Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced two judicial appointments on Friday. William E. Phillips II was named to the 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court, while Brent Bradberry was named to the 24th Judicial District Circuit Court. Both will take office immediately. Phillips, an attorney at Phillips and Hale in Rogersville, will fill a vacancy created by Thomas J. Wright’s retirement. Bradberry, an assistant district public defender for the 27th Judicial District, will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of C. Creed McGinley.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals last week sided with 16 Western Michigan University students who sued the school to play sports without getting a COVID-19 vaccine due to religious reasons. In an unanimous opinion, a three-judge panel of the court said that the university “having announced a system under which student-athletes can seek individualized exemptions, ... must explain why it chose not to grant any to plaintiffs. And it did not fairly do so here." The decision upheld a lower court ruling which also had backed the students. Detroit's Fox 2 reports.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday reinstated Anthony Bernard Norris to the practice of law. Norris was suspended for five years on October 8, 2012. As a condition of his reinstatement, Norris must pay the costs of the reinstatement proceeding and for one year engage a practice monitor, who will report to the Board of Professional Responsibility on a monthly basis.

The TBA International Law Section will host a virtual CLE program this Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon CDT. Program topics will include trade promotion, a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion, international investments and more hot topics. International Law Section members will receive a discounted price for the program. Not a member? Sign up today.  

The Federal Bar Association is hosting its next installment of “The FCA Today” — which examines the False Claims Act practice — on Nov. 4 at 11 a.m. CDT. The session, offered virtually, will focus on the Middle District of Tennessee and include U.S. District Judge Eli J. Richardson, W. Michael Hamilton with Provost Umphrey Law Firm, and Christopher Sabis with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison. R. Scott Oswald, chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section, will moderate. The event is free but registration is required. Contact Daniel Hamilton at dhamilton@fedbar.org with any questions.

One of Nashville’s largest law firms will be leaving its downtown headquarters and moving to the city’s new 18-acre development known as Nashville Yards. The firm will occupy about 180,000 square feet in the top eight floors of the development’s first multi-tenant tower, the Nashville Post reports. Developers broke ground on the 35-story building last month, which will sit adjacent to the new Grand Hyatt Nashville and two towers leased by Amazon.com.

West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) and the Administrative Office of the Courts are partnering to provide training and volunteer opportunities as part of Celebrate Pro Bono Month. An estate planning training will be held virtually Oct. 12 at noon CDT. Nashville attorney Jeff Mobley from Howard Mobley Hayes & Gontarek will present an overview of wills and estate planning, a pro bono area in increasingly high demand. WTLS will also host an estate planning clinic and needs volunteer attorneys to remotely review documents with clients on Oct. 21 and 22. For more information or to volunteer contact Andy Cole.

A retirement celebration for former 10th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Larry H. Puckett will be held on Oct. 14 at the Cleveland Country Club. Puckett retired in June after nearly 24 years serving the people of Bradley, McMinn, Monroe and Polk Counties. Tickets for dinner and cocktails are available for $15 per person. RSVP to jevans@loganthompsonlaw.com.

In a lengthy report on the Rutherford County juvenile justice system, Nashville Public Radio and ProPublica say that the county has “a staggering history of jailing children” and employs an illegal filtering system for determining which children go to jail. The report detailed that the statewide average for juvenile cases resulting in jail time is 5%, while it is 48% in Rutherford County. The reporting also found an “ugly and unsettling culture” surrounding the juvenile justice system. After reviewing countless documents and interviewing those who would talk to them, the reporters concluded that “officials flouted the law by wrongfully arresting and jailing children." The new reporting follows news this summer that the county agreed to pay up to $11 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over its policies for arresting and detaining children.

A new ABA ethics opinion clarifies obligations for language access in lawyer-client relationships, the ABA Journal reports. Under Formal Opinion 500, attorneys must take affirmative steps to ensure that they can communicate effectively with clients with limited English proficiency or with those with noncognitive physical disabilities such as a hearing or speech impairment. This may require the lawyer to engage an interpreter, translator or other assistive or language-translation technology. The opinion also calls on lawyers to be cognizant of “social and cultural differences that can affect a client’s understanding of legal advice, legal concepts, and other aspects of the representation.”