Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee today signed into law a measure that will allow religious adoption agencies to deny service to same-sex couples, the Commercial Appeal reports. The law allows adoption agencies to refuse to participate in a child placement if doing so would "violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies." Under the law, which immediately takes effect, the state will be barred from denying an agency's license or grant application for public funds because of a refusal to place a child with a family based on religious objections.

The top spot on the mastheads at the best law reviews in the country all belong to women this year, Above the Law reports. For the first time, the law reviews at the top 16 law schools — as defined by U.S. News & World Report— have all elected women to lead the publications. Of note, Vanderbilt University Law School is ranked #18 in this year's list and its law review editor-in-chief is Hannah H. Miller.

Today the American Bar Association marks the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer. The day recognizes the lawyers and legal professionals who ensure that governments around the world honor the rule of law and fundamental principles of human rights in their countries, ABA President Judy Perry Martinez said in a statement. The international legal community in the past year has documented a variety of attacks on independent lawyers and legal professionals who are working to promote the rule of law and the basic rights of the most vulnerable members of their societies in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Poland and elsewhere."

Watch for TBA’s new website upgrade coming Monday. The new web interface makes it easier to find other members, manage your account and benefits from a personalized dashboard. Monday morning you will receive an email from support@membercentral.com, providing you with a special link to reset your password and access your new account upgrade. TBA Today is also getting a refresh and will be coming from a different email address. For questions and support call our office at 615-383-7421 or email membership@tnbar.org.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will host its Breakfast of Champions next month in celebration of those in the community who have worked to ensure access to justice for low-income Tennesseans. The event will be held on March 4 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at City Winery, 609 Lafayette St., Nashville. Buy tickets here or to sponsor the event by purchasing a table for eight contact Brittney Jerkins.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will host two legal clinics over the next week in Nashville and Maury County. The Nashville clinic will be held at the Belmont Ministry Center over the weekend on Jan. 25 from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The Maury County Clinic will be held at the Maury County Library in Columbia on Jan. 27 from 4:30 to 6:40 p.m. For more information on the Belmont clinic, call 615-780-7131. For the Maury County clinic, call 800-238-1443.

A new bill from Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, and the lobbying arm of the Beacon Center of Tennessee would limit cities and counties to a 5% annual tax rate increase, without the need for voter approval, the Tennessean reports. If passed, the legislation would potentially curb the efforts of some Nashville council members who are pushing for a property tax hike. Those efforts have been narrowly voted down two years in a row, with last year’s proposed 15.8% increase falling one vote short of approval.

Nicholas Todd Sutton has chosen to die by electric chair for his Feb. 20 execution, the Tennessean reports. If his execution goes forward as scheduled, Sutton will be the fifth death row inmate to choose the electric chair in Tennessee since 2018. The choice to die by electrocution stems from a battle over Tennessee’s lethal injection drugs, which other inmates have described as state-sanctioned torture. Inmates who received a death sentence for a crime committed prior to 1999 are allowed by state law to choose between electrocution and the default execution method of lethal injection. Sutton was sentenced to death for the killing of a fellow inmate in 1985 and had previously been convicted in three other murders.

The University of Memphis Research Foundation (UMRF) Research Park is partnering with immigration firm Siskind Susser to attract more international companies to Memphis, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The collaboration will make it easier for international companies to relocate to Memphis by helping them obtain visas and approval for extended stays. UMRF was one of seven institutions chosen last fall for the U.S. Department of State’s Global Innovation through Science and Technology Initiative (GIST), which placed international startups at the university for networking, skill-building, mentoring and financing opportunities. Siskind Susser advised those companies on immigration laws and work visa options. The GIST program ended last month, but UMRF and Siskind Susser will continue working together to attract businesses from across the world.

Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael has announced that he will address “the events and successes of the past year and discuss his plans for Juvenile Court in 2020” at the fourth-annual State of the Court address, the Daily Memphian reports. The U.S. Department of Justice ended its six-year supervision of the court in 2018, despite a DOJ monitor calling the court “deeply flawed” against African American children. The event will take place on Jan. 24 at 9 a.m. in the main auditorium of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, 600 Jefferson Avenue. The address will also be livestreamed on the Juvenile Court website.