The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) effort to broadly ban noncompete agreements faces its first big legal test July 3, the Business Journal reports. A Texas judge is expected to rule then on a preliminary injunction against the ban. If the injunction is approved, the FTC will have to halt implementation of the new rule until the legal process concludes. The new rule would impact 30 million Americans and thousands of businesses, releasing a multitude of workers from existing clauses. The FTC contends the agreements, which limit how and when a worker can find a new job within their industry, are burdensome for workers and stifle economic mobility. Business groups contend noncompete agreements are necessary to protect trade secrets, to encourage investment in research and development, and to foster business growth.

A federal judge today temporarily blocked a Biden administration rule expanding federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ students in six states, including Tennessee. The decision by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves halts enforcement of changes to Title IX — the federal civil rights law preventing sex discrimination in schools and education programs that receive government funding — that were finalized in April by the Education Department. The other affected states are Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, The Hill reports. Just a few days ago, another federal judge temporarily blocked the rule from taking effect in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana. Other challenges are still pending. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti released this statement after the ruling. He joined a suit challenging the rule earlier this month.

The TBA’s new executive officers and Board of Governors members took office Friday at the Annual Convention in Memphis. Officers for the 2024-2025 bar year are: Nashville lawyer Ed Lanquist Jr., president; Knoxville lawyer Heidi Barcus, president-elect; Charlotte Knight Griffin of Eads, vice president; Jackson lawyer Terica Smith, secretary; and Knoxville lawyer Mary Beth Maddox, treasurer. Memphis lawyer Jim Barry, who wrapped up his year in office last week, will move into the immediate past president role. Read more about those in the presidential line of succession at the links above. Leadership in the TBA's House of Delegates also changed last week with Franklin lawyer Shauna Billingsley taking over as speaker. She previously served as deputy speaker.

Eads attorney Charlotte Knight Griffin took office as vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) last week during the group’s Annual Convention in Memphis. She will advance to the presidency in June 2026. Knight Griffin began her career in private practice in Memphis after earning her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. She joined Memphis Light, Gas and Water as a staff attorney in 1978 and retired in April 2023 after 45 years of service. Knight Griffin has been active in the TBA for many years, most recently serving as speaker of the House of Delegates and a member of the Board of Governors. She is a past chair of the Local Government Practice and Litigation sections, a charter fellow of the Young Lawyers Division (YLD), a past executive officer of the YLD and president of the TBA YLD Fellows. Read more about her career in this press release.

Knoxville attorney Heidi Barcus took office as president-elect of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) during the group’s Annual Convention in Memphis last week. Barcus will advance to the presidency in June 2025. Barcus has been active in the TBA and other legal and community organizations for many years, serving most recently as TBA vice president, Second District representative on the TBA Board of Governors and as a member of the TBA’s Law Office Technology & Management Section and its Tort and Insurance Practice Section. She handles health care, litigation, product liability and professional liability matters as a shareholder with Lewis Thomason. Read more about her career in this press release.

Nashville attorney Edward D. Lanquist Jr. took office as president of the TBA last week during the group’s Annual Convention in Memphis. Lanquist has been active in the TBA and other legal and community organizations for many years. For the TBA, he most recently served as president-elect, after being elected vice president in 2022. He also served as general counsel for the association from 2016-2022. He is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC. Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Lanquist co-founded a full-service intellectual property and technology law firm where he practiced for 30 years. Read more about his career in this press release.

A new legal filing connects the former police lieutenant who filed a sweeping whistleblower complaint against the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) to records in The Covenant School shooting investigation, Axios Nashville reports. Some of those records were later leaked. A sworn declaration filed Friday morning puts Lt. Garet Davidson at the center of investigation but does not explicitly state that he leaked the records. In a sworn statement, a former colleague says that Davidson was tasked with storing a hard drive containing the shooting investigation file in a safe last year, and that he was the only person with access to that safe at that time.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said Friday he is in conversations with the state Attorney General’s office to seek the removal of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy for “dereliction of his office,” according to the Commercial Appeal. Mulroy's recent announcement of a diversion program for nonviolent felons who unlawfully possess a firearm has drawn pushback from state Republican officials including Sexton, who called the DA “soft on criminals” and accused him of “kowtowing to criminals once again.” Mulroy told the newspaper that Sexton's description of the diversion program was "a fundamental misunderstanding."

Gov. Bill Lee has requested a disaster declaration from President Joe Biden for Tennessee counties impacted by the May 8 and 9 tornado outbreak. WSMV reports that the state has requested assistance from two programs: Individual Assistance and Public Assistance. If granted, federal assistance would become available to Cannon, Cheatham, Giles, Hamilton, Jackson, Macon, Maury, Montgomery, Polk, Robertson, Rutherford Smith, Sumner and Warren counties. “Federal disaster assistance will bring much-needed economic relief and resources to help our communities and fellow Tennesseans recover from the devastation of these storms,” Lee said.

At the 2024 Lawyers Luncheon, outgoing TBA President Jim Barry presented a number of awards. Memphis lawyer Miles Mason Sr. received the Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing for his article on establishing paternity for unmarried parents in the November/December 2024 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. Cookeville attorney Laura Dykes received the Fifth Annual Claudia Jack Award for her work as a public defender in Davidson County and in the 13th Judicial District in Cookeville. Nashville Public Radio reporter Meribah Knight received the Fourth Estate Award to for her four-part podcast "The Kids of Rutherford County," which spotlighted the inhumane treatment of juveniles in Rutherford County. In addition, new TBA Vice President Charlotte Knight Griffin presented Memphis attorney and former TBA President Bill Haltom with the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows.

Barry presented his President’s Awards to Ann Pruitt and Linda Seely, for their work as Access to Justice Committee co-chairs; to Kendra Mansur, Laura Brown and Rachel Moses for their work on new TBA initiatives to address safe and stable housing; and to former Assistant Executive Director Barry Kolar for his 23 years of service to TBA, serving twice as interim executive director. See photos from the event.