Gov. Bill Lee has announced the selection of three new appellate court judges. For the Tennessee Court of Appeals in the Middle District he named Belmont University law professor Jeffrey Usman. Lee also announced the appointments of 11th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Thomas Greenholtz and 6th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Kyle Hixon to Eastern Division seats on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Each appointment is effective Sept. 1 and subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. “Each of these qualified Tennesseans will bring valuable experience to their respective roles,” Lee said in a release. “I am confident they will serve our state with the highest integrity, and I look forward to their service.” The Nashville Post also has the story.

The American Inns of Court on Saturday posthumously awarded the Lewis F. Powell Award for Professionalism and Ethics to former Memphis attorney Leo Bearman Jr. Former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William C. Koch Jr. — now dean of the Nashville School of Law — presented the award at the American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Bearman’s son Edward Bearman, who practices at the Law Office of Edward M. Bearman, received the award on behalf of his father. He was joined at the event by his brother David Bearman, a shareholder at Baker, Donelson; his father’s long-time secretary Judy Birchler; firm shareholder Kristine Roberts; and Judge Thomas Parker of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. The award recognizes exemplary service to the legal profession in the areas of professionalism, civility and ethics. Bearman practiced law for 60 years in Tennessee primarily with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz. He was a past president of the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association and recipient of that group’s Lawyers Lawyer Award for professionalism.

The Nashville Bar Association (NBA) held a reception at Spencer Fane Bone McAllester Thursday to honor 2022 President Martesha L. Johnson, who serves as the Nashville Metropolitan Chief Public Defender. Those in attendance included TBA President Sherie Edwards and TBA Executive Director and former NBA president Joycelyn Stevenson.

Hedy Weinberg, the longtime executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, announced on Friday that she is stepping down at the end of June. Weinberg has led the civil rights organization for nearly four decades, having been named to the post in 1984, according to the Nashville Post. The organization moved its headquarters to Nashville early in Weinberg’s tenure in an effort to focus on state legislation and, under her watch, the staff has grown from two to 12. According to a release from the group, the board of directors will conduct a nationwide search for Weinberg’s successor.

The Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition wrapped up Saturday night with Montgomery Bell Academy of Nashville prevailing over Agathos Classical School of Columbia to become the 2022 state champion. New Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sarah Campbell presided over the round while members of the YLD Executive Committee and TBA Board of Governors — including President Sherie Edwards and President-elect Tasha Blakney — served as jurors. At an awards ceremony earlier in the day, Unicoi County High School received the competition’s Sportsmanship Award, the top eight teams were announced, and the top advocates and witnesses were recognized with individual awards. MBA will now represent Tennessee at the National High School Mock Trial Competition, which will be held virtually on May 5-7. The team is coached by attorneys Wade Cowan — who has coached mock trial teams for 38 years — and Tracy Hancock.

The Davidson County Election Commission suffered another legal defeat in its dispute with the city over a proposed charter referendum, the Nashville Post reports. A Nashville judge had earlier agreed with the city's argument that the proposal was not proper under the metro statutes. The commission's Republican majority appealed and now an appeals court also has found in favor of the city. The paper reports that the commission has spent more than $700,000 on the legal battle to put a referendum on the ballot that would roll back the city’s 2020 property tax increase and require voter approval of future increases.

A new Memphis Suffrage Monument, "Equality Trail Blazers,” was dedicated Saturday, the Commercial Appeal reports. Nashville sculptor Alan LeQuire created the monument to honor a number of individuals instrumental in the woman suffrage movement. Six are recognized with busts while seven are honored with etched portraits and narratives in glass. Among those included is journalist and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell, Marion Griffin, Rep. Joe Hanover, Charl Ormond Williams and Lois DeBerry, the second Black woman elected to the state legislature and the first to be named speaker pro-tempore. The monument sits on the promenade behind the University of Memphis School of Law, facing the Mississippi River. The city also this week renamed a section of Fourth Street in the downtown in honor of Ida B. Wells. The Commercial Appeal has more on that story.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the TBA has again rallied its past, current and future female presidents for a one-hour conversation on their experiences, influences and the impact women have made on the legal profession. The virtual panel will take place this Wednesday from 3 to 4 p.m. CDT. Attorney Julie Bhattacharya Peak will moderate the panel, which will include former TBA presidents Cindy Wyrick, Jackie Dixon, Marcy Eason, Sarah Sheppeard and Michelle Greenway Sellers, as well as current TBA President Sherie Edwards and President-elect Tasha Blakney. RSVP for the event and submit questions for the panelists here.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold a clinic on Wednesday specifically for veterans. The clinic will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S. Nashville 37203. Masks are required. To volunteer contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131.

The TBA’s 2022 Court Square series is now coming to two more cities: Kingsport on May 26 and Jackson on June 7. Each three-hour program is designed to provide attorneys with the latest developments in multiple areas of the law and to focus on the legal communities, needs and interests of each city. Each session will begin with lunch, a networking opportunity with TBA leadership and a wellness discussion with the TBA Attorney Well Being Committee. An ethics update also will be included. Check out all of this year’s locations.