The September/October issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is now accessible online and arriving in mailboxes soon! The cover story by Willie Santana takes an in-depth look at Hispanic naming conventions and how they are not widely understood in the institutions of government, including the courts. John Floyd explores the admissibility of a denial in court, while Eddy Smith reviews several important trusts and estates developments from this year and John Day clears up a common misconception about the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases in Tennessee. Past TBA President Jason Long reviews Dawn Coppock's eighth and final edition of "Coppock on Tennessee Adoption Law," and current TBA President Ed Lanquist Jr. encourages experienced lawyers to mentor new attorneys, and for those new to the profession to be receptive to mentorship in unexpected places. Enjoy these and other articles across the legal spectrum.

A recent LinkedIn post from Akshay Verma, a former legal operations chief at Meta and Coinbase and legal industry thought leader, has sparked a debate among corporate legal operations insiders: should companies require a law degree for legal operations roles? "By insisting on a J.D., companies are losing out on fantastic candidates who possess the real skills and experiences needed for legal ops. Not only are you attracting the wrong crowd, but you are missing out on great talent," Verma writes. "Legal ops is about strategic thinking, process optimization and leveraging technology and data to make legal departments more efficient. It’s not about drafting briefs or arguing in court." Law.com unpacks the varying viewpoints.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has recently published her memoir, "Lovely One." (The title, according to Jackson’s aunt, is the meaning of her first and middle names, Ketanji Onyika, in an African dialect.) In an interview with NPR, Jackson describes her confirmation hearing — during which many senators criticized her judicial philosophy — along with her multi-generational path to becoming the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. She also talks about her support for a binding code of ethics for the justices of the court.

Judge David H. Veile was sworn in Aug. 30 as circuit court judge for the 21st Judicial District Division III, which serves Williamson County. The ceremony took place in the Justice Cornelia A. Clark Courtroom at the Williamson County Historic Courthouse with retired Circuit Court Judge Mike Binkley administering the oath. Veile, a Franklin trial attorney and former police officer, won the Republican primary for the seat in March and ran unopposed in the August general election. Veile serves on the TBA Board Governors as a middle Tennessee governor. See photos or watch a livestream of the event.

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The Tennessee Star claims to have published 90 pages of the so-called manifesto of the Covenant School shooter, reports WKRN. In July, Davidson County Chancellor I'Ashea Myles ruled that the writings would not be made public, agreeing with the Covenant families that the shooter’s writings were protected by copyright laws and should not be treated as public records. In August, Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, announced his intention to appeal the ruling, stating that he believes the records should be open to the public to help form policy as lawmakers consider gun-related legislation in response to the shooting, which occurred in March 2023.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected former state Sen. Brian Kelsey's most recent effort to get his federal prison sentence for campaign finance fraud overturned. The Germantown Republican’s appeal hinged on the argument that prosecutors had reneged on the guidelines of his plea agreement, reports the Tennessee Journal. The original panel reviewed the petition for a rehearing and determined that the issues it raised “were fully considered upon the original submission and decision.” In July, the same court rejected his appeal to rescind his guilty plea.

Franklin-based Acadia Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest operators of psychiatric hospitals and treatment facilities, is the subject of a New York Times investigation. The newspaper looks into allegations that the hospital chain "lured patients into its facilities and held them against their will, even when detaining them was not medically necessary" in order to bill the patients' insurance, rather than out of a need for medical treatment. Tim Blair, an Acadia spokesman, said the patient examples cited by news outlet were not representative of many patients with positive experiences. Behavioral Health Business reports on the Times coverage, which focused primarily on four hospitals in Florida, Georgia and Missouri over a five-year period.

The Daily Memphian has an in depth look at the increasing number of women judges across the state, which is leading to an increase in mentors for new female judges — a development Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby says is a sign of progress for the legal profession. Today, one third of Tennessee's 230 judges are women, including Kirby, who was the first woman to serve on the Tennessee Court of Appeals and is the fourth female chief justice. Other "firsts" in the state include Bernice Donald, who was the first Black female judge in Tennessee when she was elected to Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court in 1982 and was the first Black female judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Julia Smith Gibbons became the first female trial court judge of record when she was appointed to the Shelby County Circuit Court in 1981. And Judge Camille McMullen was the first Black woman to serve on an intermediate court in the state when she was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in 2008. The paper interviewed a number of these judges to get their perspectives on the diminishing gender gap.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that a Tennessee law that prohibits gender-affirming medical care for minors violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The brief, filed in support of the federal government’s challenge to the law, contends that the Tennessee law impermissibly denies the fundamental right to medical autonomy for certain groups while allowing it for others. “Equal protection forbids differential treatment in the exercise of important constitutional rights absent the strongest justification, and Tennessee’s SB1 cannot withstand scrutiny under that standard,” the ABA brief says. Read more about the filing in this release.