The American Bar Association announced this week that Nashville attorneys Randy Kinnard and Daina Bray are the recipients of two awards from the association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section. Kinnard will receive the Pursuit of Justice Award, given to attorneys who have shown outstanding merit and who excel in providing justice for all. He is a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney at Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge. Bray will receive the section’s Animal Law Committee’s Excellence in the Advancement of Animal Law Award, which recognizes a committee member who, through commitment and leadership, has advanced the humane treatment of animals through the law. She is general counsel for the international nonprofit Mercy for Animals and vice chair of the TBA’s Animal Law Section.

The 25th Annual Labor & Employment Law Forum is going virtual over two days in May. The program will take place May 6-7, from 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. CDT each day. Full two-day registration as well as individual day registrations are available. Sessions will include case law updates, labor and employment issues in the COVID-19 era, what to expect from the Biden administration and an ethics update. The full two-day program will provide six hours of CLE credit (1 dual, 5 general).

The state Senate approved legislation last week that would reduce the amount of time a person must serve before becoming eligible for parole, the Tennessean reports. Under current law, a person convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole must serve 51 years in prison before being considered for release. Bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, and Rep. London Lamar, D-Memphis, would reduce that time to 25 years. No action has been taken on HB1532/SB0561 in the House yet.

Legislation restricting the governor’s ability to issue a state of emergency for more than 60 days is meeting different fates in the Senate and House this year, Tennessee Lookout reports. Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, sent his bill, SB859, to summer study, meaning it is on hold for the year. In the House, HB869 sponsored by Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, was slated to be heard today in the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee. State law currently gives the governor wide authority to issue executive orders and suspend laws and regulations at his discretion. The bills would limit that power to 60 days. If at the end of that time, the governor wanted to extend an order, the General Assembly would have to approve it. The bills also would give the legislature the authority to end a state of emergency or executive order based on a public health emergency.

Legislation from Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, and Rep. Michael Curcio, R-Dickson, that would ban local governments from filing lawsuits to challenge the constitutionality of state laws, was to have been re-considered by the Senate today after being rejected on Monday. The legislation, being offered as an amendment to HB1072/SB915 has now been moved to tomorrow's agenda. The legislation also would allow the state to file an interlocutory appeal in any case in which the constitutionality of a statute is challenged and stay any injunction issued by the court pending the final outcome of the appeal. TBA has been expressing concern to bill sponsors and committee members.

The day after the House passed its version, former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William Koch, now dean of the Nashville School of Law, told Tennessee Lookout that he is “not exactly sure what the statute is designed to fix.” Under current law, the state can make an interlocutory appeal if a judge places an injunction on a state law involved in a constitutional challenge. “What this [bill] does is say there is an automatic stay,” Koch said. In essence, he said, the legislation “takes the judges out of the equation.” He also said he thinks there is some question about the constitutionality of the proposal since it could “violate the separation of powers” by appearing to tell “courts how to try cases.”

Newly elected Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly has named attorney and community leader Emily O’Donnell as his pick to serve as city attorney. If approved by the city council, she would be the first woman to occupy the city’s top legal office, Chattanoogan.com reports. O’Donnell spent the first half of her career as an attorney for Legal Aid of East Tennessee focusing on housing, domestic relations, employment and consumer issues. She moved on to private practice in 2018 and then founded her own firm with a focus on family law in 2019.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday permanently disbarred Knox County lawyer Wendell Kyle Hall from the practice of law in the state. The court found that Hall failed to (1) provide competent representation to his clients; (2) act with reasonable diligence and promptness in his representation; (3) respond to requests for information; (4) communicate with clients and keep them informed about their cases; (5) inform clients of his suspension; (6) notify clients of his withdrawal as attorney of record; (7) expedite litigation; (8) respond to complaints filed with the Board of Professional Responsibility; and (9) comply with court orders. Finally, the court found that Hall improperly requested and received a loan from a client without memorializing the loan in writing and without advising the client in writing to seek independent legal counsel.

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and the National Legal Aid & Defender Association will convene their annual Equal Justice Conference next week with a virtual program. The annual gathering of legal services and pro bono advocates will focus this year on strengthening civil justice partnerships. Special speakers will include Douglas Emhoff, entertainment law attorney and husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, civil rights lawyer Damon Hewitt and Vu Le, former director of a nonprofit focused on social justice.

The National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being has launched a new nonprofit dedicated to advancing systemic change in the legal profession so that well-being becomes a core component of personal and professional success. The Institute for Well-Being in Law will seek to address growing concerns about mental health, substance use and addiction, and stress affecting lawyers. It also will coordinate next week’s “Well-Being Week In Law” to raise awareness and encourage action and innovation across the profession. Watch for wellness tips in TBA Today each day next week!

Make plans now to join colleagues for the 2021 TBA Annual Convention, presented this year as both an in-person event at The Peabody in Memphis and as a virtual online event the week of June 14. For both the in-person and virtual audiences, the event offers eight hours of CLE. This year's offerings include the ever-popular Legislative Update, which will feature a panel of lawmakers discussing the 2021 legislative session and an update on legislation of interest to lawyers with TBA Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Legislative Counsel Brad Lampley. This legislative session has seen a more active effort to reshape the judiciary in the state. Don’t miss this opportunity to find out what it all means for your practice and the profession.