The Tennessee Bar Foundation has released the names of 26 lawyers who were to be honored at the annual Fellows Dinner in April. That event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation reports that the class members will be honored throughout 2020 and be recognized at the dinner in April 2021. No additional honorees will be named for 2020. See the list of lawyers inducted as 2019-2020 fellows.

Virgin Fest Los Angeles has sued talent agency William Morris Endeavor, musicians Lizzo, Kali Uchis and Ellie Goulding, and the artists’ touring companies to recover prepaid deposits after California's stay-at-home order caused the festival to be canceled. The Virgin Mobile-sponsored festival had been scheduled to make its debut the first weekend of June. All of the other artist agencies returned, or agreed to return, the full amount of the deposits for the performances. However, Endeavor refused, saying the artists were entitled to keep the deposits because they were “ready, willing and able to perform.” The festival argues that a force majeure provision in the artists' contracts requires the return of deposits if the festival is canceled for an uncontrollable factor. Law.com has the story.

Tennessee’s many recovery courts have remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic but are delivering services in slightly modified ways, the Tennessee Supreme Court reports. The courts give repeat offenders a chance to break the cycle of addiction and become productive members of society through evidence-based treatment techniques and a “hands-on” approach from court staff and program partners. Judges Andrew Mark Freiberg, James Hunter, Suzanne M. Lockert-Mash, J. Weber McCraw and Jimmy C. Smith recently shared the challenges and successes of operating a recovery court during the pandemic, as well as the creative measures they are using to continue serving program participants.

Civil rights leaders U.S. Rep. John Lewis and Rev. Cordy Tindell "C.T." Vivian both died Friday in Atlanta. Lewis, 80, lost a six-month fight with cancer. The son of sharecroppers, he survived a brutal beating by police during a landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, to become a towering figure of the civil rights movement and a longtime U.S. congressman. Vivian, 95, also was a major force in the movement, working alongside Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Lewis and Vivian had strong ties to Nashville, the Tennessean reports. As students at American Baptist College, they embraced nonviolent civil disobedience, leading them to organize sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and participate in “Freedom Rides” to protest Southern states’ refusal to desegregate public buses. Vivian also spearheaded creation of the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference. Some observers say the men refined their protest approach in Nashville before taking it to the south and beyond. Lewis went on to study at Fisk University, was the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington and served for three decades as representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District. His work also inspired civil rights leaders in Memphis, including the Rev. James Netters, who led protests in Memphis after attending and seeing Lewis at the March on Washington, the Commercial Appeal reports. In the late 1970s, Vivian founded an anti-racism organization that focused on monitoring the Ku Klux Klan and in 2008, created the C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute to encourage emerging grass-roots leaders, the Memphis Business Journal reports. CNN has more on both men.

The KBA recently surveyed its members to learn about law firm operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey found that more than half of respondents are operating with social distancing protocols in their offices and an overwhelming majority expect procedures to remain the same in the coming days. The survey also asked how lawyers are handling meetings with clients. Results show that 10% are operating normally, 25% are meeting with clients over the phone or online, and 65% are holding in-person meetings with social distancing and masks required for attorneys and clients. View all survey results.

A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to begin accepting new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The administration had been processing renewals but had not begun accepting new applications since the U.S. Supreme Court found that attempts to end the program were not handled properly. An estimated 300,000 young immigrants are eligible for the program and still waiting for a chance to apply, National Public Radio reports. Read the judge’s opinion.

Among the lessons of the 2008 recession was that diversity and inclusion initiatives suffer during an economic downturn, says Bryan Parker, chief executive officer of Legal Innovators. Now the company is offering a free diversity and inclusion assessment to keep the same from happening during the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Legal Innovators recruits diverse law school graduates and matches them with law firms and legal departments for short-term assignments. Read more from Bob Ambrogi's Law Sites Blog.

The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released additional guidance last week on model Rule 8.4(g), which prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, sex, religion, national orientation and sexual orientation by lawyers in “conduct related to the practice of law.” According to Formal Ethics Opinion 493, the rule applies to conduct the lawyer knows, or reasonably should know, constitutes harassment or discrimination. The rule also indicates that each situation must be assessed using a standard of objective reasonableness; only conduct found harmful is grounds for discipline; and isolated incidents can be a used as mitigating factors. The opinion also elaborates on the meaning of terms and offers hypotheticals to illustrate the rules' scope and application. Read more in the ABA Journal.

Need a quick update in the areas of law you deal with every day? The TBA’s 2020 Summer FastTrack program will be held virtually via live webcast with sessions specifically designed for practitioners in Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville. The Memphis program will take place on Aug. 7 and feature sessions on labor and employment, mediation, ethics, criminal law and family law. Speakers include Shelby County Criminal Court judges Christopher Craft and W. Mark Ward; Circuit Court judges Rhynette Hurd and Mary Wagner; and Working Boomer Advocate Dan Norwood. An informal lunchtime Zoom mixer also will be offered so attendees and presenters can connect and discuss topics in more detail.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will host three phone clinics this 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 Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday from 3 to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30-11 a.m. Those needing assistance may call 800-238-1443 during these times. To volunteer for a clinic, contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131. See the list of clinics for all of July.