Frustrated by the lack of comfortable professional clothing, Harvard Law School student Logan Brown has launched a new clothing company that offers the “Ultimate Work-From-Home Blazer,” Above the Law reports. Brown, who attended college at Vanderbilt University, created Spencer Jane after cross-enrolling in a Harvard Business School class and working with the Harvard Innovation Labs. Brown created a survey with questions about pantsuit shopping essentials for her business course, but decided she could fix the problems that others had identified about professional clothing. The Ultimate Work-From-Home Blazer was designed to “seamlessly transition from a Zoom meeting to an in-person boardroom and whatever else you’re up to.” Brown tells the TBA she plans on returning to Nashville upon law school graduation.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today vacated a suspension it imposed on Davidson County lawyer Charles Edward Walker on March 25. The court had suspended Walker for three years, with two years to be served on active suspension and one year on probation, and had directed him to engage a practice monitor. The court took the action believing that Walker had not appealed the Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommendation for discipline. The court says it has since learned that Walker did file an appeal but filed it in the wrong court. The order today also directs the Court of Appeals to transfer Walker’s appeal to it for consideration.

A new report from the Knoxville News Sentinel, in partnership with Compass Knox, is raising questions about the legality of Knox County’s partnership with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The controversial 287(g) program gives Knox County deputies federal authority to conduct immigration screenings and to detain immigrants who entered the country without proper documents. According to the report, a 2007 amendment to state employment law requires local law enforcement to obtain “approval by the governing legislative body” before entering into federal immigration enforcement agreements. Former Knox County Sheriff J.J. Jones entered into the ICE agreement in 2017, but failed to seek approval from the Knox County Commission. Read more on the county’s 287(g) program.

On this week’s episode of the TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz is joined by TBA staff member Kate Prince to discuss the latest developments at the state legislature. Schwarz details the TBA’s concerns over House Bill 1386, which, in cases of salary disputes among public employees, would require attorneys to take their case to trial within 90 days and would cap attorney’s fees at $15,000. A new episode of Legislative Updates drops every Thursday and can be found on the TBA’s Facebook page or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

TBA member Kristen Johns has accepted the position of chief legal officer with the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which manages digital streaming services licenses. According to the Nashville Post, Johns will oversee the company’s legal affairs, including its blanket licensing process and compliance work. Prior to MLC, Johns was a partner at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis where she led the blockchain practice as a member of the firm’s intellectual property group. 

The Tennessee Bar Association’s online renewal for 2021-2022 is now open! Renew your membership to continue your access to CLE programming with three pre-paid credits, TBA’s new Practice Management Center, free online legal research through Fastcase and timely information through TBA Today, TBA Podcasts and the Tennessee Bar Journal. Also now available is access to the TBA’s Group Health Insurance Plan, with open mid-year enrollment available now. Renewal emails are being sent now with a direct link to quickly renew your membership, or you can login and access renewal information through your MyTBA dashboard. 

The TBA Entertainment & Sports Law Section will host its annual CLE program on May 13 from 11 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. CDT. Presenters will provide up-to-date information and inside knowledge on some of the hottest topics in the entertainment and sports industries, including: catalog sales and the related financial and ethical components that come into play on both the buyer and seller sides; sports betting in Tennessee; the new age of artist development through TikTok; and the impact of cancel culture and morality clauses when it comes to holding artists accountable for their actions. The program is virtual and attendees will be able to ask questions through Zoom’s chat feature. Read more about the program and get registered.  

"As you point out in your article, lawyer mental health is still taboo, and I’m not sure anyone has written about it so nakedly before," a lawyer wrote in response to Kent Halkett's recent Tennessee Bar Journal article. "We can tell our firms when we need parental leave or medical leave, or even when we have a body ailment. No one feels like we can tell our firm(s) that the pressure of the job is affecting our mental health." This letter and many more were sent to Halkett about his article, “Mental Health in the Legal Profession: A Crisis, a Case Study and a Call to Action." The publication Above the Law covered the article, which urged "the profession take mental health seriously, particularly in the wake of COVID-19. It’s a sensitive subject and Halkett’s article’s had a tremendous impact, not just because mental health has historically been verboten, particularly at high-powered law firms, but because of the death by suicide of Sidley partner Gabe MacConaill." Above the Law then followed up by writing about the responses the Journal received. Read all of the personal and sometimes gut-wrenching letters here. 

The case of death row inmate Pervis Payne is garnering nationwide interest, from celebrities to TikTok users, the Commercial Appeal reports. Payne, who has maintained his innocence, was convicted of the 1987 deaths of Millington woman Charisse Christopher and her daughter, Lacie. He was scheduled for execution on Dec. 3 but was granted a reprieve by Gov. Bill Lee until April 9 due to COVID-19. Now, as state legislators work to pass a bill that would allow Payne to plead his case that he is intellectually disabled — and thus ineligible for the death penalty — thousands are supporting him online and in person. “A lot of attention is being paid to the case on social media and the word is getting around," said Payne's attorney Kelley Henry. The Innocence Project has gathered more than 600,000 signatures in support of Payne while a TikTok video in support of Payne has received more than 9.3 million views. National news stories also are garnering interest, while an opinion piece from Martin Luther King III urges the governor to spare Payne’s life. A spokeswoman for Lee said this week that the governor is still reviewing the case.

President Joe Biden is out with a list of his first set of judicial nominees. The 11 nominees include three Black women who would join federal appellate courts. They are U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who would take now-Attorney General Merrick Garland's place on the D.C. Circuit; Tiffany Cunningham, a Perkins Coie partner who would join the Federal Circuit; and Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, a Zuckerman Spaeder partner who would join the 7th Circuit. Others named include Deborah Boardman, Lydia Griggsby, Julien Neals, Florence Y. Pan, Rupa Ranga Puttagunta, Zahid N. Quraishi, Regina Rodriguez and Margaret Strickland. Read more about them from National Public Radio.