TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson has been named a 2022 Women of Influence honoree by the Nashville Business Journal. The 35 honorees are businesswomen leading top companies and nonprofits, supporting their communities and inspiring those coming behind them. They are selected for the honor based on their positive impact on the profession and the community. Stevenson, the first Black woman to the lead the bar association, previously spent 12 years at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings before becoming a shareholder at the world's largest labor and employment firm, Littler Mendelson PC. She is a past president of the Nashville Bar Association, the Lawyers' Association for Women in Nashville and the Council on Aging of Greater Nashville. She will be honored at an awards celebration on May 10. Meet the 2022 Women of Influence.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, yesterday announced he’ll be running for a third term in that state’s newly redrawn 7th Congressional District, the Tennessean reports. "As your representative in Washington, I will work to protect the rights of Tennesseans to govern themselves," Green said. The announcement comes just days after Gov. Bill Lee signed off on a set of new Senate, House and congressional district maps. According to the new map, the 7th District will now include downtown Nashville, northwest Davidson County and western Williamson County, in addition to Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson, Houston, Dickson, Cheatham, Humphreys, Hickman, Perry, Wayne and Decatur counties and most of Benton County.

The Davidson County Juvenile Justice Youth Court Program, an initiative by the court to inform and educate teens about the role of law in our democracy and their role as active citizens, needs attorney volunteers to act as judges in its proceedings. As a judge, the lawyer volunteer will work with a team of students who will act as bailiffs, court clerks, interpreters, jury members, and other court-related assignments. The proceedings are expected to take 1 to 1.5 hours per docket. Volunteers are also eligible to receive CLE credit. Learn more and volunteer on the Youth Courts website.

Belmont University College of Law will hold a symposium Friday on “The Evolution of Entertainment.” The event will begin with breakfast at 8 a.m. The program starts at 9 a.m. and will run until noon. Three panels of entertainment attorneys and professionals will provide insights into the ever-changing entertainment industry and the need for adaptable professionals in order to best serve creatives. For those who do not want to attend in person, a Zoom option is available. Learn more or register here.

The TBA Intellectual Property Section will hold its annual forum in person in Nashville on April 8. The program will cover topics ranging from NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) to ethics, patents, legal technology and more. A happy hour will follow the program. Follow the program webpage for more details coming soon.

Travis Reinking was convicted Friday on all 16 counts on which he was charged, including four counts of first-degree murder for killing four people in a mass shooting at a Nashville Waffle House in 2018. On Saturday, the jury sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the Tennessean reports. Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn will decide later, likely in May, whether the sentences will run concurrently or consecutively. Reinking's defense team never challenged the facts of the case and agreed he was the shooter, but argued his schizophrenia was so severe that it kept him from realizing his actions were wrong.

The Tennessee Bar Association is now accepting nominations for its 2022 Claudia Jack Award and Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award. The Claudia Jack Award honors an outstanding public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who has served the legal community and clients in an exemplary fashion. It is named after the late Claudia Jack, a public defender and long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged. The Drowota Award is given to a judge or judicial branch official of a federal, state or local court in Tennessee who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, the legal system and the administration of justice as exemplified by the career of former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Frank F. Drowota III. The deadline to submit nominees for both awards is March 7.

Volunteer registration is now open for the Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition, which will take place in person in Nashville March 25-26. Presiding judges, attorneys, law students and paralegals can sign up here to volunteer as a judge, scorer or bailiff. Those who volunteer for at least three trial rounds will receive reimbursement for travel and lodging. The 2022 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial case and rules were released last fall. District mock trial competitions are taking place this month with winners from each district taking part in the state competition. The Tennessee champion will compete at the National High School Mock Trial Championship, which will be held virtually in May.

The University of Memphis School of Law will hold its 2022 Diversity & Pre-Law Week from Feb. 21-26. This year’s program will explore the ways lawyers can uniquely bridge "gaps" socially and inspire connection through justice, youth, storytelling, service and advocacy. On Feb. 26, ACLU President Deborah Archer will give the week’s keynote address, while other programs will look at the law school admission process, the value of diversity in the legal field, and culturally competent and trauma-informed lawyering. The school holds the annual Diversity & Pre-Law Week to create opportunities for lawyers, and lawyers-to-be, to better understand diversity and be better professionals and leaders in their communities. Get the full agenda for the week as well as registration information on the event webpage.

U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty announced several changes to his staff on Friday. Chief Counsel Clark Milner now will take on the added duties of senior advisor, working to advance the senator’s policy and strategic goals. Before joining the senator's staff he was deputy counsel to Gov. Bill Lee, associate deputy counsel to former Gov. Bill Haslam, an associate with Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville, and law clerk to Judge Thomas A. Varlan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Milner received his law degree from the University of Tennessee. In the legislative shop, Natalie McIntyre, who has served as deputy legislative director for the last year, will now be legislative director; Lucas Da Pieve will serve as deputy legislative director and continue to supervise all appropriations requests; and Luke Pettit will serve as senior policy advisor. Read more about these and other changes at Chattanoogan.com.