The Tennessee Bar Association has selected 37 lawyers from across the state to participate in the 2015 Leadership Law class. Now in its 12th year, the Leadership Law program is designed to equip Tennessee lawyers with the vision, knowledge and skills necessary to serve as leaders in their profession and local communities. The class will meet for its first session in January, and then spend the next six months learning about leadership in the legal profession, issues in the courts, policymaking in state government and the importance of community service. View the list of class members.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary Wade will speak at Middle Tennessee State University's (MTSU) College of Liberal Arts and College of Education next Thursday at 5 p.m. A reception will follow at 6 p.m. The event will take place in the Sam Ingram Building, 2269 Middle Tennessee Blvd., Murfreesboro 37132. For more information call (615) 494-7628.

Gov. Bill Haslam announced today that he has issued Executive Order No. 41 establishing the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments – a group of 11 members that will recommend candidates to fill vacancies for state trial and appellate courts. The action follows approval of a constitutional amendment establishing a new method for selecting judges on the state Supreme Court and intermediate appellate courts in Tennessee. “This council will allow us to select men and women of the highest caliber to ensure a fair, impartial and independent judiciary,” Haslam said. “The people have spoken in approving the constitutional amendment, and Tennesseans can feel confident about our judiciary under this process.” The new council replaces the commission Haslam previously established. The AOC has more.

State Rep. Rick Womick of Rockvale announced yesterday that he is running for speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, the Daily News Journal reports. Womick will challenge incumbent Speaker Beth Harwell of Nashville to lead the House in the 109th General Assembly. The chamber is set to vote on new leaders Dec. 10.

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear a new challenge to President Barack Obama's health care law, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The justices said they will decide whether the law allows subsidies to be given to millions of low- and middle-income people regardless of whether they live in states that set up their own exchanges or are relying on the federal exchange. A federal appeals court upheld IRS regulations that allow subsidies for consumers in all 50 states. Opponents, however, argue the law limits the assistance to those in state-run exchanges.

President Barack Obama will nomninate Brooklyn prosecutor Loretta Lynch for attorney general tomorrow, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said. Lynch, who would be the second woman to serve as attorney general and the second African-American to hold the position, is in her second stint as U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York. She was appointed by President Obama in 2010 and served in the same post from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. CNN has the story. 

Following narrow passage of Amendment 1 on Tuesday, a complaint has been filed in federal court alleging that the state used a faulty method of counting votes on the amendment and thus violated voters’ rights. The legal team and plaintiffs filing the suit will host a tele-briefing Monday at 10:30 a.m. Central to discuss the details of the case and next steps for legal action. View the press release for more information on joining the call.

The Tennessee Supreme Court welcomed several hundred new attorneys to the practice of law during ceremonies across the state this week. On Tuesday, the Tennessee Bar Association hosted an open house for new attorneys and their families. Photos from the event are now available.

Television ad spending in state supreme court elections by outside groups, political parties and candidates has surged to more than $13.8 million since January, surpassing the $12.2 million spent on advertising in the 2010 midterm elections, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice and Justice at Stake (JAS). Leading the outside groups in spending was the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), which purchased TV ads under its own name and bankrolled massive advertising efforts by local groups in North Carolina and Tennessee. The RSLC, which launched its “Judicial Fairness Initiative” earlier this year to elect conservative judges and judicial candidates, poured $3.4 million into supreme and county court races in five states since January. In addition to TV ads, its spending supported phone banking and direct mail. “The 2014 judicial elections delivered a new round of special interest money, attack ads, and partisan politics into America’s courtrooms, shattering several state records and increasing political pressure on state justices,” JAS argues in this press release.

Volunteer lawyers with the Claiborne County Bar Association will host free legal advice clinics on the first Tuesday of each month. The sessions will begin at 4 p.m. at the Claiborne County Justice Center, located at 415 Straight Creek Rd., New Tazewell. The Claiborne Progress has more information.