The Tennessee Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit brought by former BlueCross employee Heather Smith, who was fired after expressing her objection to being required to take a COVID vaccination. The Chattanoogan reports that the court directed Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton to have further proceedings after he had initially dismissed the case.

The Brennan Center for Justice has released a new report noting that State Reps. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, and Justin Jones, D-Nashville, were the first state or federal lawmakers in more than a century to be expelled for their viewpoints or speaking without permission. According to The Daily Memphian, the report argues that the expulsions of Pearson and Jones were discriminatory, unconstitutional and without recent precedent, and the Tennessee House’s actions, showed “all the hallmarks of suppressing speech based on its viewpoint.”

The Knoxville Bar Association's Bankruptcy Section, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) and with the support and involvement of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight, will hold a Debt Relief Clinic to provide pro bono legal services to income-eligible consumer debtors. LAET staff will screen potential clients and give instructions to complete a questionnaire and bring it along with tax returns and pay stubs to the clinic. The clinic will be held on Aug. 26 from 9 a.m.-noon EDT, in person at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty Street, Knoxville 37919.

Multiple sources, including the Associated Press, are reporting that former President Donald Trump has been indicted on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents. The indictment was unsealed today by the Department of Justice. The charges include counts of retaining classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes. According to the indictment, “The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.” 

A new report from the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Second Look Commission finds that child abuse costs the state between $3 and $5 billion each year. That cost is mostly covered by Tennessee taxpayers in increased healthcare costs, special education services, child welfare, juvenile justice and other publicly funded programs for survivors. The Tennessee Lookout reports that Kylie Graves, director of the Tennessee Second Look Commission, says she “hopes the startling figures the report has produced will bolster arguments for increased investments in a broad range of public supports and interventions that include, but go beyond, the $1.35 billion budget for the Department of Children’s Services.”

Next week's TBA Annual Convention in Knoxville will feature a two-part panel discussion on how to improve your own wellbeing and the impact of mentoring on group wellbeing. This CLE is a joint presentation by the TBA Young Lawyer's Division, the TBA Attorney Well Being Committee and the TBA Mentoring Committee. The program will feature a panel of judges and attorneys who will candidly discuss the challenges of managing wellbeing in the legal field both on an individual level and a group level. If you can't make it to the full convention you can still sign up here for this program.

Franklin-based financial advisor Dave Ramsey and his company Ramsey Solutions are being sued for $150 million for negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and violation of consumer protection laws, the Tennessean reports. Seventeen plaintiffs say they lost thousands of dollars based on Ramsey's advice and endorsement of the Timeshare Exit Team as a company that would get people out of their timeshare agreements. However, he did not disclose that he received over $30 million for the endorsements as well as a portion of the fees paid to Timeshare Exit Team by people he referred to the service.

Legal sector jobs increased by 700 in May, totaling just over 1.1 million, despite layoffs at some of the country’s highest-grossing law firms. Reuters reports that overall U.S. job growth accelerated in May, but a jump in the unemployment rate to a seven-month high of 3.7% suggested that labor market conditions are easing.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced yesterday that he is joining 17 other states suing the Biden administration over a new rule to regulate immigration following the expiration of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Title 42 public health order. Also this week, the AG's office said that it has joined 21 other state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of two Florida parents appealing a federal court’s decision to dismiss their lawsuit against Leon County Schools. The lawsuit claimed that the school spoke to the child about gender identity without the parents’ consent.

Nashville law firm Sherrard Roe Voigt Harbison is representing the state in a lawsuit filed by Brian Manookian, who wants access to records in the sexual harassment case of former Rep. Scotty Campbell. The Tennessee Lookout reports that Manookian filed a challenge in Davidson County Chancery Court concerning the Office of Legislative Administration’s refusal to open records in the case, in which Campbell was found to have sexually harassed a 19-year-old intern who worked at the General Assembly. A hearing is set for June 30.