The TBA has added Laura J. Labenberg, Ed.D, as its new Young Lawyers Division & Law Student Development Coordinator. In her new role, Labenberg will work with the YLD to plan programs, meetings and special projects like pro bono clinics, the annual Tennessee High School Mock Trial Competition and the award-winning Diversity Leadership Institute. Prior to joining the TBA, Labenberg served as a professor of rhetoric at Hofstra University and the executive director of an educational nonprofit in New York. Earlier in her career in higher education, she served as a grants coordinator and conference coordinator. Labenberg earned her doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies at Hofstra University.

The man accused of abducting and murdering Memphis school teacher Eliza Fletcher previously served more than 20 years for kidnapping a prominent Memphis attorney, the Commercial Appeal reports. Fletcher was jogging before dawn on Friday morning when police say she was violently forced into an SUV and later killed. Cleotha Abston, 38, faces multiple charges relating to the crime, including kidnapping and first-degree murder. When he was 16, Abston and another man kidnapped Memphis-based lawyer Kemper Durand at gunpoint, forcing him into the trunk of his car and driving to gas stations to withdraw money from ATMs. Durand was able to escape while at one station. Abston was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the crime and was released in November 2020. Durand died in 2013. In an obituary, Lewis Thomason attorney Bill Haltom wrote of Durand’s response to the kidnapping.

The City of Franklin’s Board of Mayor and Alderman has appointed Jessica Borne as its new Municipal Court judge, Williamson Source reports. In her new role, Borne will preside over city ordinance, building code and traffic violations at the court, which is held every second and fourth Tuesday and second Thursday at City Hall. Nineteen applied for municipal judge, with Borne advancing to the final five applicants based on scores from her interviews and a writing assignment. Borne is an attorney at Fort, Holloway & Rogers and previously spent 12 years with the Tennessee Office of the District Attorney General 21st Judicial District. She has dedicated the last 10 years of her career working with domestic abuse victims and their families by prosecuting and trying criminal cases involving domestic partners.

TBA President Tasha Blakney and former TBA President Buck Lewis spoke on "Leading for Change" to the full 1L class at the University of Tennessee College of Law. The pair talked about their leadership and service paths, as well as the role the Tennessee Bar Association plays in the profession. 

In a lengthy piece recently published, the Commercial Appeal explores the recent deportations of women and children by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office in Memphis. According to the paper, women and their children, who have been arriving at the office for routine check ins, have been detained and taken to the airport for deportation. In one case, a woman from Honduras, married to a naturalized U.S. citizen who had filed an immigration application on her behalf, was set to be deported with her son, a patient at St. Jude. When her husband learned of the plan, he worked with a lawyer to halt the action. Others have not been as fortunate. A woman from Mexico was deported with her three U.S. citizen children. The American Immigration Lawyers Association says it is looking into these cases. ICE would not comment beyond saying that local offices can set their own deportation priorities.

The National Judicial College announced this week that it will present its highest award, the Sandra Day O’Connor Award, to 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Bernice B. Donald. The presentation will take place on Nov. 10 at the Heard Museum of American Indian art in Phoenix during the Appellate Judges Education Institute’s annual summit. Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Rynette Hurd nominated Donald for the award, which honors a judge or former judge who demonstrates extraordinary service, an absolute commitment to justice, excellence and innovation in one’s work, integrity and leadership. In her nomination, Hurd wrote that Donald is a “true trailblazer" who prepares "the way for others to come after her and to enjoy the success she has been blessed with.”

The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) cannot escape a judicial injunction by rebranding a controversial tree-cutting policy. The court had previously barred TVA from carrying out its “15-foot rule,” a policy that allowed the utility to cut down private landowners’ trees simply because those trees might one day grow tall enough to interfere with power lines. TVA claimed the injunction was no longer necessary because it had scrapped the rule and replaced it with a new policy — dubbed “alternative C Condition-based Control Strategy.” The court rejected that argument. “A closer look … reveals that Alternative C is likely just a differently packaged version of the 15-foot rule,” the court stated. Tennessee Lookout has the story.

More than 200 lawyers, law students and advocates gathered this week at the 2022 Equal Justice University (EJU) in Murfreesboro under the theme “Connecting Our Equal Justice Community: Innovate, Inspire & Challenge.” TBA President Tasha Blakney was the featured speaker at the event’s Leadership Luncheon, reflecting on recent challenges and achievements faced by legal service providers and expressing gratitude for their steadfast commitment. Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Holly Kirby, Jeffery Bivins and former Justice Janice Holder also all delivered remarks during the conference.

Other EJU highlights included presentation of the Janice M. Holder Award to Covington attorney J. Houston Gordon and Nashville Councilmember Zulfat Suara; New Advocate of the Year Awards to Madison Baldacci from Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands and Caitlin Hakim from West Tennessee Legal Services; and the B. Riney Green Award to Karla McKanders from Vanderbilt Law School, Bethany Jackson and Tessa Lemos Pino from Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors in recognition of the innovative Afghan Asylum Project. Doug Blaze was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his personal and professional commitment to expanding access to justice during his tenure at the University of Tennessee College of Law. See photos from the event.

Law firm Lewis Thomason has named Timothy Downard as its new chief financial officer. Downard was most recently controller and finance director at Vericom Global Solutions. Previously, he was CFO at SoZu Solution and owned his own CPA firm. At the firm, Downard will be responsible for financial strategy, planning and analysis, the firm reports.

The requirement that at least 75% of a law school’s graduates pass the bar exam within a two-year period is being examined again by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The move comes as some jurisdictions are considering alternative paths to licensure, the ABA Journal reports. The section also announced it will be reviewing how transfer students affect law school bar passage rates, whether required hours of experiential learning should be increased, and whether the standards for academic advising should be revised. In related news, public responses to a proposal to make the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) optional appear to be evenly split between those who want to retain the requirement and those who want it eliminated. Reuters has more on that story.