The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of General Counsel is looking to add a senior environmental counsel to its growing team of 18 attorneys. TDEC attorneys are currently working remotely and anticipate continued flexibility moving forward. The position is expected to be based in Knoxville, but may also be based in Nashville with travel to Knoxville. The attorney will help lay the foundation of Tennessee’s new surface coal mining and reclamation program. Experience applying the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), including experience handling financial assurance and bankruptcy issues, is preferred. Preferred candidates will have a minimum of five years of experience in the practice of law. To apply for this position please email your resume and cover letter to TDEC.Careers@tn.gov. 

The Tennessee Judicial Conference has announced its new officers who were elected during the group’s June meeting. Seventeenth Judicial District Chancellor J.B. Cox will serve as president, 11th Judicial District Chancellor Pamela A. Fleenor will move into the role of president-elect, Judge Valerie L. Smith from the 30th Judicial District was elected as moving vice president, Court of Appeals Middle Section Judge W. Neal McBrayer is the new vice president, 16th Judicial District Judge Darrell Scarlett is the group’s new secretary and 19th Judicial District Judge Kathryn Wall Olita will serve as treasurer. Three judges from each of the state’s three grand divisions were also elected to serve on the TJC executive committee. Representing West Tennessee are: Court of Appeals Judge Carma McGee; 30th Judicial District Judge Jennifer Johnson Mitchell; and 26th Judicial District Chancellor Tony Childress. The Middle Tennessee representatives are: 23rd Judicial District Judge Larry J. Wallace; Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Jill Bartee Ayers; and 12th Judicial District Chancellor Melissa Blevins. Representing Eastern Tennessee are: 4th Judicial District Judge James Gass; 11th Judicial District Judge Barry Steelman; and 6th Judicial District Judge Kyle Hedrick. Sixteenth Judicial District Judge Barry Tidwell and 13th Judicial District Judge Gary McKenzie will serve as TJC convention co-chairs. Hospitality co-chairs will be 6th Judicial District Judge Kyle Hixson and 13th Judicial District Judge Jimmie Turner. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The TBA Criminal Justice Section will host Criminal Law Basics 2021 tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. CDT. This year’s program will focus on sentencing practices and procedures, including an intro to sentencing, alternative sentencing measures and a diverse panel of judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers discussing different perspectives on these important issues. Among those panelists is Cyntoia Brown, a juvenile offender ordered to serve life in prison for murder before ultimately being granted clemency by former Gov. Bill Haslam. Register for the program here.

Former Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Terry Lafferty died Friday. He was 89. Lafferty served as criminal court judge from 1977 until his retirement in 1997, when he moved to become a senior judge. After earning his law degree from the Southern University Law Center, Lafferty worked in the district attorney’s office from 1963 until 1977. Lafferty’s family will receive friends this evening from 5 to 8 p.m. CDT at Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 3700 N. Germantown Parkway, Bartlett 38133. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. CDT tomorrow at The Church of the Nativity, 5955 St. Elmo, Bartlett 38135. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to the Wounded Warrior Project. Read more on funeral services from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

As corporate transactions return to, or surpass, pre-pandemic levels, some local legal insiders are reporting a “high demand” for junior attorneys in the field, the Nashville Post reports. Candice Reed, executive vice president at Latitude, a company that provides contract attorneys to law firms and businesses, says she’s seeing “an extremely high demand for junior attorneys in transactional fields.” Reed also notes that national firms are moving into Nashville, which is adding to the labor crunch. Am Law 50 firm, K&L Gates, recently launched a Nashville office, and other national firms are recruiting Nashville attorneys to work for their existing clients remotely, without establishing a physical office in Nashville. While salaries at some firms have increased, Reed says in-house positions generally have not, which “could impact the flow of attorneys moving from law firms to in house.” Brian Holmes, managing partner at Cornelius & Collins, didn’t see many drastic changes, but his firm did see an uptick in employment work. “People keep suing even when times are bad,” Holmes said.

The Administrative Office of the Courts has compiled a list of new state laws that will have an impact on Tennessee’s court system. The list includes laws dealing with data collection in state and juvenile courts, victims rights, sentencing and reentry and more. Several laws were passed to create new courts and dockets, including the creation of the state’s 32nd Judicial District that will cover Lewis, Perry and Hickman counties. Another law extends the Board of Judicial Conduct through June 30, 2025. Browse the full list on the AOC’s website.

ABA Free Legal Answers (FLA), the online virtual legal clinic that helps qualifying users get civil legal advice from volunteer attorneys, continues to grow, with 40 jurisdictions and over 9,500 pro bono attorneys participating. Last month, ABA President Patricia Lee Refo announced a 2021 ABA FLA Summer Associate Challenge to recognize law firms that answer FLA questions with the assistance of summer associates. The firms reporting the top participation by July 30 will be highlighted prior to the ABA Annual Meeting. More information is available in the most recent FLA report. Sponsored by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, FLA was established a decade ago as a joint project of the TBA, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and Baker Donelson. Since launch, FLA volunteers have answered over 168,000 submitted legal questions.

Daniel Hambrick's mother Vicki said she would "get [Andrew] Delke," after the former Nashville police officer pleaded guilty this morning as part of a plea deal for shooting her son, WSMV reports. "I don't care if I have to go to jail, I'm gonna get him," Vicki Hambrick said. "His family is going get it. Tonight. They better run, they better run town. But they can't hide for long." Those words followed a moment of chaos in the courtroom, during which Hambrick lunged toward Delke. Several people had to help restrain her as she yelled at Delke and shouts exploded from the courtroom after Judge Monte Watkins accepted the deal, according to the Tennessean. Delke was rushed out of the courtroom. Speaking outside the courthouse, Hambrick also threatened District Attorney Glenn Funk, who accepted the plea deal. "Glenn, he can't hide for long either," she said. Hambrick's attorney said Hambrick was frustrated and shocked by the plea deal.

Florida lawyer Paul Joseph Schwiep was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on May 3. The Tennessee Supreme Court reports that Schwiep paid all required reinstatement fees and all delinquent annual registration fees. The court filed its order on May 12.

Abbie Hudgens, administrator of the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, has reappointed four judges to the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. They are: Robert Durham in Cookeville, Audrey Headrick in Chattanooga, Amber Luttrell in Jackson and Dale Tipps in Murfreesboro. Hudgens said she based her decision on evaluations of judicial writing by two outside experts, surveys of persons who have interacted with the court, comments from the legal community and interviews with each judge. Their new terms will expire on June 30, 2027. The court also announced this week that in-person approvals will begin after Labor Day with each office developing its own hours and protocols. Telephone approvals also will be allowed. The court hopes to transition back to all in-person proceedings by January.