Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) has announced the hiring of Justin Bailey as general counsel. Bailey was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee from September 2008 to October 2013. He then spent four years as litigation counsel for International Paper, before joining FedEx Freight as a senior attorney in June 2017. In December 2020, he was named senior counsel at FedEx Freight. In April 2022, he was made associate general counsel of compliance at Varsity Spirit. The Commercial Appeal has more.

In October 2023, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s administration announced that the Office of Community Safety had been awarded a nearly $2 million Department of Justice grant to develop a “Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative.” With three years of funding, the initiative would “take a public health, community-focused approach to address the root causes of violence in Nashville’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.” Nearly eight months later, and as Nashville enters the historically violence-prone summer, the project is still in its early stages and has made little progress, according to The Nashville Banner.

According to new data from the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate rose slightly up to 4%, reports The Hill. Economists had predicted an additional 185,000 jobs and maintaining April's 3.9% unemployment rate. The Federal Reserve will vote next week on interest rates. The central bank has maintained rates at a range of 5.25% to 5.5% since July 2023 in an effort to curb inflation, which fell to 3.4% in April from its 40-year high of 9.1% in June of 2022. “After a lower-than-expected April jobs report, the labor market bounced back, revealing its ongoing strength,” Joe Gaffoglio, president of Mutual of America Capital Management, said in a statement.

Join your colleagues in Memphis June 12-15 for the TBA's Annual Convention, the largest annual gathering of the Tennessee legal community. This year’s convention theme “A Bridge to the Future” reflects the historic role lawyers play in society, while looking ahead to how technology will affect the legal profession for years to come. Online registration for the TBA's Annual Convention closes at 11:59 p.m. CDT on June 9. Only on-site registrations will be accepted after that point. There are a limited number of hotel rooms available in the room block.

Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning book and Academy Award winning movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" has rekindled interest in the role lawyers play in leading their communities. This highly interactive three part series, taught by Doug Blaze and Buck Lewis — founders of the Institute for Professional Leadership at UT Law — will 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. Sessions will take place virtually on July 31, Aug. 28 and Sept. 19. The full program qualifies for 4.5 dual hours of CLE. Register online for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

New lawyers were welcomed to the legal profession at swearing ceremonies in Knoxville and Nashville this month. Representatives from the TBA and local bar associations were on hand to congratulate the new admittees. See photos from the events.

Join the Nashville School of Law (NSL) on June 7 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel to honor the NSL Class of 1974 on its 50th anniversary. In addition, Nashville attorney Bill Harbison will be honored for his community service, including 15 years as a contracts professor at the law school.

The Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) and Bradley partner each month to provide free business-oriented legal services to Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits. Assistance includes business formation and corporate governance, review of contracts and guidance in navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Registration is now open for the June 20 clinic. Clients should register by June 17. Attorneys interested in volunteering should email vlpa@abcnashville.org.

Judge Julia Smith Gibbons with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals was honored last week with a portrait unveiling at the Shelby County Courthouse. Gibbons was appointed to the Tennessee Circuit Court for Shelby County in 1981 by then-Gov. Lamar Alexander at time when the judiciary was made up of only 10% women, making her the first female judge for a trial court of record in Tennessee. In her remarks at the event, Gibbons asked current and former female judges to stand up, saying, “The legal profession is more diverse in many ways than it was in 1981, and we’re better for it.” The Daily Memphian has the story and photos from the event or watch a video from the ceremony.

New lawyers were welcomed to the legal profession at swearing ceremonies in Knoxville and Nashville this week. Representatives from the TBA and local bar associations were on hand to congratulate the new admittees. See photos from today’s events.