Secretary of State Tre Hargett is highlighting the Safe at Home confidentiality program as the state enters Sexual Assault Awareness Month. “Safe at Home is helping hundreds of individuals and families protect themselves from becoming victims again by keeping their home address from becoming public record,” Hargett said. “I encourage Tennesseans of any age or gender who have experienced sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or domestic abuse to sign up for this free program.”

Whether you are catching up on CLE or starting to meet your 2022 requirements, the TBA's Spring CLE Blast has packages designed with your convenience in mind. Choose from two CLE packages that you can watch on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office. Whether you need one hour of CLE or 15, we have curated lists of CLE packages by the hour, topic and practice area. Create your own package any time by visiting us at cle.tba.org to access over 250 on-demand programs. Earn up to 15 hours of CLE when you purchase both packages!

Memphis law firm Evans Petree PC is set to acquire Bourland Heflin PLC, forming a combination of two of the city’s top 25 law firms, the Memphis Business Journal reports. “It has taken hard work by many people at both law firms," said Scott Peatross, a member at Bourland Heflin. "The moving trucks show up tomorrow morning, and by Monday, we're going to be ready to hit the ground running." The combined firm will have 96 total employees. Joe Getz, president of Evans Petree, will lead the combined firm.

Crossville attorneys Steven C. Douglas and William T. Ridley have submitted their names to be considered as interim Cumberland County General Sessions judge, the Crossville Chronicle reports. Their names will go before the Cumberland County Commission at a special-called meeting Friday. The attorney selected will serve until the next general sessions judge is sworn in following the Aug. 4 election.

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is teaming up with Senator Cory Booker, D-NJ, to co-sponsor legislation that would place limitations on how the NCAA handles its investigations, the Nashville Post reports. “The NCAA has a well-established history of backroom deliberations that produce unfair punishments for athletes, coaches and universities,” said Blackburn. “With the emergence of new name, image and likeness (NIL) rules, it is more important than ever to address the systematic failures that have eroded league fairness.” Blackburn and Booker say their bill would tackle four new parameters for NCAA investigations: establishing due process; promoting fairness, consistency and accountability; enabling enforcement from the Department of Justice; and evaluating legal standing of any ongoing investigation.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law has been ranked among the top 20 law schools for African American students in the latest issue of preLaw magazine. Memphis Law was also included among the top schools on the magazine's annual "Diversity Honor Roll" for 2022. “Memphis Law offers one of the oldest and most successful pre-admission programs for diverse applicants in the nation,” said Dean Katharine Schaffzin. “We consistently enroll 1L classes with an extremely high percentage of diverse students, often 30% or more of the class.""

State Rep. Brandon Ogles, R-Franklin, says he will not seek a third term in the Tennessee House, TNJ: On the Hill reports. Ogles was elected in 2018 on a platform that included opposing school vouchers, but later became a key ally to then-House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and voted for the voucher measure in a controversial 50-48 floor vote in 2019. In a tweet, Ogles said he now has been offered “an opportunity to be an advocate for victims of violent crimes.”

Former Department of Correction Commissioner Tony Parker is concerned that the truth in sentencing bill now moving through the state legislature would make it harder to incentivize positive behavior and programming inside our prisons. WPLN radio in Nashville looks at the criminal justice bill (HB2656 / SB2248) and analyses what it would mean for the state, its prison population and crime victims.

Luvell Glanton’s bid to remain on the ballot for the Circuit Court Division VIII seat in Davidson County suffered another setback Wednesday when a senior judge denied Glanton’s petition for a writ of certiorari to reverse a Davidson County Election Commission ruling on his eligibility to be on the Democratic primary ballot. The Nashville Post reports that Senior Judge Don Ash, standing in for Davidson County chancellors who recused themselves, wrote that the commission “clearly has the authority to make such determinations concerning the requirements of candidates to be placed on the ballot.”

A 102-year-old military veteran who was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials will share his story of hope and justice with a Nashville audience on April 26, in partnership with Chabad of Nashville. Benjamin B. Ferencz “reminds us that we all have a responsibility to take a stand against injustice today,” said Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel with Chabad of Nashville. “His story is powerful and moving, and I’m confident that every attendee, whether virtual or in-person, will be inspired by his message to live more purposefully and intentionally.” General admission tickets start at $15 for virtual and $25 for in-person attendees at Congregation Micah in Brentwood.