Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands Executive Director DarKenya Waller has been named a Woman of Achievement by YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee. She will officially be inducted into the Academy for Women of Achievement next spring. The YWCA launched the academy in 1992 to increase community awareness and appreciation of the diverse contributions of women in the workforce and the community. Read more in the Tennessee Ledger.

The Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims has issued an addendum to its Petition for Benefit Determination to be used only for death claims. The form should be completed and filed with the full Petition for Benefit Determination or Petition for Benefit Determination for Settlement Approvals. The court also has released a new form to request a status hearing. The forms are available on the court’s website. Read more about the new forms in a blog post from Judge Pamela B. Johnson in Knoxville.

Diversity Lab recently announced the law firms that have achieved the fourth round of Mansfield Rule certification. To be certified, firms must complete a 12-month process to demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and that they are making meaningful progress on diversifying law firm leadership. Among the group are 10 firms with offices in Tennessee. They are: Baker Donelson, Fisher & Phillips, Frost Brown Todd, Greenberg Traurig, Husch Blackwell, Jackson Lewis, K&L Gates, Littler Mendelson, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Polsinelli. Two other firms have debuted on the Midsize Mansfield Rule list, which has modified requirements to account for smaller firm size. They are Lewis Thomason and McGlinchey Stafford.

Former Chattanooga city attorney and mayoral candidate Wade Hinton has launched a diversity and inclusion consulting business, the Times Free Press reports. One of Hinton & Company's first clients will be U.S. Xpress, which is seeking to make inclusion and diversity a core element of its culture. Hinton most recently worked as vice president of inclusion and diversity for Unum. From 2013 to 2018, he served as Chattanooga's first Black city attorney. He previously was deputy general counsel for Volkswagen's Chattanooga operations and in private practice at Miller & Martin, Snipes Roberson and Hinton, and Shumacker & Thompson.

Charlotte-based Viking Mergers & Acquisitions has announced the opening of a Nashville office to be led by managing partner Kyle Kerrigan, the Nashville Post reports. Viking was founded in 1996 and, in addition to Charlotte and Nashville, has offices in Knoxville, Florida and South Carolina. 

Services were held earlier this month for Susan Gail Sisson, who died Aug. 18 at 67. Sisson had spent three months in the hospital after having been diagnosed for the third time with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a disease she fought for seven years. Sisson earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and her Master of Library Science degree from the University of Tennessee. In her last position, she served as director of library services for the Chattanooga office of Miller & Martin. Memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Heifer International or Smile Train.

The YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee will hold the next installment in its Stand Against Racism series next Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. The session will focus on inadequacies of funding for K-12 and higher education and the impact on students who are poor, Black and brown, English-language learners and those with disabilities. Register here to attend this virtual program. Charles Grant, an attorney with Baker Donelson, will moderate the program. Questions can be directed to Amber Hale, 615-983-5129.

This year's annual Creditors Practice Forum will be offered as a live virtual program on Oct. 6 from 12:30 to 3:45 p.m. CDT. The program will feature Patty Whitehead of Rubin Lublin, who will address the enforcement of judgment liens on real property; John Bedard of Bedard Law Group, who will discuss the Hunstein case; and Lewis Borsellino of DefendEdge, who will discuss cybersecurity issues. The forum will offer two general and one dual CLE credits.

The TBA is offering a free virtual webinar Oct. 6 from 3-4 p.m. CDT on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s recent decision in Milan v. Navistar. The case looked at changes to the economic loss doctrine, which precludes recovery for purely economic losses in tort actions. The Court of Appeals held that the economic loss doctrine bars a plaintiff’s fraudulent inducement claim. The Supreme Court agreed. University of Tennessee College of Law professor Lucy Jewel and retired professor John Sobieski will lead a discussion about the decision. One hour of CLE is available for TBA members for a $45 fee.

Gov. Bill Lee joined 25 Republican governors this week in sending a letter to President Joe Biden seeking a meeting within 15 days to resolve the situation at the Southern border, where tens of thousands of Haitians and people of other nations are gathered to enter the United States. The letter states that border arrests have increased nearly 500% since 2020 and that federal action is needed immediately to stem the surge, Tennessee Lookout reports. Gov. Lee has expressed frustration with the border situation in the past, while also declining to accept unaccompanied minor children in the state temporarily until they can be placed with friends, family or sponsors.