The Tennessee Bar Association will be closed Nov. 21-25 in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. Offices will reopen on Nov. 28 at 8 a.m. CST. 

The Tennessee Bar Association will be closed Nov. 21-25 in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. Offices will reopen on Nov. 28 at 8 a.m. CST. 

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy is hosting an event at Vanderbilt University’s Student Life Center Ballroom to examine the potential impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on the perceived politicization of federal courts. Panelists with experience as White House counsel in Republican and Democratic administrations are expected to discuss the intricacies of the federal judiciary’s nomination and confirmation process. Additionally, this expert group, including CBS News’ chief judicial correspondent, will highlight which decisions will generate headlines in the coming year and what effect, if any, the major decisions of 2022 had on the midterm elections. The free event will be held Nov. 29 at 11 a.m. CST. Advance registration is required. 

James Edward Wise, 90, of Memphis died on Nov. 4 and was remembered by family and friends in a memorial service at Temple Israel on Nov. 6. Wise was born and raised in Sumner, Mississippi. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1953 and from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1956, when he joined the U.S. Navy. Following his military service, Wise worked at a trial attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Tampa. In 1965, he returned to the mid-south to join the general practice law firm later known as Armstrong Allen. In 1996, Wise and several colleagues left Armstrong Allen to join others and form a regional labor and employment law firm known as Kiesewetter Wise Kaplan Schwimmer & Prather. He continued with Kiesewetter Wise until it became part of the international labor and employment practice of Littler Mendelson in 2012. He retired from the active practice of law in 2016, though he continued to mentor and share his expertise with those who entered the field.

Almost 550 guests joined the Tennessee Innocence Project for an evening of music and inspiration at the Inspired by Innocence fundraiser on Oct. 27. It was the Tennessee Innocence Project's largest event since its founding in 2019, raising more than $340,000. Guests lit up the Music City Center with tea lights — 95 lights each representing one year wrongfully served in prison by each of the organization’s four exonerees — Shane Garrett, Joyce Watkins, Charlie Dunn and Claude Garrett. An additional 318 lights were later lit, each symbolizing one year lost in prison by the organization’s 12 current clients waiting to be exonerated. In total, 413 lights represented the 413 years served in prison by TIP clients. Read the full press release and see photos from the event.

FedEx pilots, represented by the Airline Pilots Association, and FedEx Express sat down for their first session with a federal mediator last week to assist in ongoing contract negotiations. The pilots and FedEx have been in negotiations for the past 18 months, “with pilots seeking adjustments to their pensions and other quality-of-life benefits.” The Commercial Appeal has the story.

State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) last week introduced Senate Bill 3, which bans drag shows in public, reports The Hill. SB3 is one of the first bills filed for the 113th legislative session, which begins in January. LGBTQ+ events have recently been disrupted in both Memphis and Jackson, causing organizers to cancel or modify their plans abruptly, and some have raised concerns over the First Amendment rights of drag performers, according to the Jackson Sun.

The Chattanoogan reported Friday that the bridge at Exit 11 on Interstate 75 will be renamed in memory of the late Mike Carter, Hamilton County judge and state legislator. The dedication ceremony will take place Friday at 11:30 a.m. EST and will be led by State Rep. Greg Vital.

A 13-year-old resident of Hollis Academy, a facility for teens in state custody, is suing the facility and its parent company for neglect, stemming from an October 2021 incident. The Tennessean reports that a fight on the basketball court escalated quickly, and the youth cracked his head on the concrete while another resident punched him in the face and head. He was flown from the hospital in Waynesboro to Vanderbilt Medical Center because doctors feared his injuries could result in paralysis. The suit alleges that the staff knew the teen was in danger after being threatened by another resident and needed to be removed from the facility.

Hazard Law in Brentwood is seeking a full-time associate attorney in its business practice. Areas of focus include business transactions, entity structure and formation, commercial agreements, corporate governance and general business counseling. The candidate should have three to seven years of corporate or business transactional experience and be admitted to practice law in Tennessee. Read more information on our JobLink posting.