Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Alexander McVeagh has been recognized with the American Bar Association’s 2021 On the Rise Award. Each year, the ABA recognizes 40 of the nation’s young lawyers who exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership and legal and community service. McVeagh was first appointed as general sessions judge in 2017. One of the youngest judges in Tennessee history, McVeagh founded Hamilton County’s first misdemeanor drug recovery court in 2019. He previously practiced with Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, the Tennessee Public Defenders Conference and the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee. He currently serves on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission, Technology Oversight Committee and on the Governor’s Criminal Justice Reform Task Force. McVeagh also serves as the president of the Chattanooga Bar Association Young Lawyer Division, as the East Tennessee governor on the TBA YLD Board, and as the state's Young Lawyer Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates. 

Three attorneys have applied to be considered for the circuit court vacancy in the 24th Judicial District, which includes Benton, Carroll, Decatur, Hardin and Henry counties. J. Brent Bradberry, Vance Walker Dennis and Charles L. Trotter Jr. have applied for the vacancy. The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will hold a public hearing with the candidates on Aug. 3 at 9 a.m. CDT at the Benton County Courthouse located at 1 Courthouse Square in Camden. The commission is expected to vote immediately following the interviews and forward three names to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on each candidate.

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bernice Donald has broken barriers at every court she joined, becoming the first African American woman to serve as a Tennessee judge, the first African American woman in the country to serve as a bankruptcy judge, the first African American woman to serve on the District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and the first African American to serve on the 6th Circuit. In a recent interview with Law360 Pulse, Donald spoke about her experiences as a lawyer, judge and teacher, and why diversity among judges is so significant. She talks about diversity broadly, including “diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, but it's also socioeconomic diversity and it's professional or experiential diversity that become important… . If everybody shares the same perspective and comes from the same background or the same school, you're going to miss something. There's going to be nobody in that group who's going to be able to guard against the blind spots that are a part of each and every one of us.” In May, Judge Donald notified President Joe Biden of her intent to take senior status upon confirmation of a successor. 

Several new state laws intended to protect children are set to take effect on Thursday, including sentencing legislation to prevent parole and probation for those found guilty of certain violent crimes, including child abuse, child sexual abuse, felony solicitation of a minor and producing child pornography, reports The Chattanoogan.com. Also going into effect is Eli’s Law, which allows the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) to investigate the birth of subsequent children born to parents who have had a previous child removed from their custody, as well as Evelyn Boswell’s Law, which provides that parents who do not report children missing to law enforcement within 24 hours could face Class A misdemeanor charges. Other new laws aimed at child protection provide for more DCS oversight of adoptive families receiving subsidies, remove the statute of limitations for commercial sex trafficking of a child and expand the definitions of child neglect and endangerment and severe child abuse to include exposure to certain drugs such as methamphetamines.

A federal court on Monday dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust complaint against Facebook, which could have forced the company to divest from two of its major social media acquisitions, Instagram and WhatsApp, CNBC reports. The FTC sued the company last December, joined by attorneys general from 48 states, including Tennessee, alleging that Facebook is illegally maintaining its social networking monopoly through an extended course of anticompetitive conduct. The judge described the complaint as "legally insufficient," but acknowledged that the FTC may be able to cure the weaknesses and file an amended complaint. A spokesperson for the FTC said the agency is "closely reviewing the opinion and assessing the best option forward."

Johnson City attorney Tony Seaton will serve as president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA) for the 2021-2022 term. Seaton replaces John Griffith of Franklin, who now assumes the role of immediate past president. Mark Chalos of Nashville advances to the office of president-elect. TTLA also presented awards at its recent annual convention in Memphis. The TTLA Trial Lawyer of the Year Award was presented to Chattanooga attorney Danny Ellis, and the association honored Jerry Summers, also from Chattanooga, with its most distinguished award for Lifetime Achievement as a practicing attorney. An item in yesterday's TBA Today incorrectly identified the TTLA officers. 

The Upper Cumberland Young Lawyers Association recently elected new officers for the 2021-2022 bar year. They are: President Matthew McClanahan with McClanahan & Winston in Crossville; Vice President Ethan Copeland, Division of TennCare, Cookeville; Treasurer Amber Vargas and Secretary Justin Morgan, who both work at the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands in Cookeville; and Immediate Past President Caroline Sapp with The Barnes Firm in Sparta.

Two lawyers recently were reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee. Le’dell Sanders Joiner, who is active in the U.S. Army, was reinstated on June 4, retroactive to March 8, 2016, after being summarily suspended on Dec. 3, 2010. North Carolina lawyer Aaron Alexander Smith was reinstated on June 23, retroactive to June 1, after being placed on inactive status on Aug. 11, 2015.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee will hold a portrait unveiling and memorial garden dedication on Aug. 27 to honor former TBA president and late District Court Chief Judge Pamela L. Reeves. Watch for more details coming soon.

The TBA has four webinars planned in July to help attorneys work smarter not harder. Each virtual program will take place from noon to 1 p.m. CDT and offer one hour of dual CLE credit. The series kicks off with “Make Meetings Meaningful” on July 8 followed by "Email Management" on July 15, "Task Management" on July 22 and "Using Core Financial & Productivity Reports" on July 29.