The Tennessee Department of Revenue is hosting a free webinar on the professional privilege tax on May 25 at 9 a.m. CDT. The program will review who is subject to the tax, who is exempt and how to timely remit the required payment. Sign up for the webinar here. The department offers monthly programs to give tax practitioners, attorneys, accountants and others an opportunity to learn more about presented tax topics and ask questions. The recorded sessions and dates for future webinars can be found on the Department of Revenue’s website.

U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger has granted a preliminary injunction ordering the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) to provide two deaf inmates with access to videophones. The preliminary injunction is part of a larger complaint brought by Disability Rights Tennessee and Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, which alleges TDOC has been in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide sign language interpreters, videophones and other technology necessary for effective communication. Plaintiffs filed an emergency motion in October asking the court to order TDOC to immediately install videophones for the two inmates. Prior to the motion, TDOC had refused to provide videophones, instead opting to use a teletypewriter (TTY), which requires users to type messages back and forth. The plaintiffs argued the TTY denied inmates the ability to communicate in their native language, American Sign Language. Disability Rights Tennessee attorney Daniel Ellis said the groups will “continue to advocate for effective communication for all Tennesseans who are members of the Deaf Community.” Trauger rejected TDOC’s motion to dismiss the case in November.

The Tennessee Bar Journal covers a variety of topics through its regular columnists — the current issue is full of details on estate planning, torts, employment law and family law. Dan Holbrook writes in "Where There's a Will," about a "valuation mismatch" that, without proper planning, can cause an estate tax surprise for your clients. Marlene Moses and Ben Russ write in "Family Matters" about the impact new rules regarding gender identity have on the world of family law. John Day writes in "Day on Torts," about the impact that traffic citations have on statutes of limitations in personal injury and wrongful death cases. And in Ward Phillips and Brandon Morrow's installment of "The Law at Work," read about the impact that two of the major provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) are likely to have on employers and employees. 

Two open board positions will be filled by the Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors at its meeting on June 18 in accordance with Article 47 of the TBA Bylaws. The West Grand Division Governor Position 2 and Third District Governor seats are open. The West Grand Division seat represents Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Shelby, Tipton and Weakley counties. The Third District seat represents Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Polk and Rhea counties. If you would like to be considered for one of these positions, please contact TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson by June 1. Please include a resume and details about your interest in filling the vacancy.

TBA member Linda Warren Seely has joined Butler Snow LLP as pro bono counsel, where she will lead the firm’s pro bono efforts from its Memphis office. Seely has most recently served as director of the American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section. Prior to the ABA, Seely served as the pro bono projects manager for West Tennessee Legal Services and managing attorney for senior citizens projects at Memphis Area Legal Services. Seely has served on the TBA’s Board of Governors, House of Delegates and Access to Justice Committee and is a prior recipient of the association’s Public Service Attorney of the Year Award and a President’s Award. She is currently a member of the TBA’s CLE and Attorney Well-Being committees. Butler Snow has more on Seely’s new position.  

The Tennessee State Library and Archives will host a one-day-only public display of Tennessee’s three original constitutions in celebration of Statehood Day, TNJ: On the Hill reports. The documents will go on display from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. CDT on June 1 at the New Library and Archives building, located at 1001 Rep. John Lewis Way N. on the northeast corner of the Bicentennial Mall State Park in Nashville. Several additional events and exhibits will be held to celebrate Tennessee’s 225th Statehood Day, including a special exhibit from the Tennessee State Museum and a special event at the Bicentennial Mall State Park featuring remarks from Gov. Bill Lee. Statehood Day events are free and reservations are not required.

The TBA will host a roundtable discussion next week, featuring panelists who will provide present-day insights of judicial independence in the shadows of our separation-of-powers history. In the Shadow of History: Separation of Powers and Tennessee Courts will take place on May 26 from 3 until 4 p.m. CDT. Todd Presnell of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings will moderate a panel that will include Nashville School of Law Dean William C. Koch Jr., University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law professor Steven J. Mulroy and former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice and University of Tennessee College of Law professor Penny J. White. The roundtable is free and open to the public, with optional CLE credit for a fee of $45.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services will soon release details on how the state plans to spend the more than $700 million it has amassed in unused Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grants from the federal government. Commissioner Clarence Carter told the Tennessean he was as “giddy as a 7-year-old on Christmas morning,” to begin spending the funding, which will be doled out based on an agreement between Gov. Bill Lee and state lawmakers. Under the new plan, which was passed by the General Assembly during the legislative session, the state will not be able to stockpile more than $191 million in TANF funding at a time, meaning officials will have to shed hundreds of millions from the current reserves. The final plan will include seven newly designed regional programs and increased funding to help people pursuing trade school, among other things.

Kentucky-based Stites & Harbison — with offices in Memphis, Nashville and Franklin — has expanded its operations to Ohio with a new office in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, the firm recently announced. Led by member Robin D. Miller, the office is currently operating with the help of attorneys from nearby Covington, Kentucky, but said it hopes to hire more local lawyers by the end of the year. The office will allow Stites & Harbison attorneys the ability “to better serve our growing client base across the state of Ohio and Midwest region," said firm chair Marjorie A. Farris. The firm also has offices in Georgia, Indiana and Virginia.

A vacancy in the state House created by the death of Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, ultimately will be filled by a special election, but the Hamilton County Commission is empowered to make an interim appointment, the Times Free Press reports. Carter, a former Hamilton County General Sessions judge, attorney and businessman, died last Friday. Two Republicans whose names are being mentioned for the District 29 seat are Greg Vital, president and co-founder of Morning Pointe Assisted Living, and Collegedale commissioner Ethan White, a realtor who challenged Carter in the 2016 primary. The district includes the Ooltewah, Collegedale and Harrison areas of the county.