The Mansfield Rule Certification measures whether law firms consider diverse lawyers for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions. Eight firms with offices in Tennessee have earned the annual certification, which is granted by Diversity Lab. They are Baker, Donelson; Frost Brown Todd; Greenberg Traurig; Husch Blackwell; Jackson Lewis; Littler Mendelson; and Merchant & Gould. The group also has launched a pilot program for midsize firms. Among the 20 firms participating is Starnes Davis Florie with offices in Franklin.

The TBA’s Tax Law Section will offer its Annual Tax Law Forum as a live virtual event next Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. CDT. Nashville lawyer Michael Goode with Lewis Thomason and Chattanooga lawyer Terrence Olsen with the Olsen Law Firm will provide a legislative update; Kristin Husat, assistant commissioner & general counsel for the Tennesseee Department of Revenue will focus on the state sales tax; and E. Keith Uselton with Uselton Clay & Bright PC will cover developments in the CARES Act.

The Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association is partnering with the Law Offices of the Shelby County Public Defender to help restore the rights of would-be voters in advance of the Oct. 5 registration deadline for the November presidential election. More than 40 Memphians have already signed up for assistance and volunteer attorneys are needed to represent those who have had their voting rights revoked due to a conviction. Volunteers should be local to the Memphis area and will need to file and present a motion to allow the movant to pursue voter restoration without being required to pay all court costs in full beforehand. An attorney volunteer training will be held Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. Sign up for the training here and email any questions or concerns to Amber Floyd.

Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Thomas Woodall has announced that he will officially retire from the court on Dec. 31 after 24 years of service. Woodall has been with the Court of Criminal Appeals since 1996, after having spent two years with a Memphis firm and six years as an assistant district attorney in the 24th judicial district. Woodall heard his last oral arguments on Sept. 15. “I have loved oral arguments and engaging with the attorneys. It has been a pleasure and a privilege,” he said. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on Woodall’s legal career, including his role in creating a judicial assistance program under the Tennessee Lawyer’s Assistance Program and his take on how technology has changed the court’s process.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is accepting applications for a chancellor in the Sixth Judicial District, which covers Knox County. This vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Michael W. Moyers, effective Jan. 23 of next year. 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 Sixth Judicial District. Those interested should submit the Trial Court Vacancy Commission Application to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CDT on Sept. 30. The commission will hold a hearing virtually via Zoom on Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. EDT. It will be live streamed for the public on the AOC’s YouTube page. Those who wish to address the commission to express their objection or support concerning an applicant must email Ceesha Lofton or call 615-741-2687 by 4 p.m. CDT on Oct. 14. Read more about the vacancy on the AOC’s website.  

The Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association announced its annual award winners and its 2020- 2021 Board of Directors during the organization’s Annual Meeting on Sept. 3. Kay Anderson of Baker Donelson in Memphis was chosen as TDLA’s Defense Lawyer of the Year Award, Devin Lyon with Arnett, Draper and Hagood in Knoxville received the TDLA Rising Star award and Cate Dugan of Peterson White in Nashville was the recipient of the TDLA Outstanding Service Award. Read more on all the award winners here. The TDLA 2020-2021 Board of Directors was also installed during the Annual Meeting. Members now include: Heather Douglas of Nashville, president; Dawn Davis of Memphis, president-elect; Hannah Lowe of Knoxville, secretary/treasurer; Rocky King of Knoxville, immediate past president.  

Colleges and organizations across Tennessee today are celebrating Constitution Day, a holiday to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. The Administrative Office of the Courts has assembled a list of online observations each of which affords an opportunity to reflect on what the Constitution and citizenship have meant throughout our country’s history. If you miss the live versions, most of the events have instructions on how you can watch them after the fact, including Born into Sin: Slavery and the Creation of Tennessee from Blount Mansion and the Knoxville History Project, the National Constitution Center’s Student Town Hall with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch and the 2020 Liberty Medal Ceremony, which this year will be presented to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The TBA has also compiled a list of Constitution Day resources to mark the day. 

Husch Blackwell attorney Ariel Anthony spoke with the Hamilton County Herald this month to discuss her work with the TBA’s new Diversity Task Force — a 19-member group assembled to take on diversity challenges within the legal profession. When asked about her role within the task force, Anthony said she’ll be “helping to evaluate the current legal climate and the TBA’s policies and practices related to diversity and inclusion,” ultimately making recommendations to the TBA Board of Governors for immediate and long-term strategies. Anthony earned her law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where in her 3L year, she was chosen to participate in the TBA Young Lawyers Division Diversity Leadership Institute. After law school, she landed in the Chattanooga office of Husch Blackwell and is now a board member of the TBA YLD where she co-chairs DLI. Read more about Anthony’s role on the task force, the hiring process challenges she and colleagues have faced and how she thinks diversity can be increased in Chattanooga’s legal community.

On Sept. 11, the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 12 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee and two lawyers for failure to pay the annual registration fee and submit certification that all eligible funds are held in an IOLTA account. See the full list of those suspended and reinstated for fee and IOLTA violations in 2020. See all administrative suspensions lists dating back to 2005.

"While a plaintiff decides where to initially file its case, the defendant is not always subject to those whims — or strategic choices — of a plaintiff,"  Gil Shuette, a lawyer with Sims Funk PLC in Nashville (pictured), writes in the current issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. "One such opportunity for defendants to weigh in on the forum choice is the federal doctrine of removal." Also in this issue, our columnists cover a variety of topics. John Day writes about statutory construction in tort law. Marlene Eskind Moses and Benjamin Manuel Russ explain the 2020 Child Support Calculation Amendments. Dan Holbrook writes about how the federal estate tax exemption will drop in 2026 (or possibly in 2021), and Edward G. Phillips and Brandon L. Morrow cover the landmark case of Bostick v. Clayton County, Georgia -- an expansion of Title VII.