The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in three cases via livestream video conferencing today. The docket includes three cases: Carolyn Coffman et al. v. Armstrong International, Inc. et al.; Clarissa Bidwell ex rel James Bidwell et al. v. Timothy Strait MD et al.; and Scott Trent et al. v. Mountain Commerce Bank et al. The court said the move is aimed at continuing to protect the health of those involved. All three cases will be live-streamed to the TNCourts.gov YouTube channel.

The ACLU of Tennessee and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to make absentee voting available to all eligible Tennessee voters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group says the state should allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee ballot in the statewide election on Aug. 6 and the general election on Nov. 3. Current law requires voters to provide an approved reason for requesting an absentee ballot. Practicing social distancing and/or self-quarantining are not valid reasons. The case was brought on behalf of several Tennesseans whose health would be at risk if forced to vote in person while COVID-19 is spreading, the group said. Read more in a release.

Tennessee law schools have held virtual celebrations over the last few weeks for their graduating 3Ls. Belmont University honored its graduates on May 2 via a special online celebration that also included granting of scholarships and awards. Lincoln Memorial University conferred degrees on May 7 in an online ceremony but is allowing graduates to participate in a future in-person ceremony for the next two years. The University of Memphis School of Law held a virtual commencement on May 9. The school also has set up a Law Student Emergency Fund to help students who are struggling due to the pandemic. At the University of Tennessee College of Law, a virtual celebration took place May 7-9. By contrast, the Nashville School of Law has postponed its 2020 graduation ceremony until Aug. 29 while Vanderbilt University has postponed commencement for 2020 graduates to May 2021.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold three legal clinics by phone this week. General legal clinics will be held Tuesday from 3 - 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 8:30 - 11 a.m. Then on Wednesday, LAS will hold a clinic specifically for veterans from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those needing assistance can call 800-238-1443 during any of these times.

Littler Mendelson, with offices in Memphis and Nashville, is in the process of implementing salary reductions, Law.com reports. Equity shareholders will take a 20% cut to compensation, while salaries for nonequity shareholders and staff making more than $300,000 will be cut by 15%. In June, the firm will reduce pay for other lawyers and staff. Cuts will range from 4% for those making $50,000 or less, to 13% for those making over $200,000 up to $300,000. While Littler is not laying off or furloughing any employees, it will cut pay by 50% on June 5 for staff who are unable to work remotely.

In an open letter to students and legal community this week, Nashville School of Law President and Dean William C. Koch Jr. announced that NSL has canceled its Annual Recognition Dinner scheduled for June 5. “Even though all of us look forward to this event every year, the paramount consideration is our collective health and safety,” Koch wrote. The school released a video with footage from past dinners and announced the 2021 event will take place June 11. The 2021 event will be “a grand celebration” of the school’s 110th Anniversary.

Gov. Bill Lee announced today that starting next week, restaurants and retail stores throughout the majority of the state will no longer need to limit capacity. In addition, he announced that large attractions such as  amusement parks, theaters, museums and auditoriums will be allowed to reopen starting May 22, provided they practice appropriate social distancing. For social gatherings, however, the limit on 10 or more people will remain in place, the Tennessean reports. These changes will affect 89 counties with the remainder — Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Shelby and Sullivan — following their own reopening plans.

As courts begin resuming in-person operations, open government experts are raising concerns about the transparency of proceedings, WJHL reports. Many of the courts that have begun opening for in-person proceedings have procedures in place to protect public health and safety including limiting access to their buildings and courtrooms. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Director Deborah Fisher says that most courts are not providing guidance for public or media access. Of the 26 reopening plans she reviewed, only seven included provisions for public access. Fisher said courts could maintain transparency by offering live streams or videos of proceedings while continuing to abide by social distancing and limits on large groups. A related story from WBIR notes that some journalists have appealed directly for help to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Hamilton County Health Department has ended its agreement with the local 911 center to share COVID-19 patient information, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The move comes as criticisms grow about the practice of sharing personal health information with law enforcement and first responders. Since April, the health department had been sharing "limited data" about patients who tested positive for the virus with 911 dispatchers.

The 2020 Family Law Forum is now available in a convenient 1-Click online package. The four-hour program covers guardian ad litem essentials, key issues in family law during the COVID-19 pandemic and extensive revisions to the Child Support Guidelines that took effect earlier this week. Those revisions include changes to policies surrounding what happens when a stepparent has health insurance coverage for the child and whether a person can claim voluntary unemployment while incarcerated. Visit the TBA course catalog to see all available online courses.