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 is the annual Better Right Now Program, which will focus this year on biases, how lawyers have been impacted in the past and what legal groups are doing to improve the situation. The first session will feature a panel of therapists and experts talking about how to identify and address implicit and explicit biases. In the second session, a panel of diverse lawyers will discuss their own experiences and how the past actions of others have affected them. Finally, the program will wrap up with a panel of local and affinity bar association leaders discussing initiatives and actions their organizations have taken to address diversity. Don’t miss this important program. Register for the 2021 Convention today!

Day three of Well-Being Week in Law focuses on career and intellectual well-being with the goals of finding personal satisfaction, professional growth and financial stability. Lawyers are encouraged to engage in creative or intellectually challenging activities that foster ongoing development. First, the institute recommends reading “Nine Steps to Achieving Flow in Your Work.” Flow is a psychological state of complete absorption in engaging activities that are optimally challenging. Research shows it is key to well-being and growth and can buffer us against the negative psychological effects of the pandemic. Second, watch the “Fostering Flow is a Key to Growth & Happiness” video with psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. Finally, download the Flow Activity Guide to find creative activities that align with who you are, are absorbing and challenging, and enable you to disconnect from stressful thoughts, as well as the Job Crafting Activity Guide to find a better fit between strengths, values, preferences and work. Access these and other resources here.

On April 24, the TBA Board of Governors accepted recommendations from its Operations Committee to amend the TBA Bylaws. These amendments would provide an expansion of the TBA’s non-discrimination policy and clarify or revise a number of other sections dealing with election eligibility and procedures. A redline version is available to show the proposed changes. These draft revisions will be posted for 21 days, after which the Board of Governors will vote on the amendments at a specially set board meeting. Send any comments to barEd@tnbar.org.

The Senate Finance Committee today took up SB868, legislation creating a statewide chancery court, and passed the bill without incorporating the House Finance Committee amendment that would instead create the Court of Special Appeals. With the House and Senate versions of SB868/HB1130 conflicting, the two chambers will have to try to work out their differences in a conference committee. TBA lobbyists have been deeply engaged throughout this process, talking to legislators about the different proposed changes to the court system and expressing our grave concerns about the ramifications of these changes. We anticipate that another House amendment to HB1130 will be offered tonight on the House floor. Additionally, SB843/HB513, making it a felony for protesters to obstruct a highway and granting immunity to drivers who unintentionally injure or kill someone blocking a road, was tabled for the year during a special meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee today.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued a special order clarifying that Rule 8, RPC 1.8(e) does not exclude the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) and its four partners from giving financial aid to clients. The rule maintains that lawyers cannot provide financial assistance to clients in connection with pending or completed litigation. TALS, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Memphis Area Legal Aid Services and West Tennessee Legal Services last week wrote to the high court, asking it to consider an exception that would allow the organizations to administer aid through a grant funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. The grant money will be used to expand TALS’ 2Gen legal assistance program that focuses on helping families avoid homelessness by paying their rent, housing debts, resettlement costs and more. The Supreme Court granted the request today, writing that TALS and its partners will not be in violation of the rule when using donations to provide humanitarian aid to those in need. TALS anticipates having up to $13.8 million dollars available to assist up to 1,160 families.

The state House of Representatives last night passed legislation that changes police use-of-force policies, the Nashville Post reports. The bill, SB1380/HB1406, bans chokeholds unless an officer believes deadly force is authorized, requires officers to intervene if witnessing excessive force by other officers, requires de-escalation policies be developed and prohibits the issuance of no-knock warrants. The Senate unanimously approved the bill last week.

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), a California-based gun-rights organization, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the age restrictions in Tennessee’s permitless carry law, the Times Free Press reports. The new gun law goes into effect on July 1 and will allow most adults aged 21 and older to carry handguns in public without state-issued permits. The civil rights complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee on behalf of three Knox County men who are between the ages of 18 and 20 and excluded from permitless carry under the new statute. The lawsuit claims there are federal constitutional problems with regard to the age requirements in the new law. According to the FPC’s website, the group has filed similar suits in California and Pennsylvania.  

The Memphis Bar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Memphis Bar Association, annually nominates attorneys and judges to become fellows based on their service to the legal profession. See the 23 new fellows of the 2021 class. The foundation also presented its Irvin Bogatin Scholarship and Irvin Bogatin Social Justice Award to two students at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. First-year student Lexi Hivner received the scholarship, while third-year student Sierra Knight received the award. Bogatin was a charter fellow and first president of the Memphis Bar Foundation. He also helped to found Memphis Area Legal Services and served as president of the Memphis Bar Association.

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is now accepting nominations for the Sue Ann Head Award for Excellence in Workers’ Compensation. Nominees must have a minimum of five years of involvement with the state’s workers’ compensation system in one of the following categories: employer or employer’s representative, employee representative, service provider, claims professional, medical provider or legal profession. The award will be given to the nominee who has made a positive impact on the workers’ compensation system through a single act or sustained record of positive contributions. Nominations are due by June 15. Read more about the award and how to make a nomination on the Bureau’s website.

After detailed analysis of the current real estate market and the short and long-term needs of the Tennessee Bar Association, the TBA Board of Governors and trustees of the Tennessee Legal Community Foundation (TLCF) have decided to market the Tennessee Bar Center in downtown Nashville and look for short term office space while determining long term needs. The TLCF, which owns the Bar Center, created a committee in 2019 to study the space, occupied since 2000 by the TBA and other tenants. Former TBA President Lucian Pera chaired the committee, which worked with Colliers and TBA staff to determine if the TLCF should invest in renovating the office space at 221 4th Avenue North or put the building on the market. Any questions about the building should be directed to TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson or Mike Driscoll at Colliers.