawyer Philip J. Lawson died over the weekend. He was 77. Lawson earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1975 and was a founding member of Wimberly Lawson where he specialized in labor and employment law. For many years, Lawson served as a hearing committee officer of the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court, and he served as an arbitrator and mediator with the American Arbitration Association. He lectured and taught widely on a variety of aspects of labor, employment law and leadership. A celebration of life will be held tomorrow at 6 p.m. EDT at Corryton Church, 7615 Foster Rd., Corryton, Tennessee. Interment will be held at 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday at Mountain View Cemetery, 1019 E. Valley Dr. Bristol, Virginia.

The Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board announced today it will hold oral arguments in four cases on Oct. 15 by phone or “other remote means” yet to be determined. Arguments will begin at 9 a.m. CDT with each argument typically lasting around an hour. Click here to see the docket.