The Department of Justice on Monday announced it has awarded the city of Chattanooga $700,000 to help combat and prevent violent crime in the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Chattanoogan reports. The funding is part of the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs’ $458 million effort to help state and local law enforcement combat violent crime in jurisdictions across the country. “This grant will certainly enhance the Chattanooga Police Department’s efforts as we move forward in this battle,” said U. S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey. A full list of grant recipients can be found here.

Baker Donelson shareholder and former TBA President Buck Lewis has been chosen to receive the American Bar Association’s Frances Perkins Public Service Award for his commitment to providing pro bono legal services, primarily in the areas of labor and employment law, to people of limited means. Lewis helped create what is now ABA Free Legal Answers, an interactive pro bono website that acts as a virtual legal advice clinic. Lewis is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee College of Law, the co-founder of its Institute of Professional Leadership and the College of Law’s Larry Wilks Distinguished Practitioner in Residence. Read more from the UT College of Law website.

The TBA’s Young Lawyers Division will continue its virtual law school visits tomorrow with a call to students at the University of Tennessee College of Law. This year's program will focus on the “Road to Success” with YLD members sharing their experiences on how they chose their practice area, bar exam study tips and habits, how to network, mental health wellness and more. For more information, contact YLD Coordinator Stephanie Vonhamme.

TBA CLE’s annual Bankruptcy Case Law Update will take place live on Zoom Webinar on Nov. 18 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. CST. Programming will include discussion on certain recent bankruptcy case developments in the 6th Circuit and around the country, as well as discussion on certain amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and local rules. And remember: all 2020 CLE hours can be taken online and TBA members get discounted pricing on all CLE programs.

Belmont University College of Law recently revealed that nine professors completed service as part of an academic reading group for the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary to assess the professional competence and writing ability of now U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The group, chaired by law school dean Alberto R. Gonzales, was one of two to review the materials. In related news, Justice Barrett sat today for her first oral arguments, the Associated Press reports.

A new report from the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession addresses communication barriers among white women lawyers and women lawyers of color that impede the progress of diversity efforts in the legal profession. “This Talk Isn’t Cheap: Women of Color and White Women Attorneys Find Common Ground” explores why women of color have feelings of mistrust toward their white female colleagues, as well as the challenges white women experience in attempting to understand the needs of their diverse female colleagues. The report also includes a toolkit to guide “difficult but necessary conversations.”

Children with severe disabilities will soon be able to receive thousands in financial assistance after federal officials approved a “Katie Beckett waiver” for the state. TennCare, which will be partly responsible for administering the new program, expects to begin accepting applications on Nov 23. The waiver will use a mix of state and federal funding to cover medical treatment for children with severe disabilities whose families have too much income to qualify for TennCare. Tennessee families pushed state lawmakers to pass a bill asking for the waiver in 2019. Gov. Bill Lee signed the legislation into law last May. The request has been under review for more than a year, the Commercial Appeal reports.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday suspended Davidson County lawyer Carla L. Arevalo from the practice of law for four years, with three years to be served on active suspension. The court made the suspension retroactive to a temporary suspension imposed on Jan. 11, 2018. It also directed Arevalo to make restitution to her client and contact the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program for evaluation. The court found that Arevalo failed to respond to a disciplinary complaint, failed to promptly return files to her client, failed to refund fees, and engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. She admitted her conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.16(d), 5.5(a), 8.1(b) and 8.4(a).

Seven statewide civil rights and civil liberties organizations are urging Gov. Bill Lee to publicly state that (1) voter intimidation is a crime; (2) post-election intimidation and violence will not be tolerated; and (3) the state will hold accountable anyone who harasses, coerces, intimidates or inflicts violence on individuals at polling places. The groups, including the ACLU, NAACP, Tennessee Equality Project and Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, argue that democracy only works when everyone agrees that the right to vote is sacred and the outcome of free, fair elections must be respected. They conclude by asking Lee to assure citizens that the government will do what it can to protect the voting process as well as Tennesseans’ safety during and after the election. Read more from the ACLU.

A Nashville judge ruled today that the state does not have to produce records on absentee voters before Election Day to the Tennessee Democratic Party and U.S. Senate nominee Marquita Bradshaw, the Tennessean reports. The parties had filed suit seeking access to the names of voters across the state who have requested and received absentee ballots but have not yet returned completed ballots to their local election commissions. They said they needed the information to better target get-out-the-vote efforts. Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal ruled there was "insufficient proof" that the parties had complied with the Tennessee Public Records Act or made a public records request to the named defendants.