The law school class of 2022 graduated into a strong entry-level hiring market, landing legal jobs at a higher rate than their predecessors in 2021 and 2019, according to new figures from the American Bar Association. Nearly 78% of last year's new lawyers found jobs that require bar passage within 10 months of leaving campus — up from about 76% among the class of 2021, Reuters reports. More recent data may suggest that growth is slowing. According to another report from Reuters, the legal services sector lost 600 jobs last month, marking the first monthly employment decline in the industry in six months.

The Nashville School of Law presented its annual Robert Ballow Excellence in Writing Awards last month. Eight students were recognized for their performance in the Rigorous Writing Exercise program that is a requirement for graduation. Each student worked with a volunteer mentor from the legal community. All submissions are evaluated by a panel of legal writing experts who determine finalists and award winners. Read more about the winners and finalists.

The Hamilton County Criminal Court Division II unveiled a new portrait of Judge Rebecca Stern in honor of her 18 years of service and for initiating the county’s drug court program. The painting was commissioned by former Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz. "There are a lot of attributes to her legacy here in Hamilton County -- in my view, the creation and running...the drug recovery has to be at the very top," Greenholtz said as reported by the Chattanooga Free Press. Stern, who is now in private practice, was the first woman to preside over a criminal court in Hamilton County. The drug court was first started as a pilot program in 2005 before becoming permanent. “It was probably my proudest accomplishment and the thing that gave me the most hope,” said Stern.

Gov. Bill Lee on Monday signed the Forever Homes Act, which calls for shorter waiting periods for foster care and adoption services as well as providing additional resources, WDEF reports. Signing the act in Chattanooga, Lee told reporters he has confidence that the upcoming special session of the state legislature will see the passage of his proposed order of protection law to keep guns from people who pose a threat to themselves or others. Lee said his proposal will “...strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights. There needs to be a way to separate those who are a danger to others and to themselves from access to weapons and protect the rights, in particular second amendment rights of Tennesseans.”

Tennessee state representatives Justin Jones, D-Nashville, Justin Pearson, D-Memphis and Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville met at the White House Monday with President Biden and Vice President Harris to discuss their efforts to propose new gun reform legislation in Tennessee. Reps. Jones and Pearson temporarily regained their legislative seats last week after their expulsion for participating in protests on the House floor. The trio has since become known nationally as the “Tennessee Three.” While at the Oval Office they also discussed the upcoming special session called by Gov. Lee to consider his proposed “order of protection” law. "The message has been very clear from Tennesseans – both Republican and Democrat, white and Black, and rich and poor – that something must be done," Pearson said outside the White House as reported by the Tennessean. "And in this special session, the expectation is that a law gets passed that can actually protect our communities."

U.S. News has removed the preview content for the 2023-2024 Best Law Schools rankings, which had been published on April 11. The media entity said it is continuing to deal with “an unprecedented number of inquiries during our embargo period for the 2023-2024 Best Graduate Schools, including requests from law and medical schools to update data submitted after the collection period.” It notes that the rankings are not final until they are published in their entirety on the U.S. News website.

Tennessee’s former vaccine official, who was fired after becoming a critic of the state's COVID-19 pandemic response, has reached an informal settlement with state public health officials, the Tennesseean reports. Dr. Michelle Fiscus, claimed in her defamation suit that state officials made "false, stigmatizing, and defamatory statements” about her in an effort to discredit her and that they released false information about her job performance. Both parties filed notice in court last week stating they had reached a settlement after taking part in court-mandated mediation. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The law firm of Baker Donelson has received the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation's 2023 John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award. This national award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to the quality of justice in legal communities, ensuring that the legal system is open and available to all. Baker Donelson was recognized for its global pro bono work and role creating the online pro bono site Free Legal Answers. The award was presented during the section’s conference in Atlanta this week. Read more from the firm and see a photo of the firm lawyers who were in attendance to accept the award.

The American Bar Association (ABA) today told 1.5 million lawyers and others who had accounts on its website that their login information may have been stolen, Reuters reports. ABA said in an update on its website and email notices that an unauthorized third party penetrated its network last month and took usernames and passwords for online accounts used to access an old ABA website and its career center before 2018. A spokesperson said that no other information was taken, and there is "no indication" the information has been misused.

Three transgender children and their parents sued the state yesterday over a new law that bans gender-affirming care for minors, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and other groups in federal court in Nashville. It claims the Tennessee law, which is scheduled to go into effect July 1, violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause because it allows the banned medical treatments when they are used to treat conditions other than gender dysphoria. The law prohibits health care providers from providing hormone treatments or surgeries for transgender youth where the purpose is to allow the child to express a gender identity “inconsistent with the immutable characteristics of the reproductive system that define the minor as male or female.”