The Nashville Bar Association and the Lawyers Association for Women joined forces to host 100 Years of Woman Suffrage: Honoring the Past, Looking to the Future, an event that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The virtual program featured welcome remarks from Judge Frank G. Clement Jr. and a keynote address by Justice Anita Earls of the North Carolina Supreme Court. A panel discussion exploring Nashville’s critical role in the suffrage movement and its impact on other voter rights movements followed with Margaret Behm, Judge Martha "Cissy" Craig Daughtrey, Freda Player-Peters, Rebecca Price and Linda Wynne. The event also included several elements of the NBA’s traditional Law Day celebration, including a fundraising report from the Legal Aid Society, presentation of awards and announcement of the Law Day 2020 essay contest winners.

The Williamson County Government announced last night that the county Judicial Center would be closed starting today after someone in the building tested positive for COVID-19, the Williamson Home Page reports. The building, which houses the county criminal and civil courts, is located at 135 4th Ave. South in Franklin. Those with scheduled business at the building should check the county's website for re-opening information, which will be posted on Monday.

A Nashville judge has denied the state’s request to ban a leader of the Capitol Hill protests from state property, News Channel 5 reports. Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s office on Thursday had asked the Davidson County General Sessions Court to prohibit Justin Jones from entering the Capitol grounds or buildings, and that he be fitted with a GPS monitor to ensure compliance. Jones reportedly has 10 charges pending against him in connection with recent protests.

The Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville recently announced the members of its 2020 Arts Board Matching Class. The group will spend the next year gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective, engaged board members. They will then be matched with local arts nonprofits for potential board service. Lawyers among the group are: Patrick Huston and Vincent Lillegard with Bass, Berry & Sims; Brooke Baird, Erin Malone-Smolla and Janus Pan with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings; and Farrah Usmani with Loeb & Loeb. Read more about the class and the program.

Davidson County lawyer Andrew Harrison Maloney was reinstated to the practice of law yesterday subject to conditions imposed on June 22 when he was suspended retroactively to Sept. 18, 2019, for 18 months. He served 10 months on active suspension and will serve the remaining eight months on probation. According to the terms of probation, Maloney must engage a practice monitor, reconcile his trust account at least monthly, properly account for client funds and make a good faith effort to contact those who are entitled to funds being held in escrow.

Sullivan County lawyer Jason R. McLellan was reinstated to the practice of law yesterday subject to conditions imposed on May 13 when he was suspended for one year with two months to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. According to the terms of his probation, McLellan must engage a practice monitor to assess his case load, timeliness of tasks, adequacy of communication with clients and accounting procedures. The monitor must meet with McLellan monthly and provide written reports to the Board of Professional Responsibility.

The Tennessee Supreme Court granted review to four new cases this past Monday. Issues to be considered include termination of parental rights, negative reciprocal easements, res judicata and the gang enhancement statute. Read more about these cases in the latest Raybin Supreme Court Hot List.

The TBA is offering the one-hour webcast “Understanding and Confronting Unconscious Bias” on Aug. 28 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. Nashville attorney Luther Wright with Ogletree Deakins will talk about avoiding bias in the decision-making process and how to respond to allegations of bias from clients or other third parties. The program is designed to help participants better understand implicit bias and microaggressions, and provide tools to improve cross-cultural communication on both the individual and organizational level.

The TBA’s celebration of female leaders in the association continues with a look at two presidents who led the organization in the early 2000s. Chattanooga attorney Marcy Eason and Nashville attorney Gail Vaughn Ashworth both led strong initiatives and worked to celebrate the good works of Tennessee lawyers. Here are additional resources about the 100th Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote in the United States. Each week during August we are featuring some of the women who have given their time and talents to lead the Tennessee Bar Association.

The final version of the COVID-19 liability bill approved by the state Senate and House this week extends liability protection to health care providers, businesses, schools and non-profits retroactive to Aug. 3 — the date Gov. Bill Lee called the special session. An earlier version of the bill supported by the Senate would have made protections retroactive to early March when the pandemic broke out. House members opposed that provision during the regular session, arguing it was unconstitutional. Some lawmakers continued to oppose the Aug. 3 date, arguing that the state constitution prohibits any “retrospective law, or law impairing the obligations of contracts. ...” Republican Sen. Mike Bell, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, argued that the courts would side with the legislature since the proposal is in the public’s interest. The Herald Courier has this story from the Associated Press. Another priority for the special session was easily approved this week. Nearly every lawmaker supported a bill to establish a framework for telehealth services, the Nashville Post reports.