This year’s Bench Bar Program at the TBA Annual Convention focuses on how judges and lawyers can serve as leaders and drive success for the legal community. Panels include lawyers in government, judges as leaders and lawyers as civic leaders. Judge Rhynette Hurd from the Shelby County Circuit Court and Judge Neal McBrayer of the Tennessee Court of Appeals will moderate the first session that will also feature Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins, 10th District Chancellor Jerri Bryant, and 20th District Criminal Court Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton. A second panel will be moderated by TBA Vice President and Nashville attorney Ed Lanquist of Patterson Intellectual Property Law, and will feature former Nashville mayor and Frost Brown Todd lawyer Bill Purcell, Tennessee Department of Health attorney Kyonzte Hughes-Toombs, and Charles Swanson from the City of Knoxville Law Department. A third panel, moderated by TBA President Sherie Edwards of State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company, will feature TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson and former TBA President and Chattanooga lawyer Marcy Eason of Miller & Martin PLLC.

A federal appellate court has struck down an appeal by the contractor seeking immunity in the cleanup of radioactive coal ash waste, Tennessee Lookout reports. The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals yesterday ruled Jacobs Engineering Inc. cannot ride the coattails of Tennessee Valley Authority governmental immunity because the TVA itself would not have been immune from liability had sickened workers chosen to sue the utility. “Jacobs concedes that it is immune from suit only if the TVA is immune,” the opinion stated. “As analyzed … we conclude that the TVA would not have been immune from suit.”

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance will not investigate a complaint filed against Rep. Paul Sherrell, R-Sparta, saying it would not be “weaponized” in the state House District 43 race, Tennessee Lookout reports. The complaint had said that Sherrell wrote checks to volunteer fire halls from his campaign account and asked for cash back to use for personal purposes. Sherrell said he used the cash to pay for breakfasts for firefighters.

The Shelby County’s Public Defender’s Office now has 21 vacant attorney positions, Tennessee Lookout reports, because it cannot offer competitive salaries. Chief Public Defender Phyllis Aluko on Wednesday told the Shelby County Budget and Finance Committee that she is struggling to hire and retain staff because experienced attorneys working as public defenders make far less than most attorneys in the state. A state public defender with 25 years of experience will make about $30,000 more than a Shelby County public defender with the same experience, she said.

Former Tennessee Judge Charles E. Nearn died April 25. He was 90. A Memphis native, Nearn earned his law degree from Southern Law University and served as a general sessions judge, a judge on the chancery court and later on the Tennessee Court of Appeals for the Western Section, where he served as presiding judge until his retirement in 1986. A rosary and memorial mass were held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Germantown. Memorial contributions may be made to Ave Maria Home, 2795 Charles Bryan Rd., Bartlett, TN 38134.

A Nashville woman is the first person in Tennessee to receive a reduced sentence under a new state law that allows courts to reduce sentences for school drug offenders if the act takes place farther than 500 feet from a school zone or if counsel can prove the act did not endanger children, WATE reports. Jenica Gant previously pleaded guilty to selling drugs inside her home, which was within 1,000 feet of a school zone. “None of Ms. Gant’s offenses occurred at a time or a place where children were actually exposed. They were in the summertime. They were at night. They were on her own property,” Sunny Eaton with the Nashville District Attorney’s Office said.

Through May 31, TBA members can open a new Sam’s club membership for just $14.99 and receive a $10 gift card. This and many other discounts and savings are a part of TBA’s travel and entertainment membership benefit. See all deals for hotel, rental cars, concert tickets, theme parks and more.

Several Shelby County groups are hosting an event Saturday to help people with expungement of eligible criminal offenses, job opportunities, child support and drivers’ license issues. The event is free and open to the public, and will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT at Mt. Moriah-East Baptist Church at 1248 Haynes Rd. Sponsors are the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, the Shelby County General Sessions Clerk’s Office and the District 21 Prince Hall Masons.

The deadline is near for Tennessee lawyers to take part in a new survey from the Tennessee Bar Association. You should have received a reminder email today with login information if you haven’t yet participated. The survey focuses on the impact COVID-19 has had on the working habits of Tennessee lawyers, the state of work/life balance in the Tennessee legal community, and current practices related to hiring, developing, promoting and compensating attorneys. The TBA’s Women in the Profession Committee worked with Yacoubian Research to develop the survey, which should take about 10 minutes to complete. All attorneys are encouraged to respond to ensure an accurate measurement of responses. Some groups, such as those attorneys under 50, are still slightly underrepresented at this point. Those attorneys who have started,  but not finished, the survey can return to the survey and complete it from where they left off. 

Knoxville lawyer R. Culver Schmid will be presented with the prestigious Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing on June 17 during the Tennessee Bar Association’s (TBA) annual convention in Nashville. The award was established nearly 40 years ago and is given each year to the lawyer “who writes the most outstanding article that is published in the ... Tennessee Bar Journal for the preceding year." Culver is managing shareholder in Baker Donelson’s Knoxville office, and a member of its Real Estate/Finance Group. Judges said his article, “Restoring Rights of Individuals Convicted of a Felony Crime: A Manual,” did “an excellent job laying out the statistics and statutes regarding lost voting rights in Tennessee, and then guiding the reader clearly and succinctly through the process of restoring those rights." Read the full release.