Memphis attorney Quinton Thompson of Morgan & Morgan co-hosts this month's episode of the TBA BarBuzz podcast. Tune in to get the scoop on bar association and legal news for the month, upcoming events, special shoutouts to attorneys in the Tennessee legal community and more. BarBuzz is part of the Tennessee Bar Association Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Shelby County attorney Robert Harris Golder was today publicly censured by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Golder represented two clients in petitions for post-conviction relief and a third client in a petition for habeas relief. In all three matters, Golder delayed in taking proper action on behalf of his clients, failed to respond to inquiries from his clients and failed to keep his clients updated on the status of their cases. In the habeas proceeding, Golder also missed applicable court deadlines and failed to deposit unearned fees into his trust account. A public censure is a rebuke and warning to the attorney, but it does not affect the attorney’s ability to practice law.

Six applicants are vying for the 14th Judicial District Circuit Court vacancy, which covers Coffee County. Applicants include: Robert T. Carter; Jason Huskey; Margaret C. Lamb Kilgore; William Lockhart; Edward H. North; and Felicia B. Walkup. The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will hold a public hearing to consider these applicants on May 14 at 9 a.m. CDT at the Meeting Hall of the Coffee County Administrative Plaza (C-CAP Building) located at 1329 McArthur St., Manchester 37355. The commission is expected to vote immediately following the interviews and forward three names to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. The Administrative Office of the Court has more on each applicant.

The Tennessee Bar Association has been named one of Nashville’s 2021 “Best Places to Work” by the Nashville Business Journal. Now in its 18th year, the rankings recognize Nashville companies for their teamwork, mutual respect among employees and leadership. The list is assembled after a nomination process and an employee survey that measures team effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, manager effectiveness and more. Organizations are then ranked and winners are chosen in each size category by their composite score. The TBA was honored in the “Small (10-24 employees)” category. The bar association will be featured in a special print publication and on the NBJ’s website and will be honored during a special virtual awards ceremony on May 18.

The Tennessee General Assembly has unanimously confirmed Judge Jill Bartee Ayers to the Court of Criminal Appeals Middle District. Ayers, who was previously a circuit court judge for the 19th Judicial District, was appointed to the role by Gov. Bill Lee in January. She joins 12 Court of Criminal Appeals judges from the Eastern, Middle and Western divisions. Middle District cases are traditionally heard at the Nashville Supreme Court building, but Ayers will likely hear cases from the other divisions as well. Ayers, who says she is “humbled” by the appointment, is the first addition to the Court of Criminal Appeals since 2016. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Tennessee Faith & Justice Alliance is planning a telephone clinic for Knoxville area residents this week starting tomorrow and running through Thursday. The alliance is a project of the Tennessee Access to Justice Commission. In the Knoxville area, the program is coordinated by the KBA's Access to Justice Committee, Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the University of Tennessee College of Law. Learn more or sign up here to volunteer.

Legal organizations in Knoxville will hold a virtual Veterans Legal Advice Clinic Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m. EDT. The clinic is a general advice and referral clinic that serves between 20 and 30 veterans each month with a wide variety of legal issues. To volunteer, sign up online. For questions, contact Access to Justice Committee Co-Chairs Spencer Fair or Luke Ihnen.

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bernice Donald and her law clerk Devon Muse recently co-authored an article titled "Lifelong Collateral Consequences: The Modern-Day Scarlett Letter." The article has been published in the most recent edition of the Drake Law Review. The pair explore what happens to prisoners when they return to society, arguing that those with a criminal record face a number of indefinite barriers as they attempt to rejoin their communities. They conclude that a rise in the number of Americans with felony and misdemeanor convictions to “staggering levels” has revealed the “dire need to eliminate the collateral consequences that continue to burden so many people.” Donald represents Tennessee on the court. Muse was elected earlier this year as president-elect of the Washington County Bar Association.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP recently announced the recipients of its 2021 Diversity Scholarships. Gillian Mak, a law student at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., will clerk in the firm’s Nashville office this summer. The scholarship program is part of the firm’s diversity commitment, which includes promoting law students who reflect the diversity of the legal marketplace and are underrepresented in the profession. Mak is a first year law student and member of the Student Health Law Association and the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. 

Federal Judge Sheryl Halle Lipman on Friday approved an agreement between civil rights advocates and the Shelby County sheriff to improve jail conditions and protect people from widespread infection, serious injury and death from COVID-19, Memphis Flyer reports. The agreement guarantees that the jail will implement rigorous monitoring and reporting, including: additional jail inspections, improved airflow and ventilation, better quality protective equipment, continued efforts to expedite release of those who are disabled or medically vulnerable and improved social distancing.