The Legal Aid Society will host an in-person clinic at the Downtown Nashville Public Library on Sept. 7 from 4-6 p.m. CDT. The group is in need of attorneys who can volunteer approximately one hour to provide advice to walk-in patrons. The legal clinic will focus on civil issues such as family law, housing, employment, consumer and probate matters. Attorneys are fully covered by Legal Aid’s malpractice insurance and the organization provides handouts and various legal materials to assist attorneys during the consultations. Email Kendra Cheek to volunteer for this clinic.

More than 600 applications have come in for Tennessee’s new Education Savings Account program and nearly 60 students have been approved to attend a participating school, News Channel 5 reports. The majority of approved students are from Nashville so far, according to Mainstreet Nashville. Those accepted into the program receive approximately $8,192 in state funds to be used toward tuition, books and related expenses at approved private schools. There are 5,000 available slots for the current school year. The five-year pilot program in Davidson and Shelby counties is a priority of Gov. Bill Lee, who says his office has been working overtime to get the program up and running this school year after litigation delays.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III has joined with 16 other state attorneys general to defend a state law in Idaho that bans abortions in all cases, Tennessee Lookout reports. The federal government is suing to block the law in cases that require hospitals receiving Medicare funding to provide lifesaving care. The group of attorneys general write in their amicus brief that the federal government cannot use its Medicare contracting authority to override state law. Such an attempt to intervene in Idaho law, would “directly subvert state law on a matter reserved to the States,” they argue. Earlier this week, a federal judge temporarily blocked a portion of the law that makes it a crime to perform an emergency abortion to prevent bodily injury to the patient.

Shelby County officials joined with representatives from ACLU Tennessee yesterday to announce a complete overhaul of the county’s bail system by February 2023. The agreement caps an extended period of negotiations between county officials, judges and criminal justice advocates, Tennessee Lookout reports. Shelby County District Attorney-elect Steve Mulroy praised the plan, saying it will make the county “a model for the nation.” Under the agreement, the county will institute individualized bail hearings with counsel no later than three days after arrest. The process also will include a rapid-release screening and consideration of financial circumstances prior to setting bail. The county also will create a bail hearing courtroom that will be open to the public.

Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge-elect Tarik Sugarmon has assembled a transition team to assist him with recruiting leadership and assessing current operations in the juvenile system, according to News Break. His team includes business leaders, local government officials, public and private education leaders, those working in the criminal justice field, and children and youth advocacy groups. Key appointments include Chief Public Defender Phyllis Aluko, state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, and local attorneys Blake Ballin, with Ballin & Fishman, and solo practitioner Kamilah Turner. The team will help identify the best talent for leadership roles in the court and work with transition committees to assess operations of the court and make recommendations for changes. Sugarmon, the first Black juvenile court judge elected in the county, will take office Sept. 1.

In addition to announcing student loan debt relief, President Joe Biden also has proposed changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, the ABA Journal reports. The program, which offers loan forgiveness for those who work in qualifying public service jobs, has been plagued by challenges such as complex eligibility restrictions and implementation failures. The new plan announced this week would allow more payments to qualify for the program and would allow certain kinds of deferments and forbearances to count toward the program. The proposed changes would build on temporary changes announced last year that added additional loan plans to the program. Under those changes, borrowers have to apply to consolidate their loans into a direct loan by Oct. 31 to qualify. The U.S. Department of Education has more on that requirement.

Save the date for a one-hour webcast planned for Nov. 29 from noon to 1 p.m. CST on “The Future of Technology in the Access to Justice Realm.” The program, hosted by the TBA Dispute Resolution Section, will feature Nashville lawyer Matthew Haskell with Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PLLC and Memphis lawyer Linda Seely with Butler Snow LLP. Watch for more information coming soon.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands has an immediate opening for a staff attorney in its Clarksville office. The position will focus on landlord-tenant, homeowner, federal income tax and fair housing discrimination issues. Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to the principle of equal justice and to advocacy for low-income persons, and be licensed in Tennessee or be willing to take the first available bar examination. Learn more about the position and application instructions on TBA’s JobLink platform.

The Supreme Court of Tennessee last week suspended 160 attorneys for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements in 2021. View the Aug. 19 order or see the full list online, which notes the attorneys who have complied with the requirements and been reinstated to date. Since the list was released, 59 lawyers have been reinstated: 23 on Aug. 22, 15 on Aug. 23, 15 on Aug. 24, three on Aug. 25 and three on Aug. 26. Access all administrative suspension lists dating back to 2005.

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week suspended 18 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; 10 of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the Aug. 18 fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. In addition, 12 lawyers previously suspended for these violations in 2022 were reinstated to the practice of law in July and August. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for fee and IOLTA violations in 2022 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.