Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III has joined 19 other state AGs in supporting an Arkansas law that would prohibit abortions on the basis of a prenatal Down Syndrome diagnosis. The coalition filed an amicus brief yesterday, arguing that the law advances at least eight compelling state interests, including that it protects the “entire class of persons with Down Syndrome from being targeted for elimination solely because of disability,” and eradicates bias against them. Read more on the Attorney General’s website.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued an order to further loosen COVID-19 restrictions on in-person proceedings. Masks are now optional for those coming in-person to court, the order to stay six feet apart has been reduced to three feet and courtroom capacity requirements have been lifted, effective immediately. Judicial districts and judges still have discretion to limit the number of people in a courtroom and compliance with current CDC guidelines is still encouraged. The order also states that courts not already doing so, should begin utilizing technology to avoid in-person proceedings. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The TBA’s BarBuzz podcast is new this month with Knoxville attorney and incoming chair of the TBA Disability Law Section, Emma Drozdowski Webb. Drozdowski, the managing attorney at social security disability firm Drozdowski & Rabin PLLC, helps give listeners an overview of top legal news stories from the last month and upcoming events at the bar association. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found online or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Bruce McMullen has been named the managing shareholder for Baker Donelson's Memphis office. McMullen has been with the firm since 2008. He served as chief legal officer for the City of Memphis from 2016 until late 2019 while simultaneously maintaining his practice. During that time, McMullen oversaw the city’s legal and logistical strategy in the removal of the Confederate statues from Memphis parks in 2017. In his role as managing shareholder, he’ll continue his current practice, which focuses on health care litigation, municipal law, tort liability, commercial litigation and class action defense. 

Tennessee law schools will again hold virtual mixers during the week of the TBA Annual Convention in June. These sessions bring together the deans from each school, along with alumni and sometimes students for an update on current issues, challenges and activities on each campus. Register now if you would like to attend. You will be sent a link to the Zoom session for your law school's mixer closer to the event date. Convention registration is not required.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper has announced that Bob Cooper will resign as the Metro Director of Law in early June, the Tennessean reports. Cooper previously served as Tennessee Attorney General from 2006 until 2014 and was appointed to lead Metro’s Legal Department in 2019. He will now return to his former Nashville law firm, Bass, Berry & Sims. “Nashville has had the benefit of a great legal mind and a committed public servant, working on our behalf at a pivotal time,” the mayor said in the statement. Wally Dietz, the chair of Bass, Berry & Sims’ compliance and government investigations practice group, will take over as legal director.

The TBA’s Business Law Section will host a two-day forum May 20-21 from 9 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. CDT both days. Join this virtual program for an examination of the critical aspects of valuation rules and guidelines in the context of M&A deals. Forum faculty includes certified valuation experts, business law professors, M&A attorneys, investment bankers and venture capital firms focusing on early-stage investments. Register now for the forum worth one dual and five general CLE credits.

The Nashville Bar Association will hold its Spring Memorial Service on May 27 at 11 a.m. CDT via Zoom. The service will honor 17 lawyers who recently died. Please RSVP to receive a link to view the service. A project of the NBA’s Historical Committee, the memorial service is held in the fall and the spring to honor the memory of Nashville lawyers and judges who have passed away during the preceding six-month period.

Judges in Tennessee may not allow for-profit organizations to create non-fungible tokens (NFT) of their likenesses and sell them even if a portion of the proceeds would be donated to legal aid groups. In its first opinion of 2021, the Judicial Ethics Committee reports that the Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits judges from aiding a for-profit organization in planning related to fundraising or soliciting contributions. The committee reiterates that judges are encouraged to engage in educational, religious, charitable, fraternal or civic extrajudicial activities, but such activity is to be conducted with not-for-profit organizations. The request for the opinion came from DASH4LAW Inc., which wanted to use the likeness of certain judges to create NFTs that would then be auctioned off with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to legal aid groups.

The 2021 TBA Annual Convention, presented this year as both an in-person and virtual event, offers eight hours of CLE credit. One of the key offerings will be the annual Bench/Bar Program, which will include three distinct presentations this year. The first two sessions will address neurodiversity in the courtroom and vicarious trauma. The third session will focus on the effect of individual bias on the sentencing process. A panel, including Judge Bernice B. Donald with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, University of Memphis School of Law professor Demetria Frank and University of Tennessee College of Law professor Sherley Cruz, will discuss specific instances of bias in the sentencing phase and offer practical suggestions on how to limit the effect of individual biases. See all CLE programs being offered during the week of Convention and register here.