Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts, a program of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, is seeking a part-time manager to coordinate pro bono legal services for artists and arts organizations in Tennessee. Applicants should be licensed attorneys and have a passion for serving artists, creators and nonprofit leaders. The deadline to apply is Sept. 11. Learn more about the position and how to apply.

A number of legal luminaries have contributed recipes to a new cookbook from the American Bar Association marking the centennial of the 19th Amendment. The digital cookbook is modeled after similar cookbooks published a century ago by suffragists to gain support for the movement. The “Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Cookbook: 100 Recipes for 100 Years” can be downloaded for free. It features recipes from Supreme Court justices, NPR legal correspondent Nina Totenberg, Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson and international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, among others.

The Nashville Bar Association recently presented area law firms with its 2020 Diversity Recognition Award. Bone McAllester Norton and the Nashville Defenders Office received the “Leadership” award, while Baker Donelson, Bass Berry & Sims and The Law Office of Julie Bhattacharya Peak/Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. received the “Sponsorship” award. Finally, Asurion, Bradley, Butler Snow, Nashville Electric Service and Waller received the “Participant” award. The Diversity Recognition Award program is a project of the NBA Diversity Committee. The awards recognize legal related departments, firms and businesses who demonstrate outstanding leadership to promote diversity and inclusion through education, innovation, collaboration, development and mentoring within their organizations.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will host three phone clinics next week for members of the public with questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. Clinics will take place Monday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. CDT. LAS is looking for attorneys to help. To volunteer, contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131. See the list of clinics for all of August.

The 2020 TBA Creditors Practice Forum will be offered virtually via live webcast on Sept. 30, from 1-4 p.m. CDT. The program will begin with a general sessions court panel featuring Davidson County Judge Lynda Jones and Shelby County Judge Phyllis Gardner. The second session will focus on the future of collections and bankruptcy. The program will wrap up with a session focused on legal technology, including updates about Zoom, Slack and other tools. Be sure to register before 11 a.m. CDT on the day of the program to receive the Zoom link in time.

Christopher M. Vlachos, a licensed attorney in Florida and Michigan and whose admission to practice in Tennessee is pending, received a public censure today from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Vlachos’ application for comity admission to practice law in Tennessee was approved in 2018, pending admission. He then represented clients for his law firm in at least three active court matters, without filing for pro hac vice admission in those courts as required by Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7. Vlachos signed multiple pleadings with a signature block that listed his name followed by the BPR number of his supervising attorney, also his supervising attorney’s name with the same BPR number. The signature block did not otherwise indicate that Vlachos was practicing “pending admission” in Tennessee. The firm’s website also incorrectly listed Vlachos as licensed to practice law in Michigan, Florida and Tennessee at that time.

Belmont University College of Law Dean Alberto Gonzales and Nashville School of Law Dean William Koch today answered questions from an ad hoc legislative committee on whether Gov. Bill Lee acted outside his legal authority during the pandemic, the Tennessean reports. Gonzales, a former U.S. attorney general, and Koch, a former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice, reported to the committee that Gov. Lee has acted appropriately, but that the legislature has the ability to reign in his executive authority ahead of the next emergency. Regarding Lee, Koch told the committee, “His executive orders are entirely consistent with the inherent power in his office and with the power you granted him” in Tennessee’s Emergency Powers Act. Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, is co-chairing the ad hoc committee with Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin. Zachary told the committee at the beginning of today’s meeting that their purpose was to consider what authority the governor should have moving forward. The committee plans to provide recommendations to the 112th General Assembly, which will convene in January.

House Minority Leader Karen Camper, D-Memphis, and Rep. Gary Hicks, R-Rogersville, have recently tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, the Daily Memphian reports. Camper began to feel sick last week when she arrived in Nashville for the General Assembly’s special session and immediately went for testing. Despite testing negative, Camper chose to quarantine and it was later determined she had contracted the virus. The Tennessee Journal today reported that Hicks had tested positive for the virus this week and was present at last week’s special session. A total of four lawmakers have now tested positive for COVID-19, including Rep. Kent Calfee, R-Kingston and Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, who is recovering after being hospitalized earlier this week. Former Republican Representative and mayor of Cleveland, Kevin Brooks, also tested positive.

Kanye West’s presidential campaign met today’s deadline to submit a petition to appear on Tennessee’s November ballot, the Tennessean reports. West’s petition, which must have the signatures of 275 registered state voters, was turned in by Sir Isaac Ford, the son of longtime U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr., a Memphis Democrat who retired from Congress in 1997. The signatures have yet to be reviewed on the petition submitted by West, whose campaign has struggled to get on the ballot in some other states, failing to meet required deadlines or facing problems during the signature verification process. If his petition qualifies, the rapper and record producer would appear on the ballot as an independent.

Secretary of State Tre Hargett has created a new absentee ballot application that is void of any COVID-19-related language and features a new $1,000 reward for tips leading to voter fraud, the Tennessean reports. The revised application comes after the state Supreme Court vacated a temporary injunction from a lower court that made voting by mail available to all registered voters. The high court’s ruling also ordered the state to issue “appropriate guidance” to voters to inform them that those with underlying health conditions and their caretakers can still vote absentee, but that language is not on the new application. Although there is no guidance on the application, a section of the state’s website does clarify the rules on who can vote absentee. The offer of a reward for tips leading to a voter fraud conviction is highlighted in bright yellow and, according to a spokesperson for the state, was added after the plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit mentioned it would be a good voter fraud deterrent. Steve Mulroy, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the state’s intent is to dissuade voters or get them to second-guess themselves.