The Belmont College of Law’s Legal Aid Society is hosting a fundraising event to support its efforts to help law students provide pro bono assistance in the state. The group reports that former U.S. attorney general and current law school dean Alberto Gonzalez has agreed to participate in a “Pie a Professor” event if the society raises $10,000 for summer legal aid stipends. Gonzalez also has agreed to challenge Vanderbilt University Law School Dean Chris Guthrie to the same arrangement. To support the group’s efforts email belmontlas@gmail.com for additional details and ways to donate.

After 56 years representing the Southern Baptist Convention, the Springfield law firm of Guenther, Jordan & Price resigned this week, the Tennessean reports. The firm made the decision after the convention’s executive committee voted to waive attorney-client privilege for a third-party investigation into its handling of sexual abuse claims. The firm argued that attorney-client privilege is an essential aspect of legal service and waiving it would not benefit the investigation. “The attorney-client privilege has been portrayed by some as an evil device by which misconduct is somehow allowed to be secreted so wrongdoers can escape justice and defeat the legal rights of others,” wrote attorneys James Guenther and James Jordan. “There is nothing sinister about it. It does not corrupt justice; it creates the space for justice." 

Memphis Area Legal Services will hold a power of attorney and advanced directive clinic next week. Attorneys will draft and execute documents over the course of the week. Contact Constance Brown at cbrown@malsi.org to volunteer.

Shelby County lawyer Erin Massey Everitt was reinstated to the practice of law on Sept. 20 after being placed on inactive status more than five years ago. Everitt filed a petition seeking reinstatement and the Board of Professional Responsibility determined that the petition was satisfactory. The Tennessee Supreme Court filed the order today.

Attorneys and judges gathered this afternoon for the Nashville Bar Association’s annual Law Day celebration at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. This year’s program theme was Advancing the Rule of Law Now. U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jane Stranch provided the keynote address and the NBA awarded the Jack Norman Sr. Award to Federal Public Defender Henry Martin and the Liberty Bell Award to Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle. Court of Appeals Judge Frank Clement served as the master of ceremonies. TBA President Sherie Edwards and Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson were on hand for the celebration.

Nashville lawyer and former TBA President Gail Vaughn Ashworth will receive the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Edmund S. Muskie Pro Bono Service Award this week at the section’s fall meeting. The award recognizes section members who demonstrate a commitment to justice and dedication to pro bono service. Ashworth is a member of the section’s council, mentor for its leadership programs and past chair of its Medicine and Law Committee. She is a founding member of Wiseman Ashworth Law Group PLC where she handles personal injury, insurance coverage, employment law and medical ethics. Ashworth was TBA president in 2009-2010.

A news item in yesterday’s issue of TBA Today included the wrong date for an upcoming International Law virtual webinar. The program will be offered Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon CDT. Topics will include trade promotion, a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion, international investments and other hot topics.

Williamson County has launched a $281 million construction project to overhaul its judicial, juvenile and jail facilities, the Tennessean reports. Changes include renovating and expanding the courthouse in downtown Franklin; replacing and expanding the adult jail in its current location; building a new Juvenile Justice Center that will encompass courtrooms, juvenile services and a detention and respite center in a new location; building a Williamson County Schools alternative learning center; repurposing the current recycling center as a special operations unit for the sheriff’s department; adapting a warehouse into new administrative office space; and expanding the sheriff department's gun range. The project is slated to be completed in late 2025.

Tennessee Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, is seeking an acquittal after being found guilty of four counts of fraud, the Commercial Appeal reports. In a filing Friday, Robinson's attorneys argue that prosecutors misrepresented evidence and changed their legal theories mid-trial. If the judge does not support an outright acquittal, Robinson's attorneys are seeking a new trial. Robinson is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 5, 2022.

Chattanooga City Court Judge Sherry Paty has announced that she will seek re-election for another term, Chattanoogan.com reports. Paty was first elected in 2006 and has served on the bench for 17 years. With the upcoming suspension of the court’s Division II, Paty says that “experience and reputation matter more than ever” and she has the credentials to manage the combined court. Paty earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. She is a member of the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference and served as the group’s president from 2016-2018.