After an initial attempt in February to cancel a contract for legal services for immigrant children, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now fully canceled its contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, which provided federal funding for lawyers who represent unaccompanied immigrant children. The Daily Memphian reports that the decision will affect hundreds of children across the state who have legal representation through groups such as Latino Memphis, Advocates for Immigrant Rights (AIR) and Mid-South Immigration Advocates (MIA). “It’s an existential threat to our organization as it represents the vast majority of our budget for both our Memphis and Nashville offices,” said MIA legal director Sally Joyner. According to Joyner, last year’s federal contract was $902,346 or around 80% of MIA's budget. That money is going to have to be replaced somehow, she says, because groups still have ethical obligations to represent these children. The American Bar Association (ABA) also weighed in on the issue, saying, "Without specialized children’s programs and attorneys, many of these kids — some as young as toddlers — will be forced to navigate adversarial immigration proceedings alone. Legal services providers help ensure that children’s immigration proceedings are fair and efficient, alleviating undue burdens on judges and prosecutors, while protecting children’s due process rights." The Associated Press has more.

The Appalachian Public Interest and Environmental Law (APIEL) Conference is an annual gathering of lawyers, scientists, students and members of the general public to discuss environmental issues and happenings in Appalachia, public policy and grassroots initiatives. The 16th annual event will be held Oct. 25-26 at the University of Tennessee College of Law. The conference is accepting proposals until May 1 for presentations, panels, workshops and discussions that address critical issues in environmental law and justice. Contact conference organizers Samantha Brooks or Sydney Ross with questions.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced last week that more relief money will be on its way to East Tennessee by March 21. The funds are a part of a more than $100 billion aid package that Congress passed in late December 2024. The American Relief Act was signed into law by former President Joe Biden and offered a 90-day deadline for funds to be dispersed. The act allocates $8 billion to rebuild damaged roads and highways, $12 billion in grants to help communities and individuals recover and $2.2 billion in low-interest loans for businesses, nonprofits and homeowners; aids farmers and ranchers; and gives the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) $29 million to help to pay for temporary housing, home repairs, medical expenses or other disaster-related needs. Knox News has the story.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti has announced that a bipartisan coalition of states has reached a final settlement — pending court approval — in a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), which will end the NCAA’s NIL (name, image and likeness) recruiting ban. Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, along with the Florida, District of Columbia and New York attorneys general, filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA in January 2024, alleging that the NIL recruiting ban created anticompetitive restrictions that violate federal antitrust law and harm current and future student-athletes. Read more a press release from the AG's office.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public statement Tuesday after President Donald Trump's call to impeach a federal judge who ruled against his administration in a high-profile deportation case. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” Roberts said. In his 2024 year-end report, Roberts reiterated concerns about judges’ safety and condemned elected officials who intimidate judges or defy court rulings. The Hill has more.

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) has announced the appointment of Caitlin Torney as its new director of career services and alumni relations. Torney earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Since 2020, Torney has served as director of pro bono for Legal Aid of East Tennessee. She also has served as co-chair of the Knoxville Bar Association's Access to Justice Committee since 2023. LMU Law Vice President and Dean Matt Lyon said, “[Caitlin] is uniquely situated to build on the foundation our Career Services Office has created with employers throughout our region and beyond, while also expanding pro bono and service opportunities for our students and graduates.” Read more in a press release from the school.

The Energy, Environment & Land Use (EELU) Program at Vanderbilt Law recently announced the launch of the Private Climate Governance (PCG) Lab, which will serve as a hub for innovative scholarship, resources and student learning opportunities in the emerging field of private climate governance. According to the school, the lab provides feasible solutions to private actors — ranging from individuals to corporations, financial institutions, religious organizations and advocacy groups — that can effectively contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. “Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time, and it is more important now than ever to engage everyone in the fight,” said Ethan Thorpe, inaugural fellow for the lab. “The Lab will provide a platform for educational and practical resources that support interdisciplinary climate action,” he said. Read more in a press release.

The Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County abruptly ceased operations on March 5. The agency served as a “one-stop shop” for victims of domestic violence, aiding victims in obtaining orders of protection in coordination with police and the district attorney’s office, and connecting families to housing, food and other resources. The Tennessee Lookout reports that federal funding for victims of crime in Tennessee has dwindled in recent years from a peak of $68 million in 2018 to $16 million last year. The center received $742,000 in federal crime victim funding in 2020, according to the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs (OCJP), which distributes federal funding to Tennessee nonprofits. This year, that funding was about $132,000. The OCJP received notice March 6 that the center had shuttered the previous day. Ethel Hilliard, the center’s executive director, “stated that the closure was due to a board decision related to financial issues,” an OCJP spokesperson said. A group of advocates is asking the state legislature to provide additional funding.

A bill allowing interest rates to increase at payday lending places is now headed to Gov. Bill Lee's desk, reports News Channel 5. HB775/SB694 would allow for any amount of $100 or more to have an effective borrow rate of 36%. Sponsored by Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, and Sen. Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, the bill passed in the Senate along party lines, but in the House a few Republicans voted against the measure for a breakdown of 61-26-8. One Republican opponent, Rep. Mike Sparks, R-Smyrna, said he opposed the bill for raising interest rates on the working poor. House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, said it was time to update state law: "We adjust [the rate] from time to time, to allow those companies to still be able to survive, even though they were taking very high risk loans for folks ... Those companies have to come to us, and prove to us there has to be an adjustment before we’re comfortable raising that limit."

Wally Dietz, legal director for Metro Nashville Government, suffered a minor stroke at the office on Monday and was taken to the hospital. Alex Apple, spokesperson for Mayor Freddie O’Connell, stated the following in an email to The Nashville Banner: “Director Dietz became ill at work, and he is in the hospital, but he is doing well.” The paper reports that during his nearly four years with Metro Legal, Dietz’s most prominent role has been advocating for the jurisdiction in legal actions against the state. The city is due in appellate court later this week to fight a state law that would cut the size of the metro council in half.