Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower has named Nashville attorney Maria Bush as the state’s new open records counsel, the Nashville Post reports. Bush comes to the comptroller’s office from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance where she served as associate general counsel. Prior to that role, Bush was a law clerk with Taylor, Pigue, Marchetti & Blair. She earned her law degree at Belmont University College of Law. Bush will work with members of the public, media and government bodies on public record and open meetings laws.

The TBA is hitting the road and coming to a city near you! The annual Court Square Series is set to begin this month with a three-hour program in Columbia. Attendees will start the afternoon with a lunch and learn networking session with TBA leadership and an attorney wellness discussion brought to you by TBA's Attorney Well Being Committee. Board of Professional Responsibility Disciplinary Counsel Sandy Garrett also will provide an ethics update. The program will take place on April 21 from noon until 3:15 p.m. CDT at the First Farmers and Merchants Bank, 901 Nashville Highway, Columbia. Designed to provide attorneys with the latest developments in multiple areas of the law, the Court Square Series will also be making stops in Murfreesboro on May 17, Cookeville on May 19, Kingsport on May 26, Chattanooga on June 3 and Jackson on June 7. Read more on each session on the TBA CLE website.

The Tennessee Bar Association’s renewal portal for 2022-2023 is now open! Renew your membership to continue your access to CLE programming with three pre-paid credits, TBA’s Practice Management Center, free online legal research through Fastcase and timely information through TBA Today, TBA Podcasts and the Tennessee Bar Journal. Also now available is access to the TBA’s Group and Solo Health Insurance Plans. Attorneys not participating in the TBA's firm billing program can login and access renewal information through your MyTBA dashboard.

The TBA’s Corporate Counsel Section will present its Annual Forum virtually on April 29 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CDT. Earn four hours of general CLE credit during this live virtual event that will include updates in labor and employment law, administrative law changes, a discussion of intellectual property and more. Corporate Counsel Section members receive a discount on the course. Not a member of the section? Join today.

The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination today with a vote of 11-11, The Hill reports. Under Senate rules, the full chamber now must vote to formally discharge the nomination from the committee, which was expected to happen this evening. So long as the motion to discharge passes, the Senate plans to begin debate on the nomination tomorrow. Three Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have said they will support Jackson.

Knoxville Legal Ministry at Cokesbury, in partnership with Administer Justice, will hold a legal advice clinic from 9 a.m. to noon EDT on April 9. Volunteer attorneys are needed to staff the clinic. To volunteer or for more information contact Crystal Schrof. Administer Justice is a national non-profit that works with local churches to provide civil legal services for those in need. Legal issues may range from landlord-tenant to applying for disability benefits. Malpractice insurance is provided.

A memorial service for former Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. “Bob” Simpson will take place April 22 according to his family. The event will take place at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral, 413 Cumberland Ave., Knoxville 37902. Simpson died Oct. 18, 2021, at the age of 93. Read more about his career and memorial opportunities in previous TBA Today coverage.

The U.S. Navy will be naming a future ship after late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, WBIR reports. The USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be a John Lewis-class replenishment oiler, designated T-AO 212. The ships are designed to transfer fuel to carrier strike groups at sea. In announcing the news, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said it was because of Ginsburg that “we now have women of all backgrounds, experiences and talents serving within our ranks ...”. It was the second recent tribute to the justice. Last week, the U.S. Congress approved placing statues of former justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Ginsburg — the first and second woman, respectively, to be appointed to the court — on the Capitol grounds.

The American Bar Association, its Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense and Task Force on Eviction, Housing Preservation and Equity will host a free one-hour webinar on Thursday at 1 p.m. EDT to help lawyers learn about best practices for preventing evictions. The ABA has adopted 10 guidelines for residential evictions, which focus on how to assist tenants with eviction matters, including due process protections, right to counsel, eviction diversion programs and data privacy protections. During the webinar, attendees will hear examples from around the country about how these guidelines are being put in action.

There are three candidates running for circuit judge for the 3rd Judicial District, which includes Greene, Hamblen, Hancock and Hawkins counties. All of the candidates — Crystal Jessee, Bradley Mercer and William Phillips — are running in the Republican primary, the Times News reports. The paper posed the same questions to all three. Read responses here from Mercer and Phillips and from Jessee here.