A member of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s security team has tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting the governor to quarantine at home with his wife out of an “abundance of caution,” the governor’s office announced today. The announcement said the governor is “feeling well” and has tested negative for the virus. Read more in the developing story from the Tennessean.

The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board will hold oral arguments tomorrow by video conference. Since the pandemic, arguments have been held by phone but the board says the video platform will “enhance the quality of the arguments for everyone to see each other’s facial expressions and body language as well as hear the intonation of their voices.” See the docket here. In addition, the board announced that new rules governing the appeals process for both interlocutory appeals and compensation order appeals went into effect Monday. The rules do not revise deadlines or make other significant substantive changes, but now incorporate the board’s former Practices and Procedures into the administrative rules.

TBA member advantage partner Clio has released its annual Legal Trends Report with data collected this April to August from lawyers and legal consumers. Legal technology commentator Robert Ambrogi says the reports shows “a landscape forever changed by COVID.” Among the trends identified are: (1) a move away from brick-and-mortar offices to cloud-based technologies and virtual delivery of legal services; (2) more lawyers than ever using technology to manage their practices; (3) overwhelming support for greater use of technology by courts; and (4) use of cloud-based technologies, including a range of Clio products. Interested in learning more? TBA members receive a 10% discount on Clio products.

A federal judge today declared unconstitutional a 2015 Tennessee law that requires waiting periods before an abortion, the Tennessean reports. The law required a woman seeking an abortion to make two trips to a clinic: one for in-person counseling with a doctor and one at least 48 hours later for the procedure. Three of the state's abortion providers challenged the law, arguing it stigmatizes women seeking abortions and imposes particularly tough burdens on low-income women. The state argued it has two key interests in maintaining a waiting period: protecting fetal life and providing women time to form "mental clarity" about their decision.

The Shelby County Commission rejected one police reform measure yesterday, while others were withdrawn by their sponsors, the Daily Memphian reports. The proposal voted down would have required the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to decertify deputies who use excessive force and to keep a record of officers who are fired or resign because of an excessive force complaint. NAACP Memphis Chapter President and Commissioner Van Turner said the action will not end the debate. “It’s a conversation we need to have because people are dying,” he said, noting times when he has been stopped by police and sheriff’s deputies and treated differently because he is Black. “Unfortunately, in too many cases, the situation still does not allow that individual to live. That’s what has to be addressed.” The issue likely will come up again given that Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has created a task force to “reimagine police.”

A group of 13 judges from across the state are participating in a new training and education regimen focused on opioid addiction, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. The pilot — known as Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) — is designed to provide education on issues such as physiology of addiction, evidence-based programming interventions, and medication-assisted treatment. The program was originally developed for healthcare professionals, and this is the first time judges are participating. The pilot program in an initiative of the Appalachian/Midwest Regional Judicial Opioid Initiative (RJOI). “When I saw a demonstration of Project ECHO, I knew this was exactly what our judges need,” said Judge Duane Slone, chair of RJOI and a circuit court judge in Tennessee’s Fourth Judicial District. "Addiction has impacted every court in the state and judges are in a position to positively impact many people struggling with addiction issues." 

The 2020 bar exam experience will likely be remembered as the most stressful testing event on record for law school graduates, Law.com reports. But for one Illinois woman, the online exam proved additionally challenging after she went into labor, but was not allowed to leave her seat or break eye contact with the screen. Brianna Hill was in active labor by the time she finished the first day of the test. Her baby was born at 10:10 p.m. that night. The next day, she finished the test from the hospital, nursing the baby between breaks.

Hamilton County Chancellors Jeff Atherton and Pamela Fleenor have appointed County Clerk & Master Robin Miller to a second term, the Hamilton County Herald reports. Miller, who was first appointed in 2014, will serve a second six-year term. Chancellor Atherton cited Miller’s efficiency in running the office — especially during the pandemic — improvement in service to the public, and improvement in coordination with county government as reasons for the decision. He also praised her for extending mediation services to low income litigants. Before joining the court, Miller was a trial and estate lawyer.

The Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has unveiled a new resource to help pro se litigants navigate the complexities of workers’ compensation claims. The bureau partnered with the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, Lincoln Memorial University-Duncan School of Law and legal technology company LawDroid to study barriers to accessing justice. The group identified one major hurdle, that of filling out and returning forms required to proceed with a claim. To address this, the team built an interactive chatbot that allows injured workers to complete forms by typing or speaking into any device. “WC Bot” is free to use and available to the public. It can be accessed at www.HELP4TN.org. Funding for the project was provided by the Tennessee Bar Foundation’s grant program.

The Nashville Metro Council last week approved a second exemption to a new law limiting the proliferation of investor-owned short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, the Tennessean reports. The rule bans new non-owner-occupied hotel-style rentals from opening within 100 feet of a park, daycare facility, school or church. It also forces owners to seek waivers from the council before renting new unoccupied properties. It does not affect homeowners renting out rooms in the house where they live. At its November meeting, the council is expected to take up two additional measures: one that would reverse a ban on duplex owners renting a unit unless both sides of the duplex are owned, and one that would ban owner-occupied properties from advertising all bedrooms in the home for rent. That proposal also would require owners not to leave the site for more than 15 consecutive hours in any 24-hour period.