Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will host two upcoming in-person legal advice clinics and one phone clinic for members of the public with questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. The in-person clinics will take place Saturday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the McHugh Clinic, 2005 12th Ave. S. in Nashville, and on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at Operation Stand Down Nashville, 1125 12th Ave. S. The phone clinic will be held Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. CDT. To volunteer, contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131.

Mark your calendar for the TBA LGBT Section’s Annual Forum 2021 on Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. CDT. This year’s program will focus on political concerns for Tennessee’s LGBT community, including an advocacy panel that will address how to become more involved locally in the fight for equal justice, how to build a grassroots movement and more. The section also will host a booth at the Nashville Pride Festival to answer basic questions and provide attendees with relevant resources. If you are interested in volunteering to assist at the festival, please contact section coordinator Jarod Word.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery says he will join a coalition of attorneys general from 37 other states in filing a lawsuit against Google in California. The complaint accuses Google, specifically the Google Play Store for Android devices and Google Play Billing, of violating antitrust law by maintaining an app store monopoly that harms consumers by limiting their choices and driving up app prices. The AG’s website has more on the lawsuit.

Nashville-Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway recently appeared on the Tennessee Voices videocast, a 20-minute program produced by the Tennessean that features leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for the paper. Judge Calloway used her appearance to talk about the challenges of presiding over court during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her optimism for the future as Nashville public schools implement youth courts to help students resolve conflicts and disputes. Watch it here.

TVA attorney Jill E. McCook reportedly will replace federal Magistrate Judge Bruce Guyton, who is retiring Jan. 31, 2022, Victor Ashe writes in Knoxnews. The appointment has not been officially announced but those who did not receive the appointment have been notified, Ashe reports. McCook, 38, was selected by the current active and senior federal judges in the Eastern District after a special committee chaired by former state representative and attorney Wayne Ritchie submitted her name along with four other attorneys to the judges. She will serve an eight-year term. McCook graduated from Washington and Lee College of Law, previously worked at Baker Donelson and was a senior law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan. She recently co-authored "Getting to Know the Federal Executive Branch Ethics Laws: A Primer," Part I in March and Part 2 in May for the Tennessee Bar Journal. With her selection, four of the five federal magistrate judges in East Tennessee will be women.

The state legislature passed the Jim Coley Protection for Rape Survivors Act in May to enhance protections for victims of sexual assault. The new law went into effect on July 1 but one of its key provisions — an electronic tracking system for sexual assault kits — may take a year to be up and running, Tennessee Lookout reports. To help expedite the process, state law enforcement officials are looking at a software system developed by the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau to provide justice and accountability for assault survivors. The system will allow law enforcement, prosecutors and victims to monitor the status of rape kits with an assigned identification number. Portland had discovered more than 5,000 untested rape kits in 2015. Within three years, it had reduced the backlog to almost zero.

In a letter to President Joe Biden today, Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III and 20 other state attorneys general voice opposition to regulatory guidance recently issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Education. The group argues the agencies are misinterpreting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, to prohibit employers and schools from operating sex-specific bathrooms, locker rooms and showers. They also take aim at the agencies’ claims that anyone using biologically accurate pronouns could violate the law. Finally, the group takes issue with the way the guidelines were promulgated, saying the agencies did not provide public notice or the opportunity to comment as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. Read more from the AG's office.

There is a general trend toward pursuing productivity, with lawyers trying to find the next productivity app, hack or guru, legal innovator Olga V. Mack writes in Above the Law. And while getting more organized or pursuing self-improvement is not bad, she cautions against falling into the trap of toxic productivity. She defines the term as trying to schedule the maximum amount of output for every minute of the day, filling every moment with back-to-back meetings, projects or research, with little-to-no time for breaks. Toxic productivity assumes we can always perform at our best and all we must do is pack our days. But reality does not agree, she argues. Instead, she says, recognize you can’t do it all alone and then find a support group or other structure that allows you to distribute your load equally and sustainably.

An article in yesterday’s TBA Today regarding a shift in Nashville’s legal market post-COVID-19 noted that national firms hiring Nashville attorneys to work remotely have contributed to a changing legal landscape. While some national firms have hired Nashville attorneys without setting up a physical office in the city, Am Law 50 firm K&L Gates did recently launch a Nashville office.

Democrat state Rep. Yusuf Hakeem is raising questions about suspension of the Baptiste Group’s license to operate a home for migrant children in Chattanooga, Tennessee Lookout reports. Hakeem, who represents the area, questioned the timing of the move, saying allegations of sexual abuse may have given the state an excuse to suspend the group's license. Hakeem also said it is unclear whether the state Department of Children’s Services, the federal government or the legislative committee on refugees is investigating the group.