Tennessee Bar Association staff and leaders are in Denver this week joining colleagues from across the country for a series of bar leadership meetings. Senior staff members, led by Executive Director Sheree Wright, are taking part in National Association of Bar Professionals seminars on current trends, wellness, cybersecurity, technology and other topics. TBA President Jim Barry and other leaders will take part in National and Southern Conference of Bar Presidents meetings later in the week and delegates to the ABA House of Delegates will also join in at a Sunday night reception honoring TBA Immediate Past President Tasha Blakney.

This month, Millions of Conversations is supporting a series of community conversations centered on navigating difficult and pertinent conversations on public safety with diverse community stakeholders in Davidson, Williamson and other nearby Tennessee counties. The primary topic of discussion will be gun culture and responsibility in Tennessee in preparation for the General Assembly's Special Session on Public Safety set to begin on Aug. 21. Join other community members on Aug. 8 from 6:30-9 p.m. CDT at Element Vanderbilt West End, 4 City Blvd., Nashville 37209. Click here for more information and to RSVP for this free event.

Metro Nashville is seeking permission to repurpose unused COVID quarantine housing pods, including as temporary housing for those transitioning out of homelessness. Twenty-five pods were installed in the parking lot of Nashville Rescue Mission but unused from October 2021 until May 2022, and 83 more units are in storage in an undisclosed location. The pods remained unoccupied as the state fire marshal’s office never gave clearance to the Metro Department of Codes and Building Safety. The pods were bought for $1.2 million via funding from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They can hold two people and connect to electricity, heat and air conditioning. If approved, officials plan to have the codes department, health department, local fire marshal and office of homeless services convene to make a plan for use of the pods. The Nashville Post has the story.

The University of Memphis Law Review, in planning its Spring 2024 Symposium, seeks papers and presenters exploring proposals that would resolve one or more of the remaining legal issues surrounding environmental issues impacting marginalized communities. Papers will be edited and published in Volume 54, Book 4 of The University of Memphis Law Review, and authors will be invited to present at the hybrid in person and digital Symposium in February of 2024. If you are interested in participating, please submit a manuscript or abstract to Symposium Editor Ashlie Gozikowski. The deadline for submitting a manuscript or abstract is Oct. 1.

James Warren Bradford, dean emeritus of the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, died on July 27. He was 76. Bradford earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida before earning his law degree at Vanderbilt. He served in the U.S. Air National Guard from 1969 to 1975 while stationed at Berry Field. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1997, while serving as CEO of AFG Industries. After earning his law degree, Bradford moved to Kingsport and practiced law at Hunter Smith & Davis from 1973 to 1984. He joined AFG industries Inc. as general counsel in 1984 and was named the company’s CEO in 1992. He left AFG in 1999 to serve as CEO of United Glass Corp. Bradford joined the faculty of the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in 2002 and was named dean in 2005. He retired in 2013.

Three former dancers for Grammy-winning singer Lizzo accused her of creating a hostile work environment, including weight shaming and sexually denigrating behavior, in a lawsuit released on Tuesday. Reuters reports that the plaintiffs claim they were coerced into touching nude performers at an Amsterdam strip club in late February and that one was pressured to participate in a nude photo shoot to stay in a dance competition despite her discomfort. The lawsuit also alleges that Lizzo’s dance team captain harassed the dancers by subjecting them to her religious beliefs against their will.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against Nashville-based HCA Healthcare over claims the company broke the law by refusing to promote an employee because of his race, age and national origin. According to the Tennessean, the suit alleges that HCA denied a promotion to a 58-year-old Asian employee, who was hired in 2019 at the company's Osceola, Florida location, in favor of a 37-year-old white woman who did not meet the listed qualifications for the position. The Asian employee did, however, meet the qualifications, according to the EEOC. The lawsuit further claims that the Asian employee was subject to retaliation, including disciplinary write-ups and verbal berating, after he complained about being discriminated against, and he was later fired.

Gov. Bill Lee confirmed that he will make an official call for a special legislative session and will sponsor several bills, including one dealing with extreme risk orders of protection, despite opposition from some Republican lawmakers. The Tennessee Lookout reports that Lee said recently he also plans to push legislation on juvenile justice, mental health and violent crime, but declined to give more details. “Tennessee will be a safer state as a result of the efforts of the legislation and the legislators who are engaged in the process of this special session on public safety,” Lee said.

Registration is open for this year's Disability Law Forum, which will be in person for the first time since 2019! Make plans to join your colleagues on Oct. 20 at Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club in Hendersonville. Attendees can earn up to three general and one dual CLE credits. Sessions will cover a variety of topics applicable to disability law practitioners, including ways to prepare a successful GRID case, a session featuring best practices from a vocational expert, a DDS/OHO update and an ethics course designed to help you "un-stick" stuck cases. A happy hour will follow the day's programming.

Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused former Tennessee state senator Brian Kelsey of intentionally delaying his sentencing after he unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw his guilty plea in his federal campaign finance laws case. Kelsey, a Republican from Germantown, has engaged his third set of attorneys in the matter, prompting Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Klopf to compare switching up attorneys to “throwing a wrench in the gears again.” The Associated Press reports that Judge Waverly Crenshaw has set Kelsey's new sentencing date for Aug. 11.