Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee told Nashville's business leaders this week that is he is focused on the state’s growth and putting "dollars back in the hands of people." Speaking at the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce's Annual Governor's Address, Lee mostly side-stepped the ongoing feud between state and local political leaders, according to the Tennessean. He lamented the “very toxic political world” and reiterated his priorities of maintaining low taxes, enhancing job-training programs, increasing transportation infrastructure and offering more K-12 educational opportunities.

TBA's Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Brad Lampley are out with a new Legislative Update podcast today. In this week's episode, they recap the TBA's Day on the Hill, hint at a possible adjournment date and discuss the Tennessee Domestic Relations Arbitration Act (HB1177/SB710); Tennessee Revised Uniform Arbitration Act (HB1162/SB775); TBA's adoption law bills, one which makes substantiative changes to law (SB919/HB854) and one that makes technical changes (SB921/HB855); and two bills dealing with the cost of electronic medical records in disability claims: HB1071/SB1393 and the Trial Lawyers/TBA bill HB647/SB1313. Finally, the episode looks at three bills targeting the professional privilege tax for attorneys: HB586/SB640 and HB580/SB1122, which would eliminate the tax, and HB585/SB641, which would phase out the tax over three years. The program airs each week during the legislative session on TBA’s Facebook page. It is also posted on the TBA’s website and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Photographs from last weekend’s Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition award ceremony are now posted on the TBA’s website. Check out photos of second place finisher Signal Mountain High School of Chattanooga, Team Sportsmanship Award recipient Farragut High School of Knoxville and individual winners of the best witness, best advocate and Team MVP awards. High resolution versions of these photos are available for anyone who would like to receive them. Email tbatoday@tnbar.org to request specific images.

Guardians ad litem in the state have not had a pay increase since since it was set at $50 per hour in 1997, the Tennessean reports. That's created a problem for the court-appointed attorneys taking on the cases and made it harder to recruit new attorneys. One source of new funding could be a federal program under the Social Security Act, and Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services and the state Administrative Office of the Courts tells the Tennessean that they "are working collaboratively to develop a model for potential use of IV-E funds that fits Tennessee's specific needs, with a particular focus on prevention opportunities.”

The Memphis Police Department (MPD) says it will move forward with a decertification request for MPD Lt. Dewayne Smith, who was on the scene of the Tyre Nichols beating but retired with benefits a day before a hearing to fire him. The Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (P.O.S.T.) scheduled a hearing Thursday about the decertification request, but MPD then asked to rescind the request. P.O.S.T. called on the department to answer questions as to why it was going back on the decertification request. Then this morning, MPD halted that request to stop the decertification, calling the request “a misunderstanding.” ABC24 has the full MPD statement and additional details about Smith’s actions the night Nichols was beaten.

A Shelby County judge has ruled that a class-action lawsuit seeking damages related to 12,000 untested rape kits can move forward. The Commercial Appeal reports that Circuit Court Judge Gina Higgins’ ruling is the latest in a nearly nine-year journey through the court system, including last-minute motions from both plaintiff and defense attorneys that pushed back Higgins' ruling since October 2022. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2014 after the Memphis Police Department disclosed the existence of some 12,000 untested rape kits with forensic evidence taken from victims of sexual assault between the 1980s and 2012. The ruling was delayed two weeks after last-minute filings from plaintiffs' attorneys, city attorneys and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The Daily Memphian reports that Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has given Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert a deadline of Friday to choose another location for her satellite office in Poplar Plaza. If she does not, he says she could be derelict in her duty. The clerk’s lease at its Poplar Plaza office runs out at the end of June and is not being renewed. Halbert has called for more office locations as a solution to last year’s backlog in the renewal of car tags, which resulted in her office’s closure for two weeks to deal with the surfeit. However, a planned office on Riverdale Road has not yet opened, and she has not found a new location in Poplar Plaza.

Nearly 50 Tennessee lawyers participated in today’s inaugural “TBA Day on the Hill,” meeting with more than 20 state legislators, attending committee meetings and hearing from state government officials. The day kicked off with remarks from Brandon Gibson, chief operating officer for the state, and Secretary of State Tre Hargett. Participants also observed proceedings of the House Civil Justice Committee. The day wrapped up with individual meetings with legislators to discuss important issues affecting Tennessee attorneys. The TBA’s annual legislative reception, known as Big Shrimp, will take place this evening and provide additional opportunities to connect with elected officials. See photos from the day.

The chief disciplinary counsel of the Tennessee Supreme Court Board of Professional Responsibility is not absolutely immune from a lawsuit alleging she wrongfully terminated an employee, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The decision overturns a trial court’s ruling that Chief Disciplinary Counsel Sandra Garrett was entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity from a suit for money damages. The suit from a former employee claimed that both Garrett and the board wrongfully terminated him as disciplinary counsel and violated his free speech rights by firing him over alleged anti-Muslim tweets. Read more from Reuters or read the opinion.

The American Bar Association has announced 30 finalists for its 2023 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts, which recognize works that foster the American public’s understanding of law and the legal system. The winners will be announced on May 24. Read more about the awards and check out the books, documentaries, drama and literature, magazine articles, multimedia works, newspaper articles, radio programs and television programs that are under consideration.