Tennessee state government offices and state courts will be closed tomorrow in observance of Veterans Day. See a full list of holiday office closure on that state’s website.   

A group of U.S. Republican lawmakers recently issued a warning to corporate law firms over their work advising clients on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, Reuters reports. The Republicans wrote to 51 large U.S. and global law firms to say they would use their congressional oversight powers "to scrutinize the institutionalized antitrust violations being committed in the name of ESG.”

News Channel 5 is raising questions about a part-time employee in the Nashville district attorneys’ office who allegedly works very little but receives a $75,000 annual salary. A piece by Phil Williams suggests that Michael Brook frequently lists his work hours as occurring in the “middle of the night when no one else is around” and is “almost never recorded swiping through the office security system, logging into the computer system or sending an email.” Brook previously was finance director for the office until retiring in January 2020. Within days, though, the station says, he was submitting part time hours for compensation, and has consistently submitted them every single week for more than two years. When asked about Brook, Funk told the station, “Michael Brook is an important member of our office, has been for years."

A new analysis from non-partisan think tank ThinkTennessee has found that the state’s policy of suspending driver’s licenses for failure to pay court debt has little impact on how much money the courts are able to recoup. According to the report, the practice creates additional challenges for people who are often living in poverty. “By making it harder to get to work and earn the money needed to pay off court costs, driver’s license revocations risk being a counterproductive policy, potentially trapping low-income Tennesseans in a cycle of court debt and poverty,” the report’s authors wrote. They added that the state should consider ending the practice. The practice was stopped and ruled unconstitutional in 2018, but the pause was temporary and was restarted in July 2021. The Commercial Appeal has more on the story.

The TBA Committee on Racial & Ethnic Diversity will host a free event on Monday featuring a panel discussion on diversifying the judicial branch. “Increasing and Retaining Judicial Diversity: the Why, the When and the How” is the first part in a series that will focus on providing minority lawyers the tools needed when seeking judgeships. The panel will be moderated by TBA Chief Diversity Officer Mary Beard and will feature 20th Judicial District Chancery Court Judge I'ashea Myles and Kingsport attorney Jimmie Miller who previously served on Gov. Bill Lee’s Council for Judicial Appointments. The virtual event will take place on Nov. 14 from noon until 1:30 p.m. CST. Read more and register here.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judges Camille R. McMullen, Robert H. Montgomery Jr. and Tom Greenholtz on Tuesday heard arguments in the death sentence commutation case of Byron Black, the Tennessean reports. Black filed a motion last year to be deemed intellectually disabled which, per a new state law, could make him ineligible for the death penalty. A Nashville judge tossed the case earlier this year, saying that two prior decisions on Black’s intellectual disability ruled out a review under the new law. Black’s legal team argued that since their client’s claim wasn’t heard under the new standard, the pathway should apply to him. Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk had agreed with Black’s team on the trial level, but the Tennessee attorney general’s office is fighting their appeal. The state argues the new law was intended to be extremely limited and not to include anyone who has previously had an intellectual disability case decided on the merits. The appeals judges are expected to issue a written order.

Belmont University College of Law and the Administrative Office of the Courts' Access to Justice Initiative hosted an expungement clinic at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center and Work Center on Friday. TBA YLD Board member Alix Rogers and attorney Savannah Quintero worked with 13 Belmont Law students to assist 37 incarcerated clients during the clinic, completing paperwork to expunge over 140 charges.

Admissions ceremonies continued Tuesday as the Tennessee Supreme Court hosted two sessions in Nashville to welcome about 150 more new lawyers to the practice of law in Tennessee. TBA President Tasha Blakney introduced many of those to the court and moved for their admission to practice before the court. TBA Young Lawyers Division members were also on hand to welcome the new lawyers and answer questions about the TBA. See photos from the ceremonies.

New lawyers are being sworn in at ceremonies across the state this week. The Tennessee Supreme Court was in Knoxville Monday to receive new admittees and administer the oath. Ceremonies will continue in Nashville tomorrow, Jackson on Wednesday and Memphis on Thursday. TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) members will be on hand to welcome the new lawyers and answers questions about the TBA. YLD President Brittany Faith of Chattanooga was at the Knoxville event today. See photos from the ceremony

The legal services sector added about 3,400 jobs in October, bouncing back from losing about 2,100 jobs in September, for a total of 1,182,100 jobs. The preliminary, seasonally adjusted data was released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Law360 has analysis.