Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc. will hold its Saturday Legal Clinic on Feb. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon. This event is a monthly advice and counsel clinic, giving members of the community a chance to meet with an attorney and discuss their legal issue. The clinic will be held at the Ben Hooks Public Library, 3030 Poplar Avenue, Memphis. Get more information or register as a volunteer here. 

Hear all about upcoming events and news from the TBA on this month's episode of the BarBuzz podcast. This month's show reports on the new TBA website and upcoming February events, and gives some special shout outs to attorneys across the state who have been doing new and noteworthy things. BarBuzz is one of five shows from the TBA Podcast Network. Tune in on the TBA's website or by searching "Tennessee Bar Association" anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Knox County attorney Bailey McKillop Harned was censured today by the Board of Professional Responsibility. Harned was paid a flat fee by a minor child’s mother to reinstate visitation. Although Harned did not obtain a written fee agreement, she did not deposit the fee into her trust account. She failed to communicate with her client and finally filed a petition to modify custody on the client’s behalf more than one year after she was retained. At that time, the minor child had been adopted by the father’s new wife 16 months earlier.

Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III has joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general asking U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to discharge the federal student loans of all students enrolled in schools operated by Dream Center Education Holdings, LLC. Nashville’s Argosy University and The Art Institutes were both operated by Dream Center and closed in December 2018. The federal “closed school discharge” regulation makes former students eligible for 100% discharge of federal student loans if they were enrolled at the time of closing, were on approved leave when the school closed or withdrew within 120 days of the school’s closure. DeVos extended that 120-day window by a few weeks in November, but it still left many Tennessee students ineligible for debt relief. Read the coalition’s full letter to DeVos.

16 attorneys have applied to fill the Court of Appeals opening in the Eastern Division that was created by the retirement of the Hon. Charles D. Susano Jr. Those applicants are: William T. Ailor, Knoxville; Jerri S. Bryant, Athens; Dail Robert Cantrell, Clinton; Joseph Christopher Clem, Chattanooga; Timothy Wade Conner, Knoxville; Kristi M. Davis, Knoxville; Melanie E. Davis, Maryville; Pamela A. Fleenor, Chattanooga; Samantha A. Lunn, Chattanooga; William Thomas McFarland, Kingston; Summer H. McMillian, Knoxville; E. Jerome Melson, Knoxville; Edward H. Trent, Knoxville; Joshua R. Walker, Knoxville; Jeffrey M. Ward, Greeneville; and Thomas J. Wright, Greeneville. The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will interview the applicants in a public hearing before voting and forwarding three names to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration.

The Chattanooga Bar Association recently honored several lawyers during its 122nd annual meeting at the Read House hotel. Outgoing CBA president Steve Jacoway awarded Chuck Flynn the President’s Award and presented the Albert L. Hodge Volunteer Award to Lee Davis. The Ralph H. Kelley Humanitarian Award was given to Mark Ramsey and Fielding Atchley Jr. was presented the Harry Weill Zealous Practice of Law Award. Chandler Lawson earned  the YLD Volunteer of the Year award and the Jac Chambliss Lifetime Achievement Award was posthumously given to Steven Greer, who died last year. Jacoway also installed the new 2020 board of governors, including incoming president, John Harrison. Read a full recap of the event from the Hamilton County Herald.

The TBA will host its annual Mid-Winter CLE Blast in Nashville on Feb. 12. Programming is available from 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. at the Tennessee Bar Center, 221 4th Ave. N. No pre-registration is required for the event and attendees are eligible to earn up to 11 hours of dual credit CLE. Get more information on the TBA’s website.

Memphis Area Legal Services will host an Attorney of the Day clinic every Thursday beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Memphis. During the clinic, volunteer attorneys will meet with pro se litigants to provide help and make referrals. Clients are seen on a first come first serve basis and ending times will vary based on attendance. The clinics will take place on Feb. 6, 13, 20 and 27 in room 134 of the Judge D'Army Bailey Courthouse, 140 Adams Ave. Get more information or enroll as a volunteer on the MALS website.   

Three Tennessee law schools have announced upcoming spring conferences. Lincoln Memorial Duncan School of Law will host a symposium titled “Modern Forensic Science, Expert Testimony, and Exonerations as Applied to Fire Investigation” on Feb. 28 in downtown Knoxville. That same day, the University of Tennessee College of Law will present the Oil and Gas Pipeline Legal Conference, sponsored by the Native American Law Students Association and the Environmental Law Organization. Finally, on March 13 the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law will hold its annual symposium “Closing the Gap: Solutions to Educational Inequality.” More information on each event can be found online. 

Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, today announced his plans to run for re-election, the Tennessean reports. Casada previously served as Speaker of the House, but resigned that post in 2019 after his involvement in a racist and sexist texting scandal. Casada has represented Williamson County’s District 63 since 2001. He faces opposition from Williamson County school board member Brad Fiscus, who will run as an independent for the seat. Those interested in running for the state House have until April to file a petition with the county election commission.