Vanderbilt University Law School will host a reception to introduce its Vanderbilt AI Law Lab (VAILL) on Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. CST at the school, 131 21st Ave S, Nashville 37203. The lab will explore how artificial intelligence intersects with the delivery of legal services and access to justice. VAILL Directors Cat Moon and Mark Williams, along with professors Cara Suvall and Dr. Jules White, will be in attendance to discuss how VAILL will experiment with AI to enhance access to justice and improve legal service delivery. Read the full press release.

The second annual Raising the Bar program took place today at Baker Donelson's Nashville office. Produced by the TBA Women in the Profession Committee, programming centered on advocating for one’s own and others’ career growth, and how to effectively solicit raises and project assignments, receive credit for work done, and make partner. Sessions also explored the barriers impacting diverse women in the legal industry and best practices for overcoming those challenges, and wrapped up with a discussion of the financial aspects of preparing for retirement and maintaining work-life balance while transitioning to retirement. Thanks to TBA's women past presidents and Sherrard Roe Voight & Harbison for sponsoring the lunch and networking reception, and to sponsors Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP and McMurray Law Office PLLC for their support. See photos from the event.

The TBA YLD’s Diversity Leadership Institute (DLI) Class of 2024 has been announced and each of the 15 law school students needs to be matched with a mentor. This award-winning program runs from January to June and is designed to help students develop skills to succeed as a law student and attorney. Those interested in volunteering as a mentor or being part of the programming should fill out this form.

Current and former Hamilton County and Chattanooga city officials yesterday paid posthumous tribute to Dalton Roberts, the first Hamilton County executive, and former County Mayor Claude Ramsey with an unveiling of two plaques, reports the Chattanoogan. “Roberts and Ramsey guided Hamilton County for 32 years as the first two county executives, and both played a pivotal role in the transformation of Southeast Tennessee’s economy,” said Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp. Robert’s plaque will be displayed at the Tennessee Riverpark, while Ramsey’s will be placed adjacent to Enterprise South Industrial Park on the designated Claude Ramsey Parkway.

An internal announcement on Tuesday by Cravath, Swaine & Moore of salary increases for associates has been matched by other U.S. firms, reports Reuters. National firms such as Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton announced new salary scales for associates starting at $225,000 for first-year lawyers and ranging up to $435,000 to align with Cravath’s new base salary scale. "Once one or two name-brand firms make such a move ... 'the going rate’ means rationality and hard-core financial justification go out the window," said Bruce MacEwen of law firm consultancy Adam Smith Esq. According to a recent Wells Fargo report, gains in profitability were mainly among the very largest firms during the first three quarters of 2023.

A new ABA report found that for every 10,000 Americans living in poverty, there are fewer than three civil legal aid attorneys available to provide free legal help, Reuters reports. The ABA’s annual Profile of the Legal Profession released today highlights the dearth of attorneys providing free legal help in many parts of the country. New York had the most attorneys at 7.2, while Mississippi and South Carolina had the fewest at 1.1 per 10,000. The ABA count did not include volunteer, pro bono lawyers or advocacy groups. The study also found 18 states, including Tennessee, have no justices of color on their highest court.

The Nashville Juvenile Justice Center is looking to add a “safe exchange” facility to protect custody exchanges and visitations, WKRN reports. Judge Shelia Calloway, who oversees the juvenile justice system, recently told the Metro Public Safety Committee that such a place does not currently exist and is needed to monitor these interactions, which can turn heated. “We have seen some cases where domestic violence issues, there are cases where at the exchange, the children are a part of the drama and it’s unfortunate,” she said. The new proposed facility would be known as the Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment.

A group of Tennessee voters, including former Knoxville mayor Victor Ashe, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new state law requiring polling places to inform voters that it is illegal to vote in a primary election without being a "bona fide" political party member. According to the Tennessean, the lawsuit alleges there is no legal mechanism to determine a voter's "bona fide" party credentials and the law could spark voter confusion. Tennessee does not require voters to register by political party, meaning voters choose at the polls what party primary ballot they prefer. The League of Women Voters of Tennessee also joined the suit.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a formal notice of appeal today that his office plans to challenge a special three-judge panel’s decision that found a state-constituted airport board for the Nashville Airport Authority to be unconstitutional. The special panel ruled on Oct. 31 that state legislators violated the home rule concept by targeting Nashville. It immediately reinstated the Metro board, which has been meeting and reviewing actions taken by the short-lived state board. Read the statement from Skrmetti's office. Nashville Business Journal has more on the story.

The Nashville law firm Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison has named David Rue as its new chief operating officer (COO). Rue previously held the same position at Patterson Intellectual Property Law for two years and was chief strategy officer at Bass, Berry & Sims. He attended law school and practiced briefly but then moved into senior positions with the financial printing company Bowne, The Concinnity Company and his own software company. He succeeds Donna McFarlin, who has led firm operations since 1997. The Nashville Post has more on the hire.