The state’s new Commissioner of Children’s Services Jim Henry visited Jackson at the invitation of Madison County Juvenile Court Judge Christy Little. Henry was introduced to a number of Madison County Juvenile Court programs that are conducted in conjunction with the Department of Children’s Services and met with children and teens who highlighted the successes they have achieved through the programs.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee hosted its Knoxville Pro Bono Celebration Tuesday honoring local attorneys who have donated at least 25 hours of their time and legal services during the past year to aid those who otherwise could not afford an attorney. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of three annual Pro Bono Project Awards. Ryan Gardner was recognized as the Donald F. Paine Law Student Volunteer of the Year, Richard L. Duncan was given the Pro Bono Advocacy Award for his donation of almost 100 hours of service and Paine, Tarwater, and Bickers, LLP was named the Law Firm of the Year.

Need a few CLE hours before the July 31 CLE requirement deadline? The TBA is offering programs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, July 26. The Summer CLE Blast will offer 7 hours of dual CLE credit. Take as many or as few hours as you need. Register online at TennBarU.

The New England Compounding Center, which has been blamed for the deaths of 15 patients treated in Tennessee, has been declared insolvent by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Henry J. Boroff. Judge Boroff granted the request by the Nashville attorney representing a McMinnville man whose wife died in last year's fungal meningitis outbreak. With the declaration of the center’s insolvency, the widower can file suit in Tennessee under the provisions of the state product liability statute. WBIR has the story. 

What the state is calling the first statewide drug recovery court in the nation will open next month in Wartburg, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. In Tennessee, drug courts operate largely within judicial districts and offer alternatives to jail time for nonviolent drug offenders through recovery centers. The centers are designed to rehabilitate drug abusers and help reincorporate them into society.

Opponents to the a new internet sales tax are planning to protest President Barack Obama’s visit to the Amazon distribution center in Chattanooga next Tuesday, the Chattanoogan reports. The group says Amazon is pushing the new Internet sales tax, which passed the Senate in May and currently awaits a vote in the House. Obama plans to tour the distribution center as part of his campaign to promote middle class jobs. "Tuesday's speech will focus on manufacturing and high wage jobs for durable economic growth, and the President will discuss proposals he has laid out to jumpstart private sector job growth and make America more competitive, and will also talk about new ideas to create American jobs," a White House staffer said.

In response to last month’s Supreme Court ruling invalidating key parts of the Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department is asking a federal court in San Antonio to require the state of Texas to obtain advance approval before putting in place future political redistricting or other voting changes. Holder called the Voting Rights Act "the cornerstone of modern civil rights law" and said that "we cannot allow the slow unraveling of the progress that so many, throughout history, have sacrificed so much to achieve." WRCB has the story.

Tennessee attorneys have nearly tripled the amount of time they give to pro bono work, the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission reports in a study released today. It found that 9,736 attorneys practicing in Tennessee provided 804, 9461 hours of pro bono in 2011, an average of nearly 83 hours per attorney and nearly triple the amount volunteered in 2009. “This is exactly what we had hoped to see,” Buck Lewis, chairman of the Access to Justice Commission, said. “The profession is stepping up and contributing more than ever before to assist those in need of legal services. It is extremely encouraging to see this level of participation.”

Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper was Tennessee’s only congressman to vote against new restrictions on the National Security Agency’s collection of phone records and other sensitive data, Nashville Public Radio reports. Cooper justified his stance in favor of the NSA data collection programs, saying they’ve been ruled constitutional by every judge who’s reviewed them.

Despite the pervasiveness of electronic communication, one paper product that has remained popular among lawyers is the business card. But in a sea of tasteful, traditional, beige business cards, some wonder how you and your firm can stand out. The ABA Journal highlights some of the most unique -- and bizarre -- legal business cards, including one from Nashville lawyer Nicholas D. Waite.