The 2022 class of the TBA Public Service Academy convened for its first session last Thursday and Friday. The academy is a nonpartisan training fellowship that provides attorneys with the tools to run for local public offices, such as school board, city council and county commission. The theme of the first session of the program was “Preparing to Run,” and speakers discussed the importance of choosing service, how to assess fundraising power, balancing the practice of law and public service, and complying with Tennessee campaign finance laws. They also shared what they learned while running for office. The class will meet again for its final session in November. For more information about the public service academy, check out TBA’s website.

Baker Donelson has launched a new location in Charleston, South Carolina, with the addition of four attorneys from two firms. All four join the firm as shareholders. They are: corporate attorney J. Ashley Cooper and employment attorney Jennifer K. Dunlap, both previously with Parker Poe; and health law attorneys Alissa Fleming and Catherine F. Wrenn, both previously with Womble Bond Dickinson. Cooper will serve as managing shareholder of the office. The Charleston office is the firm’s second office in South Carolina and the latest expansion in the Carolinas following a new office established in North Carolina in last October.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti today objected to the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed Title IX regulations in a formal letter joined by 19 other state attorneys general. The group argues that the department’s proposed redefinition of “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity” would promote sex-based discrimination and threaten constitutional rights. Title IX of the Education Amendment currently protects people from discrimination based on sex and applies to schools, local and state educational agencies, and other institutions that receive financial assistance from the department. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee stopped the department from enforcing the guidance on July 17 following a lawsuit from Tennessee and other states. Read the full release from the AG's office.

The Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation announced today that it has created a Certified Physician Program (CPP) to provide specialized training to doctors and chiropractors who treat injured workers. The bureau argues that work-related injuries present unique challenges and that traditional medical training does not always cover the issues physicians encounter. The centerpiece of the program is a free, online, self-paced course focused on successfully evaluating and treating injured workers. Once certified, doctors are eligible to receive enhanced fees for visits and for providing final impairment ratings. Read a press release from the bureau for more details.

Davidson County General Sessions Court Judge Lynda Jones has been elected as the District 7 member of the American Judges Association (AJA) Board of Governors. She will serve for two years and represent Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. Jones also serves on the group’s Education Committee. The AJA works to promote and improve effective administration of justice and maintain the status and independence of the judiciary. Read more in a release from the group.

The first floor library in the John Sevier State Office Building in downtown Nashville, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2011, has been renamed the “Solicitor General Andrée Sophia Blumstein Room” in honor of General Blumstein. Since 2014, Blumstein — the first female solicitor general for Tennessee — has overseen all appellate litigation practice in the Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as all published opinions by the attorney general's office. Blumstein serves as chair of the Tennessee Bar Journal Editorial Board.

Gov. Bill Lee was in Memphis today, following a week of violent crimes that shook the city, the Commercial Appeal reports. Lee praised Memphis-area law enforcement officers for their work then took aim at "convenient plea deals," and called for more cops on the streets, more funding for police departments and stiffer penalties for violent offenders. “Plea deals have real consequences ... and those consequences were on full display Wednesday night,” Lee said, referencing a night of shootings by an individual who had previously been released early from prison. It is “time to have a conversation about plea deals.” Tennessee's top Republican legislative leaders also weighed in on the situation this week, pledging to double down on the state’s new "Truth in Sentencing" law and press new measures targeting violent crimes. The Times Free Press has that story.

The TBA Animal Law Section today held its annual forum at the Nashville Zoo. Attendees heard from zoo director Rick Schwartz, who has been heavily involved in the world of conservation for 30 years, and met several zoo animals including spotted leopard cubs and a flamingo. Other speakers included veterinarian and lawyer Robert Simpson with the Kingston Animal Hospital, who spoke about legal issues facing veterinarians; Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway, who talked about court programs involving animals; Eric Swafford with Best Friends Animal Society, who discussed dog breed restrictions; Lauren Curry with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, who spoke on conservation issues; and Steven Christopher with the Board of Professional Responsibility, who provided an ethics update. See photos from the day.

K&L Gates has named Lauren Patten managing partner of its Nashville office, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Patten, a Nashville native, joined K&L Gates in early 2021 when the firm opened an office in Nashville. She previously spent six years at Butler Snow. Patten is a trial lawyer and a member of the firm’s complex commercial litigation and disputes group. When K&L Gates announced its Nashville office, Mary Beth Johnson, managing partner of the firm’s Research Triangle Park offices and co-leader of the health care practice, was named leader of the Nashville office.

Nashville's biggest law firm, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP, is reportedly exploring a potential combination with Florida-based Holland & Knight LLP, the Nashville Business Journal reported today. Holland & Knight, one of the nation's 30 largest legal firms, would be the latest and largest in a string of law firms to land in Nashville if a deal is completed. Both firms declined to comment. Waller currently has offices in Nashville, Chattanooga, Austin and Birmingham.