The 2021 Bench Bar Luncheon, scheduled for June 17, will feature a keynote address by Lang Wiseman, deputy and chief counsel to Gov. Bill Lee. Wiseman assists the governor in his day-to-day duties and acts as a liaison between the governor’s office, the legislature and the various departments and agencies in state government, including the judiciary, the attorney general and the district attorneys general. Wiseman also coordinates the legal affairs of the executive branch, reviews judicial appointments and clemency requests, and advises the governor on legal, political and legislative matters. Prior to his appointment, Wiseman was a founding partner at the Memphis law firm Wiseman Bray. He previously worked at Baker Donelson Bearman & Caldwell, as counsel for the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and as a law clerk to the late Judge Harry Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. The luncheon will be presented live in Memphis and live streamed for virtual convention registrants. Learn more and register here for this year’s convention.

The TBA offers dozens of 1-Click packages that bundle sessions from recent CLE programs, providing up to eight hours of credit with one purchase. New packages include the Immigration Law Section’s Fall Forum which offers four hours of general credit. This year’s program focused on timely topics such as changes to the asylum process, recent Supreme Court decisions impacting immigration, the work of the “Gang of 35” at the Executive Office for Immigration Review and representation of clients during COVID-19.

Jackson lawyer Harold Franklin Johnson died May 25. He was 92. A football and basketball player, Johnson attended the University of Tennessee on an athletic scholarship. He joined the football coaching staff in the fall of 1949, and participated as a player-coach on both the 1949 and 1950 championship teams. He later became a Southeastern Conference basketball and football official. Johnson earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1952 and began practicing with the law firm of Murray, Murray & Johnson. He later served as Jackson city attorney for 19 years. Three of his daughters went on to practice law: Archie Ann Taylor recently retired as a supervisory counsel with the FDIC in Washington, D.C.; Leigh Milam is clerk and master of the Henderson County Chancery Court; and Carol Pearson is deputy general counsel with TruGreen in Memphis.

A new lawsuit filed Thursday by Nashville attorney Jim Roberts claims Metro Nashville’s legal department and the Davidson County Election Commission violated open meetings laws last fall, the Tennessean reports. Roberts and the group 4 Good Government want to roll back Nashville property taxes to the 2019 rate and limit Metro’s power over future property tax increases, public land transfers and recall elections. In the new lawsuit, Roberts claims a private election commission meeting in September was unjustified. He expressed his concerns about the meeting in a September letter to the commission and says he received a reply from Metro legal explaining that the closed-door meeting was to discuss comments Roberts had made. He calls that response “untruthful” and “disingenuous.” The latest filing included an attachment from a previous lawsuit filed by Roberts in October, in which Metro noted their stance that the meetings were allowable.

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands assembled a Racial Justice and Equity team to find systemic biases and knowledge gaps inside its operations. One year later, LAS Executive Director DarKenya Waller calls May 25 “report card day,” a time to assess the progress of LAS’ efforts to perform meaningful racial justice work. She tells the Tennessean she would not give herself an A, but adds, “The only way you can fail is if you're not trying." Since last year, Waller and her team have found trainings and started a data study in which a “heat map” was created to mark where LAS services were most used and areas where they were missing. They’ve also created research resources on the historical context of redlining laws and housing issues and wealth gaps along race and gender lines. Those efforts have enabled LAS to find partner agencies to better target outreach programs and assist organizations already working with underserved populations. “It's about being anti-racist, it's about doing work that changes circumstances for marginalized communities, intentionally, not as a byproduct of what you were doing anyway," Waller said. "This year was certainly a year of learning."

The office of Gov. Bill Lee is now accepting applications for a public defender in the 29th Judicial District. This vacancy was created by the retirement of James E. Lanier. The position will be filled by the governor until the next biennial election in August 2022. Applicants must have been a state resident for at least five years and a resident of the district for at least one year. The 29th Judicial District covers Dyer and Lake counties. Resumes and cover letters can be mailed to Deputy Chief Counsel to the Governor Lang Wiseman, State Capitol, First Floor, 600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37243 or emailed to Rebecca Kaunisto. All applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. CDT on June 11. Read more about the position.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today overturned a decision that allowed for residential-use-only restrictions to be applied to subdivision lots that were sold before the restriction was created. The justices unanimously agreed that the individuals who recorded the restriction in the case lacked the authority to restrict the use of land they did not own. In this case, the original developers of the land did not execute and record the restrictive covenants until two years after they had already begun selling the lots. By that time, the property at the center of the case had already been sold and the high court ruled the restrictions did not apply to the property. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the decision and the opinion authored by Chief Justice Jeff Bivins.

The Davidson County General Sessions Night Court has announced a vacancy for a “fill-in” judicial commissioner that will be called on to work a full or half shift when needed. This position pays by the hour. Successful candidates will be at least 30 years old, have been licensed for at least five years, a resident of the state for at least five years and a current resident of Davidson County. Those interested in applying should send a resume to General Sessions Court Administrator Kyle Sowell by email or by mail at 408 Second Ave. N., Suite 1140, Nashville, TN 37219. The deadline to apply is June 4. Read more about the job opening.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, have assembled an all-Republican study committee on refugee issues, TNJ: On the Hill reports. “With this study committee, we reaffirm that there is a clear and compelling state interest in a sane immigration policy,” McNally said. In a letter to House and Senate clerks, McNally and Sexton said the committee will examine the number of migrant children that have been relocated to the state by the federal government, work to increase transparency surrounding that process, and evaluate the financial and other impact the federal migrant relocation program has on Tennesseans.  

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) today unveiled a new history and milestones feature on its website in honor of Tennessee’s 225th year of statehood. The new webpage features multimedia elements that examine the history of the state’s court system from 1796 through the present. Read more interesting facts about the court system on the AOC’s website and check out the new History & Milestones page.