Gov. Bill Lee announced on Tuesday that former Court of Appeals Judge Brandon Gibson will now serve as his chief operating officer, the Tennessean reports. Gibson, a senior adviser in Lee’s administration, will take over for Butch Eley, who is now the commissioner of the Department of Finance and Administration. Eley had recently replaced Stuart McWhorter in that role after he stepped down to lead Lee’s COVID-19 unified command team before leaving that post for a job in the private sector. Gibson is a native of Dyersburg. "Brandon has been a respected voice both within our administration and across our state,” Lee said in a statement. “Her ability to think creatively and bring innovative ideas to fruition will be critical as state government continues to provide services to our customers in new ways during these challenging times. We’re lucky to have a public servant like Brandon in Tennessee, and I’m excited for her to get started in this new role.”

The Tennessee Department of Correction said Monday that more than 1,800 inmates currently have COVID-19, the Tennessean reports. The official total of infected inmates is 1,849 and 618 have recovered. 1,285 inmates at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville are positive for the virus which, according to national data from the New York Times, ranks it as the third largest outbreak in the country. Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville was also ranked in the top five of worst outbreaks, but as of Monday, only five of those inmates are currently sick and 580 have recovered. Both Trousdale Turner and Bledsoe County have had one inmate die after testing positive for the disease.

Lincoln Memorial University has chosen Matthew R. Lyon as vice president and dean of the LMU Duncan School of Law. Lyon’s appointment came at the recommendation of LMU President Clayton Hess and LMU Law faculty and after a nationwide search to replace current dean, former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary R. Wade, who is retiring. Lyon has been with LMU Law since its founding in 2009, first as an adjunct professor and then as full time faculty member in 2011. He has served as associate dean of academic affairs since 2015 and was briefly the acting dean prior to Wade’s appointment. His areas of teaching include Civil Procedure, Contracts and Sales, Business Organizations, Payment Systems, and, most recently, the law school’s Externship course. Lyon also coordinated LMU Law’s successful efforts to obtain full approval from the American Bar Association. Read the full story from LMU.

The Tennessee Supreme Court entered an order yesterday that reduces the seating of the July 2020 bar exam that is scheduled for July 28 and July 29. The court also approved a policy that establishes protocol for seating applicants. The policy gives priority seating at the July exam to 2019 or 2020 graduates of Tennessee law schools who are taking the exam for the first time. If seats remain, additional levels of seating priorities have been established. Those who cannot be seated at the July exam will be seated at the October exam, scheduled for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Additionally, applicants who will be seated at the October exam have the opportunity to transfer their application to the February 2021 exam without additional fees. The Administrative Office of the Courts has the full story.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold free legal clinics over the phone this week on Thursday and Saturday. Local attorneys will offer advice on questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, applying for SNAP benefits and applying for unemployment benefits. Thursday’s clinic will take place from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT and the Saturday clinic will run from 8:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. CDT. For more information, please contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131.

The TBA will host a free roundtable discussion Wednesday (today) at 1 p.m. CDT that will cover the dramatic changes to policy and operations of the courts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Join Appellate Practice Section past chair and American Academy of Appellate Lawyers member Buck Lewis, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee and Clerk of the Appellate Courts Jim Hivner as they discuss remote arguments, the recent oral argument white paper from the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and Justice Lee’s views on both. This event is free and open to all TBA members, but registration is required. Log in information will be provided following registration.

Lawyer Well-Being Week comes to a close today, but the TBA’s Lawyer Well-Being Resources page will remain live. There you’ll find access to the 1-Click CLE Wellness Package, which covers important health and wellness topics like mindfulness, work life balance, ethics of healthy lawyering and more. You will also find links to the TBA’s wellness-centered podcast, HealthyBar, featuring episodes on the importance of yoga, good sleeping habits and the new two-part series titled Path to Lawyer Well-Being. The page also provides links to other helpful resources, including the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP), which offers numerous services addressing depression and suicide, substance abuse, stress and burnout, anxiety and much more.    

Nashville's Metro Council has rejected a proposed settlement between the city and Youth Opportunity Investments (YOI) over the escape of four teens from the city’s Juvenile Detention Center last fall,  WPLN reports. YOI operates the center where the teens escaped, costing the Metro Nashville Police Department more than $235,000 in search and recovery efforts. Under the proposed deal, YOI was to pay Metro $144,000, but that deal failed in a 17-18 council vote, with some abstentions. Councilmember Emily Benedict spoke against the settlement at the meeting, calling the payment insufficient. “Nashvillians should expect more from us in how we manage our detention centers,” Benedict said at the meeting. 

The Tennessee Department of Correction today announced that of the 586 inmates at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville who tested positive for COVID-19, 580 have recovered, the Tennessean reports. Six positive cases remain, including two inmates who are hospitalized and four who are asymptomatic and in isolation. After mass testing in April, about 25% of Bledsoe inmates were positive for the virus, but a TDOC spokesperson claimed that 98% of those who tested positive were asymptomatic. Earlier this week, an inmate at the Trousdale Turner prison in Hartsville died after being diagnosed with COVID-19, but that inmate’s cause of death is still pending.

University of Tennessee College of Law Dean Emeritus Doug Blaze has agreed to serve as interim dean of the law school beginning July 1. According to the law school’s website, despite a talented pool of finalists, the nationwide search for a new dean that began in September “did not yield a good fit for the college and was suspended last month.” Plans to resume the search will be announced later this summer. The position was made available after Dean Melanie Wilson announced she would return to faculty this summer. Blaze has been part of the college’s faculty since 1993, when he joined UT as director of clinical programs. He served as dean from 2008 to 2015 before returning to the faculty. He also serves as director of the college’s Institute for Professional Leadership, which he co-founded.