The American Bar Association's (ABA) House of Delegates will vote Monday during the group's midyear meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, on a proposed resolution to oppose laws that ban teaching about race. Reuters reports that nearly a dozen ABA entities have jointly submitted a resolution opposing any federal, state or local laws or policies that “restrict the teaching and inclusion of studies on the experiences, roles and contributions of any individual or group” on the basis of their race, gender identity, sexual orientation or religion, among other identifiers. The proposal also opposes restrictions on books or other school resources that address those topics.

The American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) announced that it will honor Penny White with its Robert B. McKay Law Professor Award. The award recognizes law professors who have shown commitment to the advancement of justice, scholarship and the legal profession, demonstrated by outstanding contributions to the fields of tort, trial practice or insurance law. Until her retirement in 2022, White was the Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law and served as the director of the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution at the University of Tennessee College of Law. She taught courses in evidence, trial practice, pretrial litigation and negotiation and assisted with the law school’s various clinical and externship programs. The award will be presented at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, during the TIPS Networking Reception on Saturday at 6 p.m. EST at the Louisville Marriott Downtown.

University of Tennessee College of Law Dean and Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law Lonnie T. Brown Jr. will be honored at a reception Saturday evening at the American Bar Association’s Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. The event will take place from 5:30-7 p.m. EST at the Omni Louisville Hotel in the Commonwealth 1 room on the second floor. Any lawyers planning to be at the ABA meeting are invited to attend. View the invitation.

The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates will meet at the ABA's upcoming 2024 Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 5. The House has 31 resolutions on the agenda, including a measure requiring ABA-approved law schools to have broad free speech policies. The House encompasses 597 delegates from ABA-affiliated entities as well as state, local and specialty bar associations. Read more about issues to be debated.

The 2024 ABA Midyear Meeting will take place Jan. 31 through Feb. 5 in Louisville. Lawyers from across the country will gather for networking and learning opportunities, award presentations and governance meetings. Sessions at the conference will address qualified immunity, gun control, post-pandemic challenges for eviction cases, science in the courtroom, navigating racial equality after the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, and elevating the voice of Native American women attorneys. Learn more about the meeting on the ABA's website.

American Bar Association leaders briefed the Tennessee delegation to the ABA House of Delegates during a breakfast Monday morning in Denver. Among those speaking at the meeting were current ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross, House of Delegates Chair Gene Vance, ABA President-elect Bill Bay and incoming Board Secretary Marvin S.C. Dang. Later in the day, TBA Delegate and Belmont Law professor Lucian Dervan presented Resolution 502 before the House, and former TBA President and American Bar Endowment President Howard Vogel led a meeting of that body. See photos from the events. In other news from the ABA Annual Meeting, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke to the House of Delegates today and the ABA Task Force on Law, Society and the Judiciary issued its final report with specific recommendations for improving public trust and understanding of the judiciary. Read more about the programs being offered and proposals being considered by the House of Delegates this week in Denver.

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.

TBA leaders today discussed legal aid funding and other issues of importance to the legal profession in meetings with five members of the Tennessee congressional delegation and a number of legislative staffers. The TBA team met with Republican representatives David Kustoff of Memphis, Andy Ogles of Columbia, Scott DesJarlais of Winchester, Chuck Fleischmann of Chattanooga and John Rose of Cookeville. Staff members with Rep. Tim Burchett of Knoxville and Sen. Marsha Blackburn also met with TBA leaders. The sessions continue tomorrow with visits to the offices of Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty and Rep. Steve Cohn, D-Memphis. See photos from the meetings.

ABA Day 2023 is back in person this week in the nation’s capital. TBA President Tasha Blakney, President-elect Jim Barry, YLD President Brittany Faith, ABA Resource Committee Chair Jonathan Cole and Interim Executive Director Barry Kolar are in Washington, D.C., through Wednesday to build relationships with new House and Senate members and advocate for issues important to lawyers. The group has heard from ABA leaders on issues to be discussed in legislative meetings and from the Legal Services Corporation about the need to increase access to civil legal services. See the full schedule for the week.

Tennessee lawyers representing the state at the ABA’s Midyear Meeting in New Orleans heard updates on the profession from a variety of ABA leaders at the TBA’s annual delegation breakfast on Sunday. Among those addressing the group were ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross, ABA House of Delegates Chair Gene Vance, ABA President-elect Mary Smith and ABA Executive Director Jack Rives. The delegation, under the leadership of former TBA President John Tarpley, also heard from TBA President Tasha Blakney and took part in a Saturday reception honoring former TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson. See photos from those events here.