Memphis lawyer Jim Barry has been sworn into office as the 143rd president of the Tennessee Bar Association. The oath of office was administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins during the TBA’s Annual Lawyers Lunch. Barry, who is retired from International Paper, highlighted his plans for the coming bar year, including a new housing subcommittee of the Access to Justice Committee to focus on evictions and affordable housing, an effort to expand the pool of attorneys in the state willing to do pro bono work, a new initiative to provide safe options for pets of domestic violence victims and an effort to keep lawyers engaged with the bar as they transition to retirement. He also pledged to continue several initiatives started by predecessors, including the Women in the Profession Committee, the Court Square CLE series, legislative advocacy to increase pay for indigent representation and eliminate the professional privilege tax, and the TBA book club, with the first book to be Beale Street Dynasty by Preston Lauterbach. Finally, Barry announced that the TBA would be traveling to Ireland in May 2024. Those interested in learning more about the trip can sign up here for updates. See photos from the event.

State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office has engaged external attorneys to help defend at least one federal lawsuit. The Tennessean reports that Cameron Norris with Virginia law firm Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, and Adam Mortara with Nashville-based Lawfair LLC are now representing Tennessee in an ongoing lawsuit against the state's new law banning gender transition treatments for minors. The attorneys, and any other attorneys at their firm, have been engaged at a $400 hourly rate, with a $100 hourly rate allotted for any non-attorney staff who may bill hours, according to documents obtained by The Tennessean.

The White House announced this week that several ticket brokers, including Live Nation, will be changing their ticketing policies to disclose fees upfront, Axios reports. In addition, Ticketmaster will add a feature to give consumers the option to receive all-in upfront pricing for tickets sold on the platform, and Seat Geek has committed to all-in pricing features this summer. The announcement comes after Tennessee passed first-of-its-kind legislation to ensure ticket brokers disclose fees in advertised prices. Those requirements go into effect on July 1.

At today’s Lawyers Luncheon, outgoing TBA President Tasha Blakney presented a number of awards. Chattanooga lawyer Russell Fowler received the Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing for two voting-related articles in the March/April 2022 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. Rutherford County attorney Mary Bonita Tucker received the Fourth Annual Claudia Jack Award for her work as a court-appointed private practitioner for involuntary commitment proceedings. Blakney presented her President’s Award to Knoxville lawyer and former TBA President Jason Long, who chaired the search committee responsible for hiring TBA’s new executive director Sheree Wright. In addition, Nashville lawyer and TBA Communications Section member Jay Harbison presented the Fourth Estate Award to Elk Valley Times general manager and editor Lora Scripps and reporter Wanda Southerland for their reporting on Jack Daniels' exemptions from regulations while locals complained about a “whiskey fungus” created by unregulated barrel houses. Finally, former TBA President Buck Lewis presented Knoxville attorney and University of Tennessee College of Law Dean and Professor Emeritus Douglas A. Blaze with the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows. See photos from today's event.

Five Memphis education advocates have filed suit against the Shelby County Board of Education and the district’s chief safety and security officer, alleging their First and 14th Amendment rights have been violated after they were banned from attending school board meetings. The Tennessee Lookout reports that the group, known as the “School Board Five,” was prohibited from school board meetings following a May 9 meeting focused on the search for a new superintendent of Shelby County schools. Banning the group members for an indefinite time period without giving them the opportunity to appeal violates their constitutional rights, lawyers for the group say.

The process of decertifying Memphis police officer Preston Hemphill for his role in the death of Tyre Nichols has been suspended, but he may not serve as an officer in Tennessee in the interim. According to the Daily Memphian, Hemphill, one of the officers involved in the Jan. 7 traffic stop that led to Nichols’ death three days later, appeared before the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) Thursday. The panel was considering decertifying Hemphill at the request of the Memphis Police Department, but put the matter on hold pending completion of a federal investigation.

The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld decades-old federal standards that give preferences to Native Americans and tribal members in the adoption or foster care placement of Native American children, rejecting a challenge that claimed that parts of the law were racially biased against non-Native Americans. Reuters reports that the 7-2 ruling threw out a lower court's decision that had struck down — as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law — a requirement that "other Indian families" receive preference in adoption and foster care after members of a child's extended family or tribe members.

The American Bar Association will award the 2023 ABA Medal to Fred D. Gray, who was described by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “the chief counsel” of the civil rights movement. Gray will accept the award at the ABA’s Annual Meeting in Denver in August. Gray played a crucial role in many of the movement’s key moments including representing Rosa Parks, serving as the chief legal strategist during the Montgomery bus boycott and representing marchers in Selma in 1965.

The Nashville office of Maynard Nexsen will relocate from Edgehill Village to the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, the Nashville Post reported today. The firm, which was formed when Birmingham-based Maynard Cooper & Gale merged with Nexsen Pruet of Columbia, South Carolina, is home to 17 attorneys in Nashville. It will lease about 7,600 square feet at Nashville Warehouse Co. starting in July. The address of the building is 1131 Fourth Ave. S., Nashville 37210.

Following the Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision striking down a $50 cap on TennCare reimbursements for emergency room non-emergency health conditions, the state agency says it is “considering next steps.” The cap, which has been in place for more than a decade, was originally set to help cut costs as the agency was facing a $100 million shortfall. At the time, the agency promised to go through a standard rule-making process to put the cap in place, but that never occurred, Tennessee Lookout reports. The court ruling now potentially opens up taxpayers to years of back claims from hospitals and doctors in the state.