The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is out with a new jobs report for January. For the legal sector, the bureau found that jobs dropped from an all-time high of 1,192,200 in December to 1,187,800 last month: a loss of 4,400 jobs. The count includes a range of legal workers at law firms, companies and other organizations of all sizes, including paralegals and assistants, but the majority are lawyers. The largest law firms in the United States appear to have slowed hiring amid relatively flat client demand, Reuters reports.

The law firm of Baker Donelson has tapped two Tennessee lawyers to chair its practice areas. Nashville attorney Martha Boyd has been named new chair of the Labor & Employment Group, while Memphis attorney Mary Ann Jackson has ben named chair of the Tax Group. Boyd, a shareholder in the Nashville office, has been vice chair of the labor group since 2022. She is a certified fraud examiner and is trained in conducting workplace investigations of harassment or other misconduct, conducting numerous investigations in her 25 years of practicing law. Jackson is a shareholder in the Memphis office, a member of the firm’s board directors and previous chair of the Corporate Group. Her practice has focused on structuring businesses, nonprofit organizations and physician practices, as well as securities offerings, venture capital fund formation and real estate.

Members of the legal profession gathered last week at the Memphis office of Morgan & Morgan for the TBA Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) first Bar and Bench event. Under the leadership of YLD President Quinton Thompson, these networking events will occur across the state, giving young lawyers an opportunity to network with peers and sitting Tennessee judges. Watch for information about future locations and dates. See photos from the Memphis event.

TBA's Executive Director Sheree Wright took part in a panel discussion at the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP), held during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. The panel discussed the importance of organizational stability and ensuring a smooth transition when a bar association hires a new chief staff executive. Wright was joined by David Blaner, executive director of the Allegheny County Bar Association/Bar Foundation in Pennsylvania, and moderators Rick Kaplan, past president of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, and Erica Laughlin, past president of the Allegheny County Bar Association. See photos from the event.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti published an opinion on Jan. 19 about a proposed bill that would prohibit the Tennessee National Guard from being released into federal active duty combat unless the U.S. Congress declares war. The Tennessean reports that HB1609, sponsored by Rep. Jay Reedy, R-Erin, would make exceptions to expressly execute the laws of the union, repel an invasion or suppress an insurrection. Skrmetti's opinion says the proposal is “constitutionally suspect” under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. “While the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution has been questioned, it remains controlling federal law ... Under the War Powers Resolution, Congress may authorize the president to use military force without a declaration of war, and even when Congress may decide to make a declaration of war, the War Powers Resolution allows the president to use military force before any such declaration is made.” Read the opinion.

The Association for Women Attorneys (AWA) of Memphis honored Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Camille McMullen with the Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award at its annual banquet on Jan. 25. The award is presented to someone who exhibits outstanding achievement in the legal profession. “Marion Griffin and Francis Loring were pioneers in the fight for civil rights and social justice,” said Judge McMullen. “Through their collective power, these women worked tirelessly to advance gender equality across Tennessee. I applaud the AWA for establishing this award, which serves as a testament to the shoulders upon which we stand as women in the law. I am thankful and deeply moved to be recognized with this incredible honor.” McMullen was appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2008. In 2023, she was elected the first woman and the first African American to lead the 12-member court.

Tennessee's 113th General Assembly is now in session and TBA's Legislative Updates podcast is back for Season 5! Lawmakers filed a combined total of 682 bills just this week; the filing deadline for the House was Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 for the Senate. Attorney and TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin host the podcast to discuss what's ahead for the legislative year and the bills TBA is sponsoring, especially around indigent representation. Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or other podcast services. In this episode, the hosts discuss TBA's conservatorship bill HB2710/SB2254 and TBA's adoption bills: HB2644 and HB2645.

Schwarz has served as director of legislative affairs for the TBA since 2018 but recently left the TBA to focus on her own lobbying firm, Pier Strategies. She continues to represent TBA on legislative matters alongside Lampley and Harbin. Schwarz can now be reached at bschwarz@pierstrategies.net.

PreLaw magazine is out with its Winter 2024 issue, which names the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law as the best law school building in the nation. It is the fifth consecutive year the school has received the top honor. “Our continued dominance in this award category … confirms the importance of the many factors that make our law school uniquely special to our students’ legal education,” said Dean Katharine T. Schaffzin. In addition, Memphis Law was named one of the 10 most diverse law schools, with a specific designation as a “Best Law School for Black Law Students — Top 10 Ranking” and “Best Law School for Trial Advocacy — Top 35 Ranking” with an overall A- rating. Read the full press release.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. Tennessee will receive more than $9 million from the settlement. Proceeds will be deposited into the state’s Opioid Abatement Fund. To date, Tennessee has reached legal settlements totaling more than $1 billion related to the opioid crisis. Today’s filings in Knox County Circuit Court describe how Publicis aided Purdue Pharma and others to market opioids. Read the full release.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners said Tuesday it has replaced ExamSoft, the testing platform that suffered a series of tech problems, with Surpass Assessment, reports Reuters. The revamped bar exam is set to debut in July 2026. The switch to Surpass Assessment software comes after ExamSoft paid $2.1 million in 2015 to settle a lawsuit brought by bar exam takers who could not upload their test answers, an incident that became known as “barmageddon” in legal publications. ExamSoft's software also came under scrutiny during the pandemic when many states administered the exam remotely using laptop microphones and cameras to monitor for cheating.