The Tennessee Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit brought by former BlueCross employee Heather Smith, who was fired after expressing her objection to being required to take a COVID vaccination. The Chattanoogan reports that the court directed Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton to have further proceedings after he had initially dismissed the case.

Multiple sources, including the Associated Press, are reporting that former President Donald Trump has been indicted on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents. The indictment was unsealed today by the Department of Justice. The charges include counts of retaining classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes. According to the indictment, “The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.” 

A new report from the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Second Look Commission finds that child abuse costs the state between $3 and $5 billion each year. That cost is mostly covered by Tennessee taxpayers in increased healthcare costs, special education services, child welfare, juvenile justice and other publicly funded programs for survivors. The Tennessee Lookout reports that Kylie Graves, director of the Tennessee Second Look Commission, says she “hopes the startling figures the report has produced will bolster arguments for increased investments in a broad range of public supports and interventions that include, but go beyond, the $1.35 billion budget for the Department of Children’s Services.”

The ownership of the writings of Audrey Hale, who killed three adults and three children at Nashville’s Covenant School in April, will soon be transferred to the families at the school, the Tennessean reports. David Raybin, attorney for Hale's parents, made the announcement during court proceedings in a lawsuit seeking the release of the writings, which transferred to Hale’s parents after Hale’s death. The physical papers will remain in the custody of the Metro Nashville Police Department. Raybin said transferring ownership of the records to the parents solidifies their standing to intervene in several lawsuits seeking the release of the writings.

U.S. law firm Barber Ranen has changed its name, the firm announced Wednesday, after the publication of racist, antisemitic, homophobic and violently misogynistic emails written by founding partners John Barber and Jeffrey Ranen, reported Reuters. The emails were written while they were employed by their previous firm, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith. In May, Barber and Ranen led an exodus of 140 lawyers from their former firm. Barber and Ranen resigned from the new firm on Monday.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is investigating Nashville-based AllianceBernstein and other asset managers related to their climate change work, Reuters reports. The probe is seeking information about environmental, social and governance investing policies at the companies as well as partnerships with climate coalitions like Climate Action 100+ and Net Zero Asset Managers. Other companies involved are Invesco Ltd. and the Jennison Associates arm of Prudential Financial. According to the news source, the attorney general’s office is looking for “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” under the state’s 1977 consumer protection law. Skrmetti’s office told Reuters that it is “highly concerned with corporate collusion.” The Nashville Post has more on the story.

Shelby County will open a new Youth Justice and Education Center within the next month, the Daily Memphian reports. The 85,626-square-foot facility located at 3420 Old Getwell Rd. in Oakhaven will feature 146 beds, nine classrooms, an indoor basketball court, a new dental office and a courtroom. The facility sits on more than 10 acres of land and also will feature an outdoor recreation area for basketball, volleyball, soccer, yoga, gardening and more. The county purchased the building from CoreCivic in 2020 and spent $31.5 million renovating it. The new center will replace a downtown facility, which was built in 1935.

Gov. Bill Lee said Monday that he will not consult with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti about a recent court decision striking down the state’s drag law, Tennessee Lookout reports. At an event promoting his transportation modernization plan, Lee said the next move “falls into the realm of the judicial branch and the attorney general will determine next steps from there.” He went on to say, “That bill was created to protect children in this state. I’ll continue to do that whenever we can. But the attorney general will make the decision about that particular piece of legislation.” Some confusion continues to exist as to whether the decision affects just Shelby County or is in force more broadly. Skrmetti told the Commercial Appeal that the law remains in effect in Tennessee’s other counties. Others contend the ruling applies to all counties in the Western District of the state, while others suggest it applies to the entire state.

The Metro Nashville Employee Benefit Board voted this week to not provide medical insurance coverage for gender-related surgeries, Axios Nashville reports. Mayor John Cooper had urged the board to support the procedures for transgender employees and their beneficiaries over the age of 18. He argued the benefit would help improve employee recruitment and retention while opponents cited a number of concerns about the proposal. The board had previously voted against such coverage in 2021.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released an opinion today to provide guidance on how lawyers may use a legal assistant to perform client intake tasks. Formal Opinion 506 reiterates Model Rule 5.3 and states that an assistant may perform an array of tasks at client intake, but the lawyer should ensure that prospective clients are always offered an opportunity to discuss the fee agreement and scope of representation with the lawyer. The opinion notes the benefits of using nonlawyer assistants but emphasizes that such assistants “must be carefully and astutely managed” to avoid ethical violations.