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.

At a meeting of judges and lawyers in Colorado on Friday, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern that criticism of the court’s controversial decisions has veered into attacks on its legitimacy as an institution. “People can say what they want,” he said. But “simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court." It is the first time Roberts has spoken publicly since the court eliminated a constitutional right to abortion, Bloomberg reports. A number of political leaders, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have called into question the court’s integrity following that decision. Yahoo News looks at that story. Roberts also used the speech to indicate that when the court resumes in October, it will reopen to the public.

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 TBA Animal Law Section's free webinar on the relationship between animal cruelty and family violence has been rescheduled for Sept. 29 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. Presented by Erin Aiello, a law enforcement trainer with the Humane Society of the United States, and University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Joan Heminway, the event will provide insights into intimate partner violence cases and offer strategies to help keep people and their pets safe. The free event is open to everyone but registration is required. Connection information will be sent the week of the program. One hour of CLE credit is available for TBA members for a fee of $50. Contact jword@tnbar.org about that option.

The Nashville office of Lewis Thomason is seeking an associate or special counsel to join its health care liability team. Candidates should have deposition, discovery and motion practice experience. Trial experience and experience advising and representing health care facilities and providers on a broad range of litigation is preferred. See the full job description and instructions for applying on the TBA’s JobLink platform.

The 2022 Creditors Practice Annual Forum will be held in person Wednesday at 1212 Germantown, located at 1212 6th Ave. N., Nashville 37208. Practitioners in the creditors practice field can earn three general and one dual CLE credits. The program will cover Regulation F, navigating ethical issues in a remote work world, an update on landlord tenant law and developments in bankruptcy law. After the program, stay and mingle with fellow attendees, speakers and section executive council members at a casual reception.

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.