Nashville Mayor John Cooper on Thursday unveiled a 2023 budget proposal that features an additional $100 million for Nashville schools and $15 million to bring the Nashville Fire Department to full staffing for the first time since 2001. The budget, presented during Cooper's annual State of Metro address, also includes a 7% pay increase for Metro employees. Cooper also offered support for Gov. Bill Lee’s proposed order of protection law, which is to be debated at an upcoming special session. "We want those families to be the last in Nashville to know that unimaginable pain," said Cooper. Read more in the Tennessean.

The Metro Nashville Office of Conservatorship Management (OCM) is seeking volunteers for its Conservatorship Assistance Program. A joint venture with the TBA Public Education Committee and state legal aid organizations, the program serves to assist applicants in obtaining conservatorship for their special needs children upon turning 18. The goal is to obtain a list of lawyers across the state willing to assist when needed. Learn more on the TBA Public Education portal.

The Chattanoogan reports that Hamilton County Public Defender Steve Smith asked the county commission for $741,423 in salaries for 22 lawyers. Smith said the starting salary for a Hamilton County assistant public defender (APD) is about $55,000, about the same as a jailer’s salary, and he noted that starting salaries at local private law firms are six figures. Smith outlined the heavy caseload of the public defenders, which he said is only getting heavier as law enforcement is reformed with better structure and better pay, resulting in more cases for the APDs.

The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new law that bans transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care. According to the Associated Press, the federal government is seeking to invalidate the statute because “no person should be denied access to necessary medical care just because of their transgender status,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement. The DOJ said the law violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause by discriminating on the basis of both sex and transgender status. The federal lawsuit comes after Clarke sent a letter to all state attorneys general last month warning them that federal law protects transgender youth against discrimination. The Justice Department also intervened last year in a lawsuit challenging a similar ban on transgender medical care for young people.

The American Bar Association (ABA) published the 2023 ABA Survey of Civic Literacy, which is released annually to mark Law Day, observed on May 1. The survey finds that social media and the media generally are to blame for the nation’s growing incivility. The survey also asks what issues respondents would be willing to compromise on and how much they know about how American government works.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section announced today that it will honor Nashville attorney Sam H. Poteet with the James K. Carroll Leadership Award on May 4. The award recognizes an attorney or judge who has demonstrated leadership qualities in service to the section. Poteet is a principal at Manier & Herod.

Just in time for next week’s Law Day celebration, TBA member benefit partner Clio has information and resources on the history of Law Day, how to participate in marking the day and ways to write and speak about this year’s theme “Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration.” Read more here to get involved.

The Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Duncan School of Law is hosting its first moot court intramural competition this year in honor of alumnus Matthew B. Long. The competition will serve as the tryout for rising second-year students to join the school’s moot court team. The competition is named for Long, who died in 2020 at the age of 37. He was a member of the school’s inaugural class in 2013 and competed on the moot court team, winning awards for brief writing. In related news, LMU Law students also competed in the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition and won recognition for their briefs and oral advocacy. Of note, McKenzie Wilson was the school’s first ever 2L to compete as an oral advocate while the 3L team advanced past the preliminary rounds to be named regional quarterfinalists.

The state of Tennessee has received a payment of $163.9 million from the major tobacco companies that joined the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced today. The landmark settlement, finalized in 1998, resolved Tennessee’s lawsuit against the major tobacco companies for violations of consumer protection laws and deceptive marketing practices that caused damages to the state, including increased healthcare costs. To date, Tennessee has received $3.8 billion from the agreement. The new funds will be dispersed annually and will be used to help defray the cost of health care for smoking-related illnesses. The agreement also includes restrictions on companies marketing tobacco products to youth, selling tobacco-branded merchandise and sponsoring entertainment and sporting events. Read more on the attorney general's website.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the American Bar Association (ABA) for an alleged failure to safeguard members' data that was exposed in a security breach. The suit alleges that the ABA knowingly violated its obligations to abide by best practices and industry standards, the ABA Journal reports. The association notified members on April 20 that a breach had exposed usernames and certain passwords used to access the old ABA website prior to 2018 and the ABA Career Center since 2018. The passwords affected are those utilizing a process that adds random characters to plain text and then converts them to cybertext in the ABA system. Plain text passwords were not exposed, the group said.