The third installment in TBA’s Mockingbirds & the Rest of Us series will take place Sept. 19. This highly interactive three-part series, taught by Doug Blaze and Buck Lewis — founders of the Institute for Professional Leadership at UT Law — examines the book, movie and recent Aaron Sorkin adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” through the lens of contemporary times. Panelists examine the lynching scene on the porch of the jail, the trial and the final scene on the Finch porch after an attempt on the Finch children’s lives. The full program qualifies for 4.5 dual hours of CLE. Register for part 3 here. View recordings for part 1 and part 2 using the respective links.

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law will hold a historic celebration for its 15th anniversary on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. EDT. The event will take place at The Mill & Mine, 227 W. Depot Ave., Knoxville 37917. Get more information and register here.

Minority attorneys stay in their first jobs out of law school about half as long as their white peers, though the gap may be narrowing, according to a new Bloomberg Law survey. The race-based imbalance among all attorneys surveyed was almost four years — 3.98 years for minority lawyers versus 7.8 years for white attorneys. But the gulf was only about a month or two on average among lawyers who have practiced for 15 years or less — a sign that investments by law firms and legal departments may be helping close the gap.

Did you miss any of TBA's forums this spring and summer? Good news! They are now available as 1-Click packages online! Access courses from the Bankruptcy Law Forum, Business Law Forum, Corporate Counsel Forum, Dispute Resolution Forum, Elder Law Forum, Entertainment & Sports Law Forum, Federal Practice Forum, Intellectual Property Law Forum, Labor & Employment Forum, Law Practice Management Forum, Litigation Practice Forum and Real Estate Essentials. Buy individual presentations from any of the forums or purchase the full line-up using the TBA's easy 1-Click option. See what's new in your practice area.

Internal data from the Shelby County District Attorney's Office shows that more than 100 employees have left since Steve Mulroy's election in 2022. The Daily Memphian reports that between Aug. 31, 2022, the day Mulroy was officially sworn into office, and Dec. 30, 2022, 42 people left the office, according to a spreadsheet that was inadvertently distributed by email last month to current employees of the office. Erica Williams, spokesperson for the office, said the amount of transition is common, especially during leadership changes. Mulroy replaced Amy Weirich, who held the position since 2011. “In comparison, the previous administration experienced the transition of about 80 employees within a similar time period,” Williams said.

Former Davidson County Medical Examiner (ME) Dr. Bruce Levy has recanted his testimony in the 2000 death of Bryan Alexander Maze. Russell Maze, father of "Baby Alex," was convicted of shaking his son and causing the injuries that led to his death. Levy now says that after reviewing medical records that were not previously made available to him, as well as recent reports from medical experts who have studied the case, "If called to testify now, I would assert Bryan Maze’s brain, at the time of his death, showed no indication, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, of prior trauma or abuse. Instead, the residual brain lesions viewed at autopsy more likely than not resulted from a natural disease process." The Nashville Banner interviewed multiple attorneys who said that they had never seen a medical examiner change a conclusion in a homicide case.

State health officials recently approved a project by Cedar Recovery to build a $2.5 million methadone clinic in Putnam County outside Cookeville. The project has met with sharp criticism from community members who testified before the Health Services Commission, which determines whether to grant a certificate of need to a health services provider. The commission's attorney reminded members when deciding how to vote that the body does not oversee zoning, and federal law protects substance use treatment centers from discrimination. “You can’t treat this any differently than you would treat [another medical provider] applicant. Otherwise, we would end up in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.” Nashville Public Radio has more on the story.

Stuart Teicher, the CLE Performer, is back with three new sessions. Join him on Nov. 7 for one, two or all three of these webcasts! From 9-10 a.m., Teicher will look at a host of grammar and punctuation rules that don’t make sense and are in some cases are not even rules in "Legal Writing Rules You SHOULD Be Breaking." From 10:15-11:15 a.m., Teicher will connect the cast of "Friends" to a number of ethics rules in "Friends ... An Ethical Sitcom?" To wrap up the series, Teicher will look at the worst criminals in history and the ethics lessons they teach us. "From Bonnie and Clyde to Bernie Madoff: What the Biggest Thieves in History Teach About Attorney Ethics" will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. All times in central time zone.

Womble Bond Dickinson and Lewis Roca have announced that the two large, multi-practice law firms will merge, creating a firm of more than 1,300 attorneys in 37 offices in the United States and United Kingdom. The merger, which will give Womble Bond Dickinson additional locations in the southwest and mountain west, will be effective on Jan. 1, 2025. The resulting firm will continue to operate as Womble Bond Dickinson under the leadership of CEO Merrick Benn and Vice Chair Kenneth Van Winkle. Womble Bond Dickinson opened an office in Nashville in 2022. It is run by managing partner Joshua A. Mullen.

The Nashville Bar Association (NBA) has announced the members of the 2025 Nashville Bar Foundation (NBF) Leadership Forum class. Of the new class, NBA President Erin Palmer Polly said, "This very select and diverse class will have the opportunity to develop exceptional leadership skills and foster strong professional relationships. We look forward to the positive impact that they will have in our profession and our community." The NBF established the Leadership Forum — a nine-month leadership program for lawyers with three to eight years of experience — in 2014 to bring together emerging leaders who participate in monthly workshops designed to help them realize their potential to benefit the legal profession and the local community.