The July/August 2022 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal features several articles on different aspects of family law. The cover story from Miles Mason Sr. is a step-by-step guide to the warning signs, testing and monitoring of alcoholism as it pertains to custody cases; Marlene Moses' column weighs the merits of joint custody and the child's best interest; and Matt and Kelly Frère offer guidance on what to do when your elderly client has no one to rely on for help with personal affairs. John P. Williams continues his etymological exploration with the history of the word "filibuster" and Stroud Vaughn explains the details of working with IT experts on software contracts. Also get a recap of the 141st Annual TBA Convention and read new President Tasha C. Blakney's goals for the year. Read the issue here.

The July/August issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal will hit newsstands (and mailboxes) in the next week and a half! Featuring convention coverage, family law information in light of alcohol use and custody cases, John Williams' helpful definition of "filibuster" and Russell Fowler's historical deep dive, we're excited to get this issue in your hands.

Enjoy this quick, summery inspiration from an often-quoted novel.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division’s Diversity Committee has created and produced a four-part podcast series in honor of the first anniversary of Juneteenth as a federal holiday. New episodes of BarBuzz drop every month—the June episode was released last week—and the Legislative Team wraps up the 2022 Legislative Session for listeners. Access all of our podcasts on the TBA Podcast Network or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher and TuneIn.

Believing “[t]he society which is satisfied is lost,” as both governor of Massachusetts and president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge was an active and innovative administrator. As the 30th president, the frugal Republican balanced budgets, slashed taxes, advocated for the civil rights of African Americans and women, and fought child labor. Columnist Russell Fowler writes about Coolidge and what we can learn from his style and the way he governed.

The Center for Innovative Public Health Research tells us that one in 25 online Americans has been threatened with or had explicit images shared online without the subject’s consent, John Day writes in his column. The common law of torts gives victims of revenge porn potential recourse via the torts of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress or intrusion upon seclusion. In 2016, Tennessee joined most states by enacting Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-318, which created the crime of “unlawful exposure” to address some aspects of nonconsensual porn. Violating this law is a Class A misdemeanor. Read about a new federal law, Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, effective Oct. 1, that expands the rights of revenge porn victims and certain others.

When a fictional Memphis lawyer takes a pro bono case for a man in Russia, he learns just how close to home the issues turn out to be. This story, by Belmont Law student Brandon Dragan, won the Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction from the American Bar Association in 2021. Read Advokat: A Story with Ties to Russia, Ukraine, Memphis ... and Pro Bono.

Tennessee's state mock trial champion won eighth place at the virtual 2022 National High School Mock Trial Competition May 5-7. Nashville's Montgomery Bell Academy, which took home the top prize at the Tennessee state competition in March, was edged out by the Arizona team. Student Devan Durrett was named a top 10 witness. The team was coached by attorneys Wade Cowan and Tracy Hancock, with Michael Stewart serving as faculty advisor. View complete results from the 2022 national competition and read more about Tennessee's mock trial program. 

Edward Phillips and Brandon Morrow in their previous column discussed the hot-off-the-press Public Chapter No. 6 (now codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 14-1-101 et seq.) that prohibits most employers from taking an adverse action against employees who object to providing proof of their vaccine status. That law, like almost all others, has some exceptions. In this case, the prohibition on requiring proof of vaccine status does not apply to most health care providers regulated by CMS or certain federally regulated employers. But a new state law takes a different approach than its predecessor. Read the details in "The Law at Work."

Driven in large part by the #MeToo Movement, private arbitration agreements — particularly in the area of sexual harassment — have come under severe criticism over the past several years. On Feb. 10, after years of legislative negotiations and on a bipartisan basis, the U.S. Congress passed the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021.” On March 3, President Biden signed the Act into law. The Act amends the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) by adding a Chapter 4, and while it appears straightforward at first blush, it raises numerous questions in theory and practice. Mark C. Travis explains.