The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) will present Harrison D. McIver III with the Founder’s Award, an honor it established for the purpose of recognizing McIver's contributions to Tennessee’s access to justice community during his 20-year tenure as chair of Equal Justice University (EJU) and tenure as Executive Director of Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS). The award will be presented on Aug. 29 during the Leadership Luncheon at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Murfreesboro. McIver recently retired as CEO of MALS, where his passion for diversity and inclusion, rigor in legal education programming and dedication to community building are embedded in the fabric of EJU, TALS' annual public interest conference.

The National Center for State Courts has released its Judicial Salary Tracker for 2019, showing Tennessee judges coming in second in the nation for pay, after adjustments for cost of living. Only South Carolina pays its judges more. Southern neighbors Arkansas and Georgia rank at three and five, while Maryland, Oregon and Maine score at the bottom of the pack.

Nashville Mayor David Briley today announced the Mayor's Council on the State of Women, created to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of women's suffrage. Many leaders of the Tennessee legal community are included on the council, including attorneys Anne Davis, Margaret Behm, Samar Ali, Abby Rubenfeld, and Darkenya Waller, as well as Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman, Judge Ana Escobar, Chancellor Anne Martin and Criminal Court Clerk Brenda Wynn. The group will focus on increasing civic engagement and access to opportunity for women throughout the year.

Due to the upcoming retirement of Mark Stephens, Public Defender for the 6th Judicial District, and Tom Marshall, Public Defender for the 7th Judicial District, Gov. Bill Lee's office will fill both positions until the next election in 2020. The 6th District includes Knox County, while the 7th includes Anderson County. Interested candidates should submit resumes and cover letters to Lang Wiseman, Deputy and Chief Counsel to the Governor, State Capitol, First Floor, 600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Nashville, Tennessee, 37243 or by email to rebecca.kaunisto@tn.gov by 5 p.m. CDT on Aug. 30.