The Tennessee Supreme Court today appointed Scott Griswold as assistant examiner for the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners commencing immediately and expiring on March 31, 2025. Griswold replaces Andrew Wampler, whose term had expired. He is not eligible for reappointment. View the court’s order.

The American Bar Association today announced creation of the “Coordinating Group on Practice Forward” to provide thought leadership on emerging challenges and opportunities facing the legal profession and justice system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group will “look beyond the pandemic for innovations and new ways of providing legal services and delivering justice.” It also will coordinate the dissemination of resources. The move is in addition to an earlier announced task force charged with identifying legal needs arising from the pandemic.

The Workers’ Comp Appeals Board has issued a ruling in the case of Johnston v. Siskin Steel & Supply Co. The court reversed a trial court determination finding medical causation in a case where the employee alleged liver, kidney and cardiac conditions as occupational diseases. According to the board, the lower court should have accepted the employer’s experts’ opinions because they were better qualified.

The Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims is preparing for the return of in-person hearings and has issued guidance for those involved in the proceedings. Whenever possible, however, the court asks that telephone conferencing or video conferencing continue to be used. For cases that do require in-person hearings, the procedures involve limiting who can access the court building, how far in advance parties can enter the building, rules for social distancing while in the building and rules for how to share exhibits. The rules also require everyone attending an in-person hearing to wear a mask and be able to answer six health questions in the negative. Read more in this order from the court.

The Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors will fill a vacancy for the position of Young Lawyer Delegate to the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates at its board meeting on June 19. The position was held by Troy Weston, who resigned the post as he was moving out of state. The candidate must be a member of the American Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association, and be within the first five years of practice or under age 36 at the time they would assume office at the ABA Annual Meeting in August. The term expires in June 2021. Those interested in being considered for the position should email TBA Executive Director Joycelyn A. Stevenson indicating interest and including a resume by June 1.

Descendants of former Confederate cavalryman Nathan Bedford Forrest filed a motion to dismiss their 2018 lawsuit against the City of Memphis and Memphis Greenspace, the Commercial Appeal reports. The suit’s dismissal means there are no remaining legal conflicts over the 2017 removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue and another of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis. The filing also paves the way for Memphis Greenspace to move forward with proceedings to have Forrest and his wife reinterred. In December, the statue of Forrest was returned to the family and Sons of Confederate Veterans as part of a private agreement between those groups and Greenspace. The statue’s location is currently unknown, but it is expected to be reunited with the bodies.

Gov. Bill Lee announced on Tuesday that former Court of Appeals Judge Brandon Gibson will now serve as his chief operating officer, the Tennessean reports. Gibson, a senior adviser in Lee’s administration, will take over for Butch Eley, who is now the commissioner of the Department of Finance and Administration. Eley had recently replaced Stuart McWhorter in that role after he stepped down to lead Lee’s COVID-19 unified command team before leaving that post for a job in the private sector. Gibson is a native of Dyersburg. "Brandon has been a respected voice both within our administration and across our state,” Lee said in a statement. “Her ability to think creatively and bring innovative ideas to fruition will be critical as state government continues to provide services to our customers in new ways during these challenging times. We’re lucky to have a public servant like Brandon in Tennessee, and I’m excited for her to get started in this new role.”

Gov. Bill Lee recently issued Executive Order 36 and Executive Order 37 to facilitate the treatment and containment of COVID-19 and minimize unnecessary person to person contact. Executive Order 36 extends and consolidates many provisions in Executive Orders 15, 19, 20, 24, 28 and 32, including the remote shareholder meeting provisions that have been extended to June 30, 2020. Executive Order 37 extends until June 30 Executive Order 26 that temporarily permits remote online notarization and witnessing. For more information on witnessing and notarizing documents while social distancing, check out this month’s Tennessee Bar Journal.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said Monday that more than 1,800 inmates currently have COVID-19, the Tennessean reports. The official total of infected inmates is 1,849 and 618 have recovered. 1,285 inmates at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville are positive for the virus which, according to national data from the New York Times, ranks it as the third largest outbreak in the country. Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville was also ranked in the top five of worst outbreaks, but as of Monday, only five of those inmates are currently sick and 580 have recovered. Both Trousdale Turner and Bledsoe County have had one inmate die after testing positive for the disease.

Lincoln Memorial University has chosen Matthew R. Lyon as vice president and dean of the LMU Duncan School of Law. Lyon’s appointment came at the recommendation of LMU President Clayton Hess and LMU Law faculty and after a nationwide search to replace current dean, former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary R. Wade, who is retiring. Lyon has been with LMU Law since its founding in 2009, first as an adjunct professor and then as full time faculty member in 2011. He has served as associate dean of academic affairs since 2015 and was briefly the acting dean prior to Wade’s appointment. His areas of teaching include Civil Procedure, Contracts and Sales, Business Organizations, Payment Systems, and, most recently, the law school’s Externship course. Lyon also coordinated LMU Law’s successful efforts to obtain full approval from the American Bar Association. Read the full story from LMU.