Gov. Bill Lee has announced that his seventh State of the State Address will take place on Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. CST. The speech will be presented in the House Chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol. In the announcement, Gov. Lee emphasized Tennessee's role as a leader in opportunity, security and freedom, and expressed his commitment to innovation for the state's future. He also indicated that he would share his budget and legislative priorities for the year during the address. The address will be live streamed on the governor’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

At its January meeting this past weekend, the TBA Board of Governors certified election filing results. One contested election will be held this year for the office of vice president. Nashville attorneys Amy Bryant and John Farringer are both running to become TBA’s president in 2027-2028. TBA members will receive an email tomorrow with more information about the candidates. Electronic voting will begin on Jan. 31 and close on Feb. 14. Watch for an email with a link to the ballot from Intelliscan Inc.

The board also declared election results for uncontested seats with seven individuals deemed to be elected because they were the only duly qualified candidate for that seat. Finally, the board declared a vacancy in the three positions: Fourth District Governor, East Tennessee Governor and young lawyer delegate to the ABA House of Delegates (position 3). To be considered for any of these positions, email TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright at barED@tnbar.org with a statement of interest and resume by March 3. The board will consider nominees at its March 20 meeting.

For positions in the TBA House of Delegates, the House met on Jan. 17 to declare the election of 25 uncontested delegates. They will take office on June 11. It also declared a vacancy in 13 seats. To be considered for any of these positions, email TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright at barED@tnbar.org no later than March 3. See the full list of certified candidates and all available vacancies on the TBA website.

A proposed Metro Nashville law detailing how police surveillance technology can be used across Davidson County won approval on the first of three readings last week. According to the Tennessean, the measure would allow the use of a “community safety camera network” and outline where such cameras can be installed, who can access them and how they may be used. The proposal specifies that public safety cameras would not be allowed in locations where there is an expectation of privacy and requires the Metro Nashville Police Department to post a map of any cameras it owns and operates on its website. The next vote is expected on Feb. 4. Last month, the Nashville Metro Council voted against a resolution to approve Fusus, a software program that would have allowed the police department to access security camera footage from willing private business owners. The city of Knoxville passed similar legislation earlier this month.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing the family of David Batts, a former Knoxville Area Transit employee who died after leaving the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on Jan. 7. Crump, along with the Batts family, is calling for the immediate release of all footage related to Batts' death, Knox News reports. The Batts family met with Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen last week, and she informed them that her office would not bring charges against jail employees. Batts' autopsy revealed he died from meningitis and also had fentanyl in his system. In a statement, Allen said meningitis led to Batts' "assaultive or resistive" behavior and “based on my review of the body camera footage and the Medical Examiner’s preliminary findings, I have concluded that the officers involved responded to Mr. Batts’ assaultive and resistive behavior with appropriate force under the circumstances." Knox News requested video footage of Batts in the jail earlier this month, and the sheriff’s office responded last week, saying it expects to release the footage in the coming weeks.

Fort, Holloway & Rogers LLC has announced that Stuart Saylor has been named partner. Saylor also has been appointed managing partner, and the firm will officially change its name to Fort, Holloway & Saylor LLC. The firm focuses on family law, estate planning and criminal defense from offices in Franklin and Columbia.  Read more in the firm’s tongue-in-cheek announcement.

Tennessee ended 2024 with an unemployment rate of 3.6% in December, well below the U.S. rate, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.6% in December, up one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month. Despite the uptick, Tennessee’s unemployment rate remains five-tenths of a percentage point lower than the national rate of 4.1%, Clarksville Online reports. Between November and December, Tennessee employers added 500 nonfarm jobs, with the health care and social assistance sector seeing the largest gains, followed by local government and the real estate, rental and leasing sectors.

Attorney volunteers are needed on March 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST to help score the District 7 high school mock trial competition. The competition will take place at the Rutherford County Judicial Center, 116 W. Lytle St., Murfreesboro 37130. Contact Morgan Hanna for more information and to volunteer. Attorney volunteers are also needed on Feb.19-20 and Feb. 24-25 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. EST in Chattanooga to help score Tennessee's largest mock trial district competition. Click here to volunteer for the District 5 competition. Shelby County needs volunteer lawyers and 2L and 3L law students for their competition on Feb. 20-22 at the Shelby County Courthouse, 140 Adams Ave., Memphis  38103. Click here to volunteer for District 14.  Davidson County is seeking volunteers on the evening of Feb. 21 and the morning of Feb. 22. No mock trial experience is necessary. Click here to select specific times to volunteer for District 9. Those who would like to volunteer at another district competition may find a list of all events on the TBA website.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has rescinded job offers to law students set to join the agency this year. The cuts, made this week, affect third-year law students who had been accepted into the Justice Department’s highly competitive Attorney General's Honors Program, which places new law graduates in entry-level jobs throughout the agency’s divisions, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. According to Reuters, President Donald Trump announced a temporary hiring freeze on federal jobs in a speech following his inauguration and followed up with an executive order calling for the development of a federal hiring plan to "restore merit to government service" within 120 days. It is unclear whether the job revocations extend beyond the DOJ. Students whose offers were rescinded this week received a brief email from the DOJ’s Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management, attributing the decision to the "hiring freeze announced Jan. 20."

Following Wednesday’s shooting at a Nashville high school, a local organization has begun raising money for the victims. The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has activated its Nashville School Violence Support and Healing Fund. Funds raised will go to the victims’ families, those who were injured, and students and staff who experienced emotional trauma. The organization says it is following a playbook established after the Covenant School shooting in 2023. Donations can be made on their website.

The Shelby County Veterans Court will have a new leader following the recent retirement of Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Bill Anderson. Current General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Christian Johnson will take over the court, effective March 1, the day Anderson officially retires, the Daily Memphian reports. The Veterans Court serves as a diversion program for criminal defendants who have served in the military, offering mental health and substance abuse counseling, as well as assistance in finding resources such as housing and employment. Johnson, a former Marine Corps Reserve and Army National Guard member, focused on his military background during his 2022 campaign. “I’m going to come in and continue things as they are and make sure everyone’s comfortable,” Johnson said. “If there are changes, they would be down the road, but I can’t foresee any.”