The TBA’s virtual 2020 Convention, which will take place entirely online during the week of June 15, will offer a range of programs and activities for those who want to learn more about wellness. The Better Right Now CLE on Tuesday will focus on mindfulness for lawyers, findings from the research on happiness, and tips for controlling stress to improve productivity and creativity. Want to move more? Then join us Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 a.m. and Friday at 11 a.m. for our Wellness Workouts. All convention events are free to TBA members but registration is required. See all wellness events here.

TBA President Sarah Y. Sheppeard and TBA YLD President Terica Smith this week issued statements concerning the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the struggles our country, our state and our cities are experiencing as we process how our nation can heal in the wake of so much tragedy affecting so many people in our communities. "We must serve as leaders and support opportunities for education and empowerment related to the administration of justice, the impact of the justice system on citizens, and a critical examination of how we can strengthen, and in some cases, rebuild trust and faith in the rule of law and our legal institutions," Sheppeard said in part. For young lawyers, Smith said in part, there is a need to "step up with our collective voices and help facilitate communication and education to create systemic change in our profession and the lives of the people that we serve."

In the wake of violent outbreaks across the state, Gov. Bill Lee said Sunday he is deploying the Tennessee National Guard to all three divisions of the state. Lee also announced a joint effort between the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement to investigate violence in Nashville, the Tennessean reports. State buildings that were damaged over the weekend include the War Memorial Building, Citizens Plaza and the Rachel Jackson and Andrew Jackson buildings. Graffiti was found on the Capitol grounds and a statue of Edward Carmack was torn down. In cities across the state, mayors also are taking action. Memphis will institute a curfew beginning at 10 p.m. tonight. Since Wednesday, the city has made 44 arrests due to the civil disturbances according to the Daily Memphian. In Nashville, Mayor John Cooper has declared a state of emergency and instituted a curfew for the past three nights, News Channel 5 reports. A curfew for 7 p.m. tonight also is in place for Murfreesboro, WVLT 8 reports. In Chattanooga, police reported a crowd pushed toward the doors of the county courthouse and destroyed lights on the courthouse steps, Chattanoogan.com reports. In Knoxville, police say several individuals vandalized property in Market Square, KnoxNews reports.

“Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer. It is more important than competence or vision. It can never be an elective in any law school, and it should pervade the heart, the halls of Justice and the chambers of the mind.” -  Robert F. Kennedy

The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division stands with the countless leaders across our nation, including lawyers, business people, police chiefs and others who are denouncing acts of racial injustice and brutality against any person by law enforcement, as well as systemic challenges and biases experienced by many in our local communities.

Throughout history, lawyers have been the agents of vast social change through activism, legislation and litigation. All lawyers, especially young lawyers, must step up with our collective voices and help facilitate communication and education to create systemic change in our profession and the lives of the people that we serve. The TBA Young Lawyers Division is committed to working with our local, state and national leaders to initiate meaningful reforms and positive solutions to end discrimination and injustice in our communities.

Our country, our state and our cities are struggling today to process how our nation can heal in the wake of so much tragedy affecting so many people in our communities. Many have opined that we are in unprecedented times; unfortunately, history teaches us we have been here before and that the road to change is long but not impossible. Another thing we have been taught by history is that legal community leaders cannot be bystanders. We must serve as leaders and support opportunities for education and empowerment related to the administration of justice, the impact of the justice system on citizens, and a critical examination of how we can strengthen, and in some cases, rebuild trust and faith in the rule of law and our legal institutions.

Lawyers have always served as agents of reform and we have a responsibility and an opportunity to champion meaningful reforms to create systemic change. The Tennessee Bar Association realizes that there is more that we can do to serve as a leader on the very important issues facing our state. We appreciate the feedback we have received on how we can better serve our members and the community, and we are continuing to listen. While we have long had committees dedicated to issues related to diversity and inclusion, we are now more committed than ever to facilitating significant and challenging discussions on how we as an association can drive solutions.

ALSO: TBA Young Lawyers President Terica Smith comments on the role lawyers can play in battling injustice and brutality. 

Our upcoming virtual convention includes a roundtable devoted specifically to issues of diversity and inclusion and bringing our members together to discuss how lawyers can better meet the current needs of diverse communities. Our Young Lawyers Division will continue its advocacy and service opportunities for lawyers to get involved and make a difference. 

The challenges and sadness felt around the country, already exacerbated in our state by natural disasters and a global pandemic, feel overwhelming. Please know that the TBA will continue to listen, learn, foster dialogue and support change to increase meaningful access to resources and justice for all.

Federal Public Defender Henry Martin will be honored this month with the Tennessee Bar Association’s First Annual Claudia Jack Award. A distinguished public servant who has dedicated his entire legal career to improving the quality of legal representation to indigent criminal defendants in Tennessee, Martin has served as the federal public defender in the Middle District of Tennessee since 1985. The award is named for the late Claudia Jack, a long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged and a public defender in Columbia. The award will be presented June 18 during the TBA's Virtual Annual Convention.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Friday to intervene in challenges brought by churches in southern California and the Chicago area against stay-at-home orders issued by their states as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. The churches had asked the justices to lift restrictions on crowd capacity in time for them to hold services this past weekend. The court issued a “terse” order in the Illinois case that referred to new guidance issued by the state earlier that week. The decision in the California case was more closely divided with Chief Justice John Roberts casting the deciding vote and authoring the opinion denying relief. Justice Kavanaugh, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, penned a dissenting opinion. SCOTUSBlog has more details.

The U.S. Supreme Court today issued orders from its conference last Thursday and did not add any new cases to its docket for the fall. That means the court will not review a challenge to the constitutionality of laws in some states where lawyers who want to practice law must join that state’s bar association and pay dues, SCOTUSBlog reports. The lawsuit was filed by two Wisconsin lawyers who argue that compelling them to do so violates the First Amendment. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the denial of review writing they would “grant certiorari to address this important question.”

A peaceful rally Saturday in Nashville turned violent when a number of individuals began breaking windows and setting fires throughout the downtown. The Tennessee Supreme Court building sustained graffiti damage and broken glass on one of the doors and the Davidson County Historic Courthouse sustained significant internal and external damage. Nashville Bar Association President Laura Baker issued a statement Sunday noting the damage done at the courthouse, including four fires, power outages and water damage. There were broken windows, broken lights, vandalized civil rights artwork and many displays of graffiti. See photos of the damage from the Tennessean. Baker called on the legal community to have the “difficult but important conversations about explicit and implicit biases in the legal profession and beyond, and work together as a community to root out racism, prejudice, and discrimination.”

The National Bar Association has established a Police Misconduct and Justice Task Force following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody last week. The task force will investigate police misconduct cases; support victims, lawyers, communities, and coalition partners; and develop recommendations for structural and institutional change. The bar association also has called for increasing the charges against the police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck and the arrest and charging of other police officers involved in the incident. The group also has launched a social media campaign using the hashtags #LETUSLIVE and #NBAKYR to focus on African Americans' encounters with the police. Read more about that effort here.