Tennessee House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, has named Rep. Greg Vital, R-Harrison, as deputy whip for the 112th Tennessee General Assembly, Chattanoogan.com reports. In his new role, Vital will assist in counting votes as well as communicating with members about the party’s position on issues or important legislative initiatives. Vital joins other deputy whips Rebecca Alexander, R-Jonesborough; Tandy Darby, R-Greenfield; John Gillespie, R-Memphis; Tim Hicks, R-Gray; Eddie Mannis, R-Knoxville; Lowell Russell, R-Vonore; and Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that it will hear consolidated challenges to the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for private businesses with more than 100 employees first by a three judge panel. Opponents of the mandate had pushed for the full court to hear the cases. In its ruling today, the court said it had received several petitions for an initial hearing to be conducted en banc but a majority of the judges on the court did not support that approach. 

A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals today reinstated the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers in 26 states, saying the lower court did not have authority to apply its stay nationwide but only to the 14 states that had sued: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia. The administration’s mandate requires that health care facilities vaccinate staff against the coronavirus or lose funding from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which administers two large government health care programs. Yahoo News has the story from Reuters.

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judges R. Guy Cole and Helene White announced plans yesterday to take senior status upon Senate confirmation of their successors. That makes three judges so far (including Judge Bernice Donald) who have announced their intent to take senior status during the current presidential administration, the 6th Circuit Appellate Blog reports. Cole was appointed to the court in 1995 by former President Bill Clinton to represent Ohio on the court. White was appointed in 2008 by former president George W. Bush to represent Michigan on the court.

As we head into the holidays after a very stressful year, many are struggling with burnout. The Harvard Business Review has a number of resources for those who are facing such feelings. A podcast from Coaching Real Leaders tracks the journey of “Ellie,” who is ambitious and has always leaned into opportunities to lead. But her responsibilities just keep growing, and now she feels like she cannot keep up and is questioning whether she even wants to be in a leadership role at all. Executive coach Muriel Wilkins helps Ellie implement strategies for increasing energy and scaling up efforts at work. Three other articles on the site also offer tools for burnout. Check out 6 Causes of Burnout, and How to Avoid Them; If You’re Overworked, Learn Which Tasks to Hand Off; and Stop Doing Low-Value Work.

The Tennessee Supreme Court announced today that Deputy Director Michelle Long will become the next director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) on Feb. 1, 2022. Long was appointed deputy director in 2019 and has over 25 years of experience in private practice, government and in-house counsel offices. Prior to joining the AOC, Long was assistant commissioner of the Division of Health Licensure and Regulation for the Tennessee Department of Health, senior vice president and general counsel for the Tennessee Hospital Association, executive director of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and legal counsel to former Gov. Don Sundquist. She earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee. Current AOC Director Deborah Taylor Tate announced earlier this month she will be leaving the AOC in early 2022.

Franklin-based Story, Abernathy & Campbell LLC has opened a new location in the Berry Farms community in South Franklin and is looking for an attorney interested in office sharing and/or an associate attorney to join the team. The office share would include space for attorney’s own legal assistant or shared legal assistant. For more information, please call the firm at 615-790-1778 or email virginia@tnlaw.org.

A Chattanooga jury unanimously found the Texas law firm Witherspoon Law Group, its owner Nuru Witherspoon, and firm representatives Glenn Smith and Alphonso McClendon liable for consumer protection law violations and engaging in the unauthorized practice of law when they solicited business from parents whose children died in a 2016 school bus crash. The Tennessee attorney general’s office argued the men caused confusion about their services and their association with lenders, and contacted consumers at a funeral home while they were making final arrangements for their children. With regard to the unauthorized practice of law charge, the jury found that Smith and McClendon, who are not lawyers, solicited clients while McClendon also falsely held himself out as a lawyer. Witherspoon was found responsible for the conduct of his firm’s representatives. The group was ordered to pay $96,000 in civil penalties.

Join the "CLE Performer" Stuart Teicher next week for one of TBA’s most popular legal writing courses. In “A 2021 Guide to Persuasive Legal Writing” Teicher updates his previous legal writing program to focus on how to make legal writings clear, concise and direct by focusing on the technicalities of sentence structure, reducing long sentences and punctuation. The recorded webcast will air next Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m. CST.

The Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association today announced it has assembled an Elections Committee to vet candidates for races appearing on the August 2022 ballot in Shelby County. The chapter welcomed judicial candidates, district attorney candidates and court clerk candidates to participate in the vetting process by filling out a questionnaire by Jan. 12. After submitting the form, candidates will be scheduled for a 30-minute interview with a panel of attorneys. The Election Committee will then submit a report with recommendations to the Chapter’s Executive Board for further action. Those interested in assisting the Election Committee with interviews should contact BFJElectionsCommittee@gmail.com. Read more information on the press release.