Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk said today that he will not prosecute teachers who violate Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order requiring school districts to allow students to opt out of wearing a mask, the Tennessean reports, and school officials in Memphis and Nashville say masks will still be required in their schools. That's promoted Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, to warn that if the school districts don't quickly comply, the legislature will intervene. "The Governor and the General Assembly cannot and will not allow lawful orders to be defied," McNally said. "If these systems persist in resisting the order, we will have no choice but to exercise other remedial options." A Metro Nashville Board of Education member had emailed Funk after Lee issued Executive Order 84 yesterday, asking the DA if he planned on “initiating any criminal or other proceedings against teachers, staff, or board members" for defying the order. Funk responded by saying he "will not prosecute school officials or teachers for keeping children safe." 

A new analysis from Law360 Pulse shows that, during the last seven years, U.S. law firms have made minimal gains in achieving diversity, Bob Ambrogi’s LawSites blog reports. According to the Diversity Snapshot 2021, since 2014, the percentage of minority attorneys in law firms rose just four points, from 14.1% to 18.1%, with the numbers of partners and equity partners rising even less. The study also suggests that a disproportionately higher number of minority lawyers leave law firms. Of those who left in 2020, 24% were lawyers of color. “The progress is trending in the right direction toward more diversity,” Law360’s Director of Series, Surveys and Data Kerry Benn says, “but it’s just so slow.” The ABA's "Profile of the Legal Profession" found similar results last month, reporting that lawyers of color made up 11.2% of all attorneys in 2011, and now comprise 14.6%. However, those gains were not seen in all minority groups. 

A law that went into effect this summer could provide some counties with a one-time grant of up to $5,000 to create new waiting areas for crime victims and/or their families as they wait during court proceedings, the Murfreesboro Post reports. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, and Rep. Michael Curcio, R-Dickson, establishes a “grant program within the District Attorneys General Conference (DAGC) to award grants to county governments to provide a safe and accessible space for victims to meet with attorneys, law enforcement, counselors and others.” 

Lebanon attorney Frank Lannom has been elected to serve as president of the Tennessee Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL), the Wilson Post reports.  Lannom is a partner at Lannom & Williams, where he represents clients in a broad range of complex criminal charges. In a press release, Lannom credited TACDL’s “teaching and mentorship of young lawyers,” for getting him where he is today. “I will continue to uphold the values of TACDL and to defend the citizens of Tennessee accused of crimes, wherever justice demands,” he said.

Gov. Bill Lee this afternoon rejected calls from members of his own party to hold a special legislative session, instead announcing he is issuing an executive order requiring schools to allow parents to exempt their children from local school boards’ mask mandates, the Tennessean reports. In issuing Executive Order 84, Lee said, "Districts will make the decision they believe are best for their schools, but parents will have the ultimate decision-making for their individual child’s health and well-being." Soon after Lee's announcement, House Majority Leader Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said the need for a special session had been averted "in the interim," but that he still wants to see action taken to limit the power of health departments in places like Nashville and Memphis.

The Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Tennessee is accepting applications for a full-time assistant federal public defender in its trial unit. The position provides legal representation to clients charged with federal criminal offenses before federal magistrate and district courts in the Middle District of Tennessee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court. The office is seeking candidates from a range of backgrounds, including those who have experience working with marginalized communities. Applicants must be law school graduates and admitted to practice (or be eligible to be admitted) before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld a decision of the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) to deny Knoxville attorney Loring Edwin Justice’s petition seeking relief from costs associated with his disciplinary proceedings. The BPR had assessed costs and expenses of $25,403.65 following Justice’s disbarment. Justice filed a petition for relief from costs arguing that the disciplinary proceedings were unconstitutional, the wrong standard of proof was used and his Fifth Amendment privilege was violated. The BPR denied his petition, which he then appealed to the Supreme Court. The court affirmed the BPR’s decision saying the assessment was supported by substantial and material evidence. Read the opinion.

A federal judge in Texas has ordered the Biden administration to revive a Trump-era border policy that required migrants to stay in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court date, WSMV reports. Shortly after President Joe Biden took office, he ended the policy known as "remain in Mexico." In April, the states of Texas and Missouri sued over the policy, arguing its reversal led to a surge of migrants at the border that inflicted costs on the states. According to Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, the reversal violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which dictates what procedures agencies must go through to implement certain policies.

Chattanooga attorney Richard W. Buhrman, 80, died Aug. 9 after a brief illness. He was practicing at the Buhrman Law Firm with his son John at the time of his death. Buhrman earned a bachelor of law degree from Duke University School of Law and an LLM in taxation from George Washington University. Following graduate school, he returned to Chattanooga to begin a 50-year legal career. He received the Ralph H. Kelley Humanitarian Award from the Chattanooga Bar Association in 2010 and served as a former vice president of the Federal Bar Association’s Chattanooga Chapter. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the family decided to hold a private service. Memorial donations may be made to the Margaret Whiteside Buhrman Scholarship at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Buhrman established the scholarship in 1978 to honor his mother’s 46 years of service to the university.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper has named Tom Jurkovich as his new senior advisor for public affairs, the Tennessee Tribune reports. Jurkovich, previously with the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, will provide strategic leadership in communications, community outreach, issue management and coalition building. Jurkovich earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and began his career with Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston. He also has served as staff director of the U.S. House Administration Committee, a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce and director of government relations for Microsoft Corporation.