A new episode of the TBA’s BarBuzz podcast is now streaming. This month, BarBuzz welcomes special guest co-host Ross Smith of Farrar & Bates in Nashville to review upcoming events, news and attorney shout outs from the Tennessee legal community. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or anywhere you listen to podcasts by searching the show's title or “Tennessee Bar Association.”

The cover story of this month's Tennessee Bar Journal — "Tennessee Law in the Time of Pandemic Disease" by William O. Shults and Michael Caskey — is so timely that as the issue was being printed, the World Health Organization (WHO) was still coming up with the proper name to call the coronavirus. After the printing, the WHO determined that the name of the virus would be SARS_CoV-2, and the disease caused by the virus would be called COVID-19. The online version of the Journal is correct and up-to-date with this distinction.

Two legal clinics for veterans will be held tomorrow in Nashville and Knoxville. Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will host its Veteran’s Project tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Operation Stand Down Tennessee, 1125 12th Ave. S., Nashville, 37203. Email Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131 for more information. The Knoxville Bar Association will also be holding its Veteran’s Legal Advice Clinic from noon to 2 p.m. at the Public Defender’s Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville, 37912.

With the news surrounding coronavirus — also known as COVID-19 — changing daily, the Tennessee Bar Association is monitoring developments and taking necessary precautions to ensure the safety of staff and members. Events planned for coming weeks — the TBA Mock Trial Competition on March 20-21, the TBA Leadership Conference on April 3-4 and all upcoming CLE programs — are all scheduled to take place as planned. Updates will be available on a special section of the TBA.org website as we continue to monitor direction from global, federal, and local health officials, such as the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Tennessee Department of Health.

A former Memphis City Council member and a former probate court clerk will meet on the August ballot for General Sessions Court Clerk, deciding the only countywide race in Memphis this election year, the Daily Memphian reports. Joe Brown, who termed out at the city council at the end of 2019 won the Democratic primary last week. Former Probate Court Clerk Paul Boyd won the Republican primary. The winner in the Aug. 6 county general election will succeed outgoing clerk Ed Stanton Jr., who did not seek re-election.

The ACLU has sued the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency over a Risk Classification Assessment Tool that decides whether or not arrested immigrants should be released on bail or their own recognizance. The group argues that the algorithm has been changed to now recommend detention in almost every case, no matter what mitigating factors are present. Above the Law has the story.

Businesses and homeowners impacted by last week’s tornado have extra time to file their taxes, the Internal Revenue Service announced Friday. Those impacted by the storm in Davidson, Putnam and Wilson counties now have until July 15 to file their taxes. The new date applies to individual income tax returns, quarterly estimated income tax payments and quarterly payroll and excise tax returns.

As Putnam County residents continue to deal with the damage from last Tuesday’s tornado, attorneys with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands offered free legal assistance Saturday at two locations in Cookeville. The Cookeville Herald Citizen has coverage of those efforts. Andrae Crismon with Legal Aid also told the paper that two other clinics will be held this week. Legal Aid will hold a clinic Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Double Springs Church of Christ, 4665 Norton Dr., Cookeville 38501. The Upper Cumberland Bar Association will hold a clinic on March 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Putnam County Justice Center, 421 E Spring St, Ste 1D, Cookeville 38501.

The University of Memphis School of Law announced today that it is cancelling its law review symposium, originally scheduled for March 13. The school reports that travel restrictions related to the coronavirus prevented a number of speakers from making the trip. Despite the event being cancelled, the Law Review will still publish the fourth and final book of Volume 50 on the topic of “Closing the Gap: Solutions to Educational Inequality.”

Former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton is running for the state Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Dolores Gresham, the Nashville Post reports. Templeton, a farmer and former McNairy County mayor, served as agriculture commissioner from 2016 to 2019. Gresham, who is chair of the Senate Education Committee, announced last week that she would not seek another term. District 26 includes Fayette, Haywood, Hardeman, Chester, McNairy, Hardin, Henderson and Decatur counties in West Tennessee.