TBA member and Butler Snow attorney Andre B. Mathis has been selected as a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 2021 Class of Fellows. The year-long program is designed to identify, train and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. Mathis, a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Labor and Employment groups in Memphis, advises business and governmental entities on contract disputes, employment litigation, internal investigations, education law, transportation litigation, premises liability and financial services litigation. He is also active in the local community, serving on the board for Streets Ministries Inc. and the Downtown Porter Boys & Girls Club; on the alumni board for the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law; and as a coach of the law school’s Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Team. Read more about Mathis in this release from the firm.

Former U.S. Sen. Bill Brock, R-Chattanooga, died today in Florida at the age of 90, the Tennessean reports. Brock spent eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1962 to 1970, becoming the first Republican to hold the Third Congressional District seat in 40 years. In 1970, he defeated incumbent Democrat Albert Gore Sr. for a seat in the U.S. Senate, but lost his re-election bid to Democrat Jim Sasser six years later. He went on to head the Republican National Committee, and serve as U.S. trade representative and Labor Department secretary during the Reagan administration. After leaving government service he formed the Brock Group, a Washington, D.C., trade consulting firm. Former U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, who decades later held the same congressional seat, described Brock as the "father of the Republican Party" in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission is accepting applications for a circuit court judge in the 10th Judicial District, which covers Bradley, Polk, McMinn and Monroe counties. The vacancy is due to the retirement of Judge Lawrence H. Puckett, effective July 1. Qualified applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 30 years of age, have been residents of the state for five years, and are residents of the 10th Judicial District. Interested individuals must complete an application and submit it by noon CDT on April 8. Complete instructions are posted online. The commission will hold a virtual hearing on May 13 at 9 a.m. CDT to review applicants.

The Nashville Conflict Resolution Center will host its fourth annual Mediation Matters Breakfast on April 1 at 8 a.m. CDT. The free virtual program will focus on how COVID-19 has impacted the housing crisis and how civil mediation is helping keep children and families in their homes. The center has worked in the Nashville community for 21 years. It recently was tapped by the courts to help keep people in their homes despite their inability to pay rent.

The Tennessee legislature will not be banning requirements for workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, at least during this session, WPLN reports. Yesterday, Rep. Rusty Grills, R-Newbern, took his bill, HB1147, off notice. The measure would have made it illegal to require employees to take the vaccine. Ultimately, the interests of “corporate freedom” won out against “individual liberty,” as one lawmaker put it. Grills also said that after talking to other members, he was concerned the proposal would conflict with the state’s “right-to-work” policies. Currently, federal law prohibits employers from forcing workers to get the vaccine because it has only been approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration.

A bill that would have legalized medical marijuana in Tennessee has failed in the state Senate, WJHL reports. Though the bill was recommended for passage by the Senate Government Operations Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee chose not to move forward with SB854 after some lawmakers expressed concerns about its constitutionality. Another medical marijuana bill is still active. SB667 would direct the Tennessee Department of Health to study medical marijuana licensing and regulations in neighboring states.

A bill passed by the Criminal Justice Subcommittee yesterday would create an electronic tracking system for victims and law enforcement to monitor the status of rape kit processing, Tennessee Lookout reports. HB39/SB1035 is sponsored by Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville, and Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, and is scheduled to be considered by the House Criminal Justice Committee next week. The legislation would direct law enforcement agencies, hospitals and labs to participate in the tracking system. The measure also would require law enforcement to pick up sexual assault evidence from a hospital within 48 hours of being notified, and extend the time period for preserving evidence from three to 10 years. Currently, 30 states and the District of Columbia have electronic tracking systems for law enforcement, with 24 states and D.C. also allowing victims to monitor the status.

On Wednesday, the TBA rallied its past, current and future female presidents for a one-hour virtual conversation to share their experiences and war stories and to honor female lawyers who have impacted the profession. The discussion opened with a tribute to the late Judge Pamela Reeves, the first woman to serve as president of the TBA, who was a mentor, leader and friend to so many. “She never forgot those who helped her along the way,” Judge Cynthia Wyrick said. Panelists also shared stories of non-traditional paths to becoming a lawyer; how they overcame challenges; and identified challenges that still exist within the profession. “We’ve come a long way, but one of the biggest challenges is unconscious bias. Women have a different perspective to bring to the table,” Michelle Greenway Sellers said. TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson served as moderator with former TBA presidents Wyrick, Jackie Dixon, Gail Vaughn Ashworth, Kathryn Reed Edge and Marcy Eason; TBA Vice President Tasha Blakney; TBA President-elect Sherie Edwards; and current TBA President Sellers. Watch the program here for free.

Retired Memphis lawyer Leonard V. Hughes Jr. of Germantown died Dec. 9, 2020, at the age of 85. A graduate of the Southern Methodist University Law School, Hughes was initially licensed in the Texas. He became licensed in Tennessee in 1960 and spent 50 years with the law firm of Hoffman, Hughes & McWhorter. Burial was at Memorial Park in Memphis.

The city of Chattanooga recently settled a federal lawsuit filed by the last known rape victim of former city police officer Desmond Logan, the Times Free Press reports. The city council approved a $550,000 settlement after a nearly two-year court battle in which it argued it could not be held liable because Logan was a rogue officer. Logan pleaded guilty to two counts of deprivation of civil rights and was sentenced last year to 20 years in federal prison for multiple rapes while on duty. The Nashville law firm of David Randolph Smith & Associates represented the woman. Attorney Chris Smith argued that the city was responsible because it kept Logan on the job after other women reported him for sexual misconduct and rape. Read more from the firm.