Dr. Catherine Burks-Brooks, a member of the Freedom Riders with a Nashville connection, has died at age 83. WPLN reports that she was among the Nashville students who joined the original 13 Freedom Riders in May 1961, after violent attacks by white mobs in Alabama. Burks-Brooks’ participation in the Freedom Rides led to her expulsion just nine days before graduation from Tennessee A & I, now Tennessee State University. She worked as a social worker and an entrepreneur before moving to the Bahamas in the 1970s. In 1979, she returned to Birmingham, where she served for many years as a substitute teacher in Birmingham City Schools. In 2008, Tennessee State University awarded her and the other expelled Freedom Riders an honorary doctorate.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division will host a virtual name change clinic in partnership with Legal Aid Society of East Tennessee and Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee this Saturday. During the clinic, volunteer attorneys will meet with clients in Zoom breakout rooms to help clients fill out name change petitions and give counsel and advice on the name change process. A training about the process and how to fill out the forms will be provided ahead of the clinic. The clinic starts at 9 a.m. CDT and is fully virtual. Sign up to volunteer at this link.

More than 31,000 Tennesseans have lost their health care coverage as TennCare coverage due to the COVID-19 pandemic tapers off. The Tennessee Lookout reports that an “unwinding report” details that, as of April, slightly more than 80,000 people were eligible to have TennCare coverage renewed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government temporarily prohibited Tennessee from requiring annual renewals and removing program participants, allowing TennCare participants to continue to receive coverage. The agency said the policy bumped up membership by 25%.

The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily reinstated Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, allowing a ban on treatments that include hormone blockers and surgery to take immediate effect. The Associated Press reports that a three-judge panel voted 2-1 to reverse a Nashville federal judge’s order that prevented the law from taking effect July 1. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti praised the ruling in a statement, saying “The case is far from over, but this is a big win.”

The city of Memphis Friday filed a motion to dismiss the civil suit from Tyre Nichols’ mother and estate, saying that Nichols’ death was the product of “five rogue police officers” and the city had no hand in the man’s death. According to the Daily Memphian, the city said it should not be a party to the suit because it fired the officers charged in Nichols’ death and disbanded the unit they belonged to.

Jennifer Sink is leaving her position as attorney for the city of Memphis to take a position at Memphis Light, Gas and Water. The Daily Memphian takes a look at her tenure at City Hall under Mayor Jim Strickland which included the COVID-19 pandemic and several lawsuits against the city. Sink says that much of her work — like a lot of what city government does — probably has gone unnoticed by residents. “There’s a lot of little things that we’ve done that maybe aren’t glamorous, maybe don’t make the news, but they’re important, and they have a ripple effect on people’s livelihood and their lives."

Dresden attorney and former Democratic lawmaker Roy Herron passed away on Sunday due to injuries sustained in a jet ski accident on July 1. He was 69. The former chair of the Tennessee Democratic party, Herron served a combined 26 years in the state’s House and Senate, where he became floor leader and caucus chair for the Democrats. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Herron was also one of the first students to earn joint degrees in divinity and law from Vanderbilt University. Herron is the author of three books, including "Things Held Dear: Soul Stories for My Sons." He recently attended TBA’s convention in Knoxville to participate in a book signing. TBA President Jim Barry says, “Roy was a credit to our profession and a great Tennessean. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends, and his family is in our thoughts and prayers.” Herron is survived by his wife of 36 years, Rev. Nancy Carol Miller-Herron, his three sons, John, Rick and Benjamin; his brother, Ben; and many cousins, nephews and nieces. Funeral arrangements are pending, but services are expected to be held on Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Martin.

Three free legal help clinics are available in Middle Tennessee this week through Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. To volunteer contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131.

• July 11 at the Gallatin Civic Center from 4:30-5:30 p.m. CDT, 210 Albert Gallatin Ave., Gallatin 37066
• July 12 at Operation Stand Down (veterans only) from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. CDT, 1125 12th South, Nashville 37203
• July 13 at Greenhouse Ministries from 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m. CDT, 309 South Academy St., Murfreesboro 37130

A veterans-only legal help clinic will be held in Knoxville on July 12 at the Knox County Public Defender's Office from noon-2 p.m. EDT, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919.

Salah Ayesh, a former board member of the Islamic Center of Tennessee (ICT), is being sued by the mosque and has been barred from entering the facility by a restraining order. The ICT board ousted Ayesh after he entered the business office without permission, sought to hire a consulting firm to complete a forensic audit and made an attempt to fire an imam. The Tennessean reports that Davidson County Chancellor I'Ashea L. Myles granted ICT's request for a restraining order on Monday, saying “employees and parishioners may face further damage, harassment, threats and interference with its legitimate business.”

The Mid-South Commercial Law Institute has elected five new directors to serve five-year terms: Justin Campbell of Thompson Burton PLLC, Michael W. Ewell of Frantz, McConnell & Seymour LLP, Laura F. Ketcham of Miller & Martin PLLC, Elizabeth Parrott of McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce LLC and Gray Waldron of Dunham Hildebrand PLLC. Officers are President James E. Bailey III of Butler Snow LLP, Vice President/President-elect Paul G. Jennings of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, Secretary Cynthia N. Podis of Podis & Podis, Treasurer Stephen D. Barham of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC and Immediate Past President Shanna Fuller Veach, Career Law Clerk to Hon. Suzanne H. Bauknight.