Gov. Bill Lee has signed several election law bills passed by state lawmakers just before they recessed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, WRCBtv reports. Lee signed off on changes that eliminate fines for submitting too many incomplete voter registration forms and remove the misdemeanor penalties for not completing certain administrative requirements. Several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit over the voter registration laws last year and a federal judge blocked the news laws from taking effect. Another change that Lee signed allows use of emergency supersites if polling places are rendered unusable. That change came largely in response to Super Tuesday tornadoes. Efforts to expand absentee voting during the pandemic were defeated.

Join Chattanooga attorneys Donna Mikel and Doug Hamill tomorrow for a Zoom Q&A roundtable follow up to their CLE webcast on employment law during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mikel and Hamill will answer questions about the CLE, which included topics like the Families First Act, paid leave rights and more. The roundtable is limited to the first 50 registrants and will begin tomorrow at noon CDT. Register for the meeting and you will receive an email with information on how to access the roundtable. Participants may also submit questions here. 

The Knoxville Family Justice Center, a non-profit serving domestic violence and sexual assault victims, has begun sending “safety cards” to businesses to include in curbside pickups, WBIR reports. The cards are intended for those who do not feel safe at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and include helpline numbers and links to the justice center’s website where safety plans are available. Businesses local to Knoxville and interested in safety cards can send an email to info@FJCknoxville.org or call 865-521-6336 for more information.

The latest episode of the TBA YLD Presents: War Stories podcast is now available. The show features an interview with University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Michelle Kwon, who sits down with YLD members Julia Hale and Alicia McMurray Smith of Knoxville. Kwon discusses her legal career, uplifting other female attorneys and how she handled a last-minute docket call surprise. War Stories is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found online or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court today entered an order to address concerns with the July 2020 bar exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s order extends the amount of time certain applicants will be able to practice pending bar exam results and the expiration of MPRE scores. The court also created a process to transfer a July 2020 exam application to either a fall exam, if one is scheduled, or the February 2021 exam. The order also permits the Board of Law Examiners to offer a full refund of fees. “The Court’s temporary changes to Rule 7 address many of the questions being asked by recent graduates and exam takers arising from the COVID-19 crisis,” Board of Law Examiners President Bill Harbison said in a statement. “Tennessee has a plan for bar exam applicants, whether we move forward with no examination or multiple examinations in 2020, that provides opportunities to practice, to transfer the July 2020 application to a different exam, and to seek concurrent admission.” Read the full order here. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued an order to clarify certain provisions of previous orders regarding the extension of deadlines. The prior orders applied generally to discovery deadlines, but did not apply to deadlines set forth in pre-trial scheduling orders entered pursuant to Rule 16. Trial courts may extend such deadlines in their discretion. See the order for full list of clarifications. The court today filed another order extending the use of electronic signatures as provided under Rule 5B of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and Rules 46 and 46A of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court to any pleadings or documents to be filed or served by conventional means during the time that the state of emergency for the Judicial Branch remains in place.

Gov. Bill Lee today issued an order for Tennesseans to stay home to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Tennessean reports. The mandate was issued after data from the Tennessee Department of Transportation showed an uptick in traffic and after mounting pressure from state lawmakers, doctors and national media to do so. “COVID-19 is an imminent threat and we need you to understand that staying home isn’t an option,"  Lee said at today's conference. "It’s a requirement for the swift defeat of COVID-19 in Tennessee.” Lee had previously said such a mandate was unnecessary as it was “deeply important” to him to protect personal liberties. 

The situation with COVID-19 is rapidly changing and many have questions related to labor and employment issues. “COVID-19 Rewrites the Rules of the Employment Road” is part of TBA CLE’s on-demand webcast series, Navigating the Pandemic. In this video, Donna Mikel and Doug Hamill discuss the Families First Act, paid leave rights and how traditional employment laws apply right now. It is available to view now, or you can tune-in on April 7 at noon CST for a scheduled webcast. If you still have questions about this topic, join Donna and Doug for a Zoom Q&A roundtable at noon CST the following day, April 8. Submit questions in advance here. Spots are limited to the first 50 registrants for this unique, interactive Zoom roundtable meeting. Complete the required RSVP here.  

Months after confirming to fellow GOP lawmakers that he would not seek re-election, Rep. David Byrd, R-Waynesboro, has reversed course. The Nashville Post reports Byrd announced his bid for reelection on Tuesday, citing the need for an experienced representative during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, Byrd was accused of sexually assaulting three underage women in the 1980s, prompting calls for his resignation and pleas that he not seek reelection. “For District 71 to have a freshman representative during his crucial time could definitely result in our rural counties being overlooked in future key legislation that could help our constituents rebound from this devastating pandemic,” Byrd said in a statement. He has never publicly denied the allegations against him.

The TBA and the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program will host a free online roundtable discussion on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine is having on personal well-being. Licensed therapist and TLAP mental health clinician Lindsey O’Connell will provide an overview of the human stress response system and how to modulate this survival instinct to improve mental resilience and reduce the harmful consequences of overwhelming stress. A loosely moderated roundtable discussion will follow and participants will have the chance to ask questions related to mental and professional well-being. The program will be held on the Zoom video conferencing platform on April 7 at 2 p.m. A link to the meeting will be sent following online registration.