The TBA’s Litigation Law Section will hold its annual forum this Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT. The program will feature a three-hour live virtual component as well as two exclusive online videos (each lasting one hour) to watch after the event, for a total of four general and one dual CLE hours. Topics for the live portion include federal courtroom practice and procedure, state procedure and application, and a panel discussion on caps on damages. The recorded sessions will focus on the key differences between federal and state appellate practice and pre-suit investigation techniques.

The Memphis Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society will mark this year’s Constitution Day with a Zoom presentation by Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law professor John O. McGinnis on Thursday at 11:50 a.m. CDT. McGinnis will talk about the U.S. Constitution as a legal document. Those interested in attending should register online or contact Memphis lawyer Greg Grisham.

Vanderbilt University is partnering with Fisk University, the Frist Art Museum and Millions of Conversations (founded by Bass, Barry & Sims lawyer Ali Samar) to host “Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice,” a series of virtual conversations and artistic collaborations focused on healing at a time of significant social unrest. The first installment, “Redefining Monuments,” will be offered on Sept. 23 and 30, followed by “Paths of Emerging Solidarities” on Oct. 7 and 14, “Performativity and the Social Body” on Oct. 21 and Nov. 4, and “Love Transmutation” on Nov. 11 and 18. Sessions will begin at 10 a.m. CDT and are free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. The program also will bring Carrie Mae Weems’ RESIST COVID TAKE 6! public art campaign to Nashville this month. View all details online or contact project manager Raquelle Bostow or fellow Phillip Townsend with questions.

Retired 16th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge and military veteran Royce Taylor was the keynote speaker Friday at a Sept. 11 ceremony in Rutherford County, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts reports. Taylor served the state as a judge from 1998 to early 2020. During the Vietnam War, he commanded the Quebec Platoon of Navy SEAL Team 1 and received a Bronze Star with a Combat V for his service. Taylor retired from the U.S. Navy Reserve with the rank of captain in 1995. A full video of the ceremony is on the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will conduct three phone clinics this week for those with questions about housing/renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment. Clinics will take place tomorrow from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. CDT. LAS is looking for attorneys to help answer legal questions during these clinics. To volunteer, contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131. See the list of clinics for all of September.

Don’t miss the September episode of the TBA BarBuzz podcast with special guest co-host Julia Hale of Lewis Thomason in Nashville. Hale drops in to help highlight important legal news from across the state and give listeners a rundown of bar association events and happenings. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and is available anywhere you listen to podcasts and on the TBA’s website.

A TBA petition to amend Rule 13 and permit interim billing by appointed counsel for indigent parties in non-capital cases was denied today by a Tennessee Supreme Court order. The court said that although it is aware of and appreciates the financial burdens placed on appointed counsel, especially during the current state of emergency, it must deny the petition because, “The requested amendments to Rule 13 would require significant and costly additions in personnel and technology by the Administrative Office of the Courts at a time when the number of claims continues to grow and when, as the TBA notes, additional funding for indigent defense has not been available.” The court committed to “continue to monitor and seek out ways in which to improve and expand in the indigent defense area.”

The family of former TBA president and federal judge Pamela L. Reeves has asked that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be given to the University of Tennessee College of Law, 1505 Cumberland Ave., Knoxville, TN 37996 or the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, 2743 Wimpole Ave., Knoxville, TN 37914. The family also announced that a celebration of life "will be held when it is safe to hug as much as Pam would have wanted.” The TBA has created a webpage for members of the legal community to leave comments or memories about Judge Reeves, which will be featured on a tribute page.

The U.S. Justice Department has charged 57 people with trying to steal more than $175 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds, which were designed to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press conference yesterday, federal officials said some of those charged lied about their business needs to access money that they then spent on “luxury cars, homes, renovations, diamond jewelry, even adult entertainment and trips to Las Vegas.” Also among those charged were “coordinated criminal rings” that took part in “systematic, organized conduct to loot the PPP.” The attempts to steal more than $175 million resulted in actual losses of $70 million. The government has so far been able to recover more than $30 million, Yahoo Finance reports.

The Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims announced this week that it will continue with telephonic settlement approvals through the month of October.