Politics within the Republican party have intensified as three high-profile candidates face permanent removal from the 5th Congressional District primary ballot. Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck and Baxter Lee all face formal challenges that have been filed with the Tennessee Republican Party. The challenges trigger a technical removal from the ballot per party bylaws, the Tennessean reports. The state party’s executive committee will vote by Thursday whether to add the candidates back on the ballot.

For those who would like to learn more about conservatorship work, the TBA is offering a free one-hour Zoom discussion on best practices, with a focus on general practice and small and solo firms. Nashville lawyer Amy Willoughby Bryant and Lebanon lawyer Travenia Holden will present the session on April 25 from 2-3 p.m. CDT. An optional hour of CLE credit is available for $50. For more information or questions contact TBA’s Director of Education and Professional Development Jennifer Vossler.

Nashville lawyer Gerard Stranch IV with Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings and University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Paula Schaefer recently joined a panel discussion hosted by the Jacob Burns Center for Ethics at Cardozo Law School in New York City. The session “Big Law, Big Discovery, Big Trouble,” looked at misconduct by the law firm of Arnold & Porter in its representation of Endo Pharmaceuticals, which resulted in two default judgments against the company in Tennessee. The virtual program also included Georgetown University Law Center Professor of Law Maria Glover and Cardozo Law School Professor Anthony Sebok, co-director of the Burns Center. Endo was the subject of a number of opioid-related law suits in Tennessee. Read past TBA Today coverage of those cases.

The Tennessee Innocence Project and its client Joyce Watkins, along with the Davidson County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit, were featured on CBS Sunday Morning over the weekend and on CBS News yesterday. The piece looks at a partnership between the two organizations, which led to exoneration of the 74-year-old Watkins and her boyfriend (who died in prison) three decades after being convicted for killing her four-year-old great-niece. Once the district attorney’s office began reviewing the case, it found “so much information” that the fatal injuries to the child happened before she was in Joyce’s custody, said Sunny Eaton with the review unit, who also appeared on the program. Read more about the case or watch the interview.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled last week that Oscar Smith, 71, had “not presented new scientific evidence establishing that he is actually innocent of the murders of the victims,” the Tennessean reports. Smith’s legal team has asked the court to reopen the case after DNA from an unknown person was detected on one of the murder weapons. The trial court previously rejected the request. Smith’s public defender had filed a motion with the Tennessee Supreme Court earlier in the day Thursday seeking a stay of execution so the appellate court could have time to consider the motions. In the opinion, Judge Timothy Easter said that given the other evidence in the case there was not a “reasonable probability that the recently discovered DNA evidence would have prevented ... prosecution or conviction.” Smith is scheduled to die by lethal injection on April 21. He was convicted in 1990 of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife and her two teenage sons.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold two clinics this week. On Wednesday, a clinic for veterans will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT in Nashville at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S., 37203. Then on Saturday, the Belmont Clinic will take place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at 2005 12th Ave. South, Nashville 37204. All times are central. Those attending must wear a mask. To volunteer for a clinic, contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all April clinics.

New York lawyer Timothy Charles Cox and Mississippi lawyer Kate Mauldin Embry recently were reinstated to the practice of law after having been on inactive status for more than five years. Cox was reinstated effective March 24 while Embry was reinstated effective March 23. The court issued the orders on April 8.

The Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts is joining the law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in providing free legal services for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits at a clinic this Thursday. Issues to be covered include questions about business formation, corporate governance, contract review and navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Eligible businesses may receive up to one hour of assistance but must register today. Clients may sign up online. To volunteer, email vlpa@abcnashville.org.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) officially will open new offices at 3310 West End Ave., Ste. 590 in Nashville on May 2. The association is moving from its downtown location to leased space near the Vanderbilt University campus. It will operate there while the TBA Board of Governors evaluates office/event space needs for the bar in the future. TBA staff have been working remotely full-time since March 2020 and now will be transitioning to a hybrid model, rotating between working in the office and working from home. The new office primarily will be used for office support with the potential option of holding small TBA leadership meetings in the future. Please call ahead if you need to meet with someone or drop something off at the office. The main phone number will remain the same but the previous fax number is no longer available. Staff email and direct phone lines are listed online. TBA will retain a lease at its former downtown space through early June while it transitions additional items to storage.

The Washington County Bar Association will hold a summer kickoff event at the TVA Credit Union Ballpark in Johnson City on June 18. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for early game activities and music. The game starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $23 per person and cover the cost of admission, non-alcoholic beverages and food. All area lawyers are invited to attend. Purchase tickets here.