The Tennessee Trial Lawyers’ Community Relief Fund has made five disaster relief grants to community organizations helping residents of Humphreys County and Waverly recover from devastating flooding. The contributions will benefit Salter’s Chapel AME Church, Humphreys Homeless Coalition, Waverly Church of Christ, Humphreys County Humane Society and Waverly Elks Lodge No. 2289. The fund was created in March 2020 by the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein following tornadoes that hit Nashville that year. It is administered through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Contributions may be made online or by mailing a check to the foundation at P.O. Box 440225, Nashville, TN 37244. Please note the donation is for the Trial Lawyers’ Community Relief Fund.

Federal education officials have launched a civil rights investigation into Gov. Bill Lee’s recent executive order prohibiting school districts from mandating mask-wearing, saying such policies could amount to illegal discrimination against students with disabilities. Investigations were also opened into similar orders in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah, Tennessee Lookout reports. The investigations will examine whether “students with disabilities, who are at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19, are prevented from safely returning to in-person education” as a result of the policies. The Department of Education had previously warned that the order could run afoul of federal law. The governor is also being sued by Shelby County and a group of families.

The U.S. Justice Department this week urged attorneys across the legal profession to volunteer their time to assist the surge of tenants expected to be forced out of homes now that a COVID-19 pandemic-related eviction moratorium has ended. In a letter addressed to "members of the legal community," Attorney General Merrick Garland said eviction filings are expected to spike to roughly double their pre-pandemic levels and that lawyers have an ethical obligation to help the most vulnerable. Garland encouraged lawyers to volunteer at legal aid providers or help tenants apply for government emergency rent relief, Reuters reports. A number of law school deans, including Chris Guthrie at Vanderbilt University Law School, signed onto a statement supporting the call.

Volkswagen's U.S. unit has agreed to a $42 million settlement covering 1.35 million vehicles that were equipped with potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators, Reuters reports. The settlement is the latest by a major automaker with much of the funding going to boosting recall completion rates. To date, seven other major automakers have agreed to settlements worth about $1.5 billion covering tens of millions of vehicles. The defect, which leads in rare instances to air bag inflators rupturing and sending dangerous metal fragments flying, prompted the largest automotive recall in history.

U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty has promoted legislative director Adam Telle to chief of staff following John Rader’s departure, the Nashville Post reports. Telle was part of a group of former Trump aides who joined the Tennessee Republican’s office following his 2020 election. In addition to his previous role as legislative director, Telle was Hagerty’s chief adviser. Under Trump, he led the White House Office of Legislative Affairs’ Senate team. Rader left the office to return to the private sector.

The American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Disaster Legal Services Program (DLS) is ramping up pro bono efforts to assist Louisianans affected by Hurricane Ida. Attorneys play a vital role in helping disaster survivors recover after a disaster, including accessing post-disaster assistance from federal and state programs and responding to other needs. The DLS is asking interested attorneys to register to assist with the anticipated legal needs. Additionally, the Louisiana State Bar’s website has information about how to assist attorneys affected by the hurricane in their state, including providing office space, technology and housing.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today amended Rule 8, RPCs 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 and 7.5, after considering a TBA petition filed in October asking for the changes, as well as comments from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, the Knoxville Bar Association, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and two individual lawyers. The TBA also submitted a comment that, in large measure, replied to the suggestions and objections raised in other comments. The amendments are set out in the appendices to this order. In a separate order also filed today, the Supreme Court declined to grant the TBA’s petition to amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 8, RPC 7.6. The court instead published proposed amendments to RPC 7.6 and to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 44 and is asking for comments by Nov. 30. 

A Texas law banning virtually all abortions took effect today after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to act on an emergency application seeking to block it, the ABA Journal reports. Texas Senate Bill 8 prohibits abortions after a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat, which usually occurs around six weeks of pregnancy. The law also allows private citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone else who helps a woman obtain an abortion. Those who sue can potentially earn $10,000 per abortion if they are successful. The Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, the Lawyering Project, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups had asked the high court to intervene. Reuters reports that the Supreme Court could still act on the matter but have already agreed to hear arguments in Mississippi’s effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.

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Six lawyers have recently been reinstated after being suspended for failure to complete required CLE hours. See the full list of those suspended and reinstated in 2021 for 2020 violations. The TBA also has records of all administrative suspensions and reinstatements going back to 2005. See all lists here.