Two high schools in Nashville were targeted with hoax phone calls yesterday in what police are calling a growing trend around Tennessee and nationally, reports the Tennessean. The FBI has also joined the investigation. Similar calls were made to the Nashville International Airport, a Metro police precinct, Hard Rock Café and the AT&T building downtown last week. The response units include SWAT, police negotiators, a helicopter and victim counselors. Nashville Police spokesperson Kris Mumford said the motive for the calls remains under investigation but that preliminary findings show many of the specific telephoned threats are originating from outside Tennessee. Similar threats in other American cities have also been reported. In Tennessee, it is a class C felony to report threats of bombing or shooting and carries a prison sentence between 3-15 years.

The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation launched a donation campaign Tuesday to raise an estimated $50 million needed to build a monument on the National Mall, reports the Tennessee Lookout. The campaign, 72-Hours for Women’s Monumental Equality Giving Challenge, will end tomorrow at 11 a.m. CDT. Funds will go towards designing and erecting the monument, which will honor 200 years of efforts by activists who have fought for women’s right to vote on the streets and in the courts. The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed a bill in July that would allow the monument to be constructed on the mall but provided no federal funding.

A federal judge in Texas yesterday rejected the Biden administration’s latest effort to save the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has shielded nearly 600,000 undocumented young adults from deportation, reports The Hill. Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the Federal District Court in Houston did not mandate an immediate end to the program. Current applicants will be able to keep and renew their protection, but no new applications will be allowed. DACA was created by executive action during the Obama administration in 2012. A federal district court judge ruled in 2021 that Obama had exceeded his authority in creating the program. In response, the Department of Homeland Security underwent formal rulemaking in 2022 to solidify the basis for DACA. But Hanen found while the government followed the law, the new rule did not address prior issues criticized by the court.

Applications are now open for the Tennessee Strong Families Grant Program. The program provides the opportunity for nonprofit organizations, including pregnancy centers, to partner with the state to provide support based on the needs of mothers, children and families. Services include pregnancy support, support for Tennesseans considering adoption and workforce assistance to prepare new moms for self-sufficiency. Application materials for the grants are available online in addition to webinars and training and technical assistance.

The Chattanooga Bar Association last week honored the Tennessee Supreme Court at a reception that also recognized retiring Justice Sharon Lee and welcomed Justice Dwight Tarwater. Lee, who retired Aug. 31, had been the high court’s longest-serving member, having been appointed in 2008 and serving as chief justice from 2014 until 2016. Prior to her time on the Supreme Court, she spent four years on the Court of Appeals. In June, Lee received the TBA's prestigious Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award, the association’s highest award for service to the judiciary. See photo here.

The American Psychological Association unanimously approved a new policy last month that people seeking to be licensed attorneys should not be required to reveal their mental health history or if they have ever had a mental health diagnosis. The APA’s governing Council of Representatives pledged to work alongside the American Bar Association and state bars to remove questions regarding mental health diagnoses or treatment history from character and fitness questionnaires. The U.S. Department of Justice has stated that such questions tend “to screen out individuals with disabilities based on stereotypes and assumptions” and recommended removal of applicant questions about diagnoses. In July, Reuters reported on a recent study of law student well-being and found 44% of respondents said the potential threat to their bar admission might deter them from getting help for a mental health issue.

Chattanooga lawyer Brittany Faith, director at Grant, Kovalinka & Harrison PC, has been appointed to the advisory committee of the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration. Faith was named to the 10-person committee by ABA President Mary Smith. Faith is the immediate past president of the TBA Young Lawyers Division.

Melanie Gober Grand, executive director of the Lawyers’ Association for Women (LAW) Marion Griffin Chapter in Nashville, has announced her intention to retire on March 31, 2024. Grand has been in the role since June 2000. She previously was executive director for the Tennessee chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Grand also owns MGG Association Management & Consulting LLC, through which she advises and supports small professional organizations in Tennessee. The chapter has formed a search committee to lead the effort to replace Grand. See the job description or contact Courtney Orr with any questions.

President Joe Biden has nominated Memphis City Council member Patrice Robinson for a seat on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board, the Commercial Appeal reports. Robinson has served on the council since 2016, but is term limited from running again. Prior to joining the council, she served for 13 years on the Memphis-Shelby County School Board. The nomination requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners recently announced that the NextGen Bar Exam will be a nine-hour test administered over one-and-a-half days, Reuters reports. The schedule would include two three-hour sessions on the first day and one three-hour session on the second day. This compares with the current Uniform Bar Exam, which is about 12 hours long and taken over two days. The conference says the new exam is set to debut in July 2026, which means that this fall's incoming law students would be the first to take the new exam when they graduate. But, there is no hard deadline for jurisdictions to make the switch, Law.com reports. The new exam is intended to be more skills-oriented but many in the legal industry remain skeptical of the proposed questions and shorter duration.