Kristin Priesol Smart has been named the new director of communications and engagement for the Nashville School of Law, the Nashville Post reports. Smart has 20 years of media experience, most recently as a public relations specialist and local news director at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Prior to that, she was a reporter at WTVF NewsChannel 5 in Nashville. She’ll now be responsible for the law school’s marketing strategies, media relations, event planning and internal communications.

The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar on Monday released new data on the bar exam results of various racial and ethnic groups and genders. According to the report, white candidates who took a bar exam for the first time in 2021 had the highest pass rate, 85%. For people of other races or ethnicities, the first-time pass rate ranged from 47% to 84%. The data also examines what is known as an “ultimate pass rate.” It is based on graduating classes from two years ago, which for this year is 2019. Deborah Merritt, a recently retired professor who taught at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, said there are “stark differences” in pass rates by race and ethnicity from 2019 and 2021. Merritt says the current bar exam requires expensive prep classes and ability to put off everything except bar study, essentially making the exam “a test of financial resources—and graduates of color have fewer financial resources, on average, than white graduates.” The ABA Journal has more on the story.

Well-Being Week in Law kicks off today with an emphasis on physical well-being and staying strong. The Institute for Well-Being in Law suggests listening to The Joy of Movement podcast interview with Dr. Kelly McGonigal about the latest research on why movement is so important for many facets of our well-being. As a special challenge for today’s theme, peruse the Get Moving Activity Guide and try out a physical activity you haven’t tried before. Inspire others by posting about it on social media using the hashtag #WellbeingWeekInLaw. Stay tuned for more well-being tips and resources throughout this week.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, and the Tennessee Department of Revenue are altering consumers to problems related to the online purchase of vehicles in Tennessee. Buyers have filed complaints about purchased vehicles arriving with damage not disclosed in the online ad and some have experienced problems obtaining a clear title and registering vehicles purchased online. With few remedies available to consumers who purchase a vehicle online from an unlicensed seller, Attorney General Herbert Slatery is urging the public to “Take your time, check for a license before you buy.” The AG's Office has more. 

James L. Weatherly and Jacqueline B. Dixon, partners at Nashville’s Weatherly & Dixon PLLC, have merged their law firm with Lewis Thomason PC. Weatherly, who was elected public defender for Metro Nashville-Davidson County from 1982-86, practiced more than 20 years with the firm of Hollins, Wagster & Yarbrough. His practice now includes criminal defense, family law, personal injury and general civil litigation. Dixon, a past president of the Tennessee Bar Association, has more than 35 years of experience in the areas of family law, wills, estates, probate, personal injury and other types of civil litigation as well as appellate work. She is also a family law mediator. Read the full release from Lewis Thomason.

All five executions scheduled for this year have been paused by Gov. Bill Lee as the state awaits a third-party review of lethal injection protocols in Tennessee, WPLN reports. Lee stopped the execution of Oscar Smith on April 21 after discovering the lethal injection medication hadn’t gone through all the quality tests that are required. That incident prompted Lee to order an independent review of that case and of the policy manual used in executions and relevant staffing issues at the Department of Corrections. Former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and Butler Snow attorney Edward Stanton III has been tapped to conduct the review. “The death penalty is an extremely serious matter,” Lee said. “I expect the Tennessee Department of Correction to leave no question that procedures are correctly followed.”

The TBA Immigration Law Section will host an Immigration Law Basics program on May 23 from 9 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. CDT. Attendees will receive helpful tips on immigration court practice and explore the basics of family, naturalization and U visa practice with regional experts. The program will also feature a session on business and entertainment aspects of immigration law in Tennessee. Earn up to two general and one dual CLE hours. Learn more and register here.

A new program from Bass, Berry & Sims, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors and the Vanderbilt Immigration Practice Clinic will address how lawyers can help newly arriving refugee populations who are resettling in Nashville. “Ukraine, Afghanistan, Haiti: Refugees in Crisis & How Lawyers Can Help” will take place in-person and virtually on May 23 from noon until 1 p.m. CDT. The presentation will provide an overview of at-risk populations and the basics of immigration and asylum law needed to take on a case with no prior immigration or asylum experience required. At the end of training, options will be provided to match with a family or individual who has been screened for asylum eligibility and is waiting for representation. Register for this free event by May 21.

New data from the American Bar Association shows that, of Belmont University College of Law’s 2019 graduating class, 100% of those who took the bar exam sometime within the last two years have passed. The law school is one of only two schools in the country with a 100% bar passage rate over the last two years among 2019 graduates and the only school in the country to have 100% bar passage for both its 2018 and 2019 graduates within two years of graduation. The national average ultimate pass rate was 91 percent. ABA Standards require that at least 75% of a law school’s graduates in a calendar year who sit somewhere for a bar examination administered within two years of graduation must pass. Belmont has more on the story.

The Tennessee General Assembly has passed legislation that prevents candidates who have been censured from becoming judges, The Greeneville Sun reports.  An amendment to Senate Bill 2478/House Bill 2538 bars attorneys who have been publicly censured by the Board of Professional Responsibility within 10 years from holding a judgeship. The bill has an Oct. 1 effective date, meaning it will not affect current races. Rep. Andy Farmer, R-Sevierville, said the bill was the first step in ensuring honesty in candidates for all positions.