With Daylight Savings in place for most of us for the next eight months, maybe we should think about how we will spend that extra hour of daylight. Colleen Brannan with BRANSTORM PR recently shared 10 ideas. Her suggestions include treating each day like the first day of the rest of your life; resetting any New Year's resolutions that have stalled; finding virtual volunteer opportunities; giving yourself a break if you don’t get through your to-do list at the end of the day; making a sunny day playlist; and lightening up the dinner menu with lighter fare. But most important, she says, is to make the extra time meaningful.

The ABA Judicial Division is presenting “Judicial Milestones in the Quest for Women’s Equality” on March 26 at 11 a.m. CDT. The program will feature a diverse panel of female judges who will discuss challenges on the bench and offer insights on their achievements and more. The program is free of charge. Register online

The Knoxville Bar Association will host a Faith and Justice Legal Advice Clinic April 13-15. The Faith and Justice Alliance seeks to build a coalition of faith leaders in the Knoxville area and to host legal advice clinics to give people a less intimidating environment to talk to a lawyer. This is a general advice clinic with volunteers prepared to advise on a wide variety of legal issues, including family law, landlord/tenant, bankruptcy, criminal defense, consumer protection, contract disputes, child support and personal injury, among other issues. Participants have until April 7 to register for the clinic.

After 44 years as district attorney general of the 15th Judicial District, Tommy Thompson has announced his retirement, the Tennessean reports. Thompson, 78, was considered the dean of district attorneys general in the state, according to Guy Jones, executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference. Jason Lawson has been appointed pro tem district attorney general by Judge Brody Kane and Gov. Bill Lee is expected to appoint a district attorney general to finish out the term that will be up for election in August 2022. Thompson was first appointed to the position in 1977. The 15th Judicial District covers Wilson, Smith, Macon, Trousdale and Jackson counties.

Organize Tennessee, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to voter protection and education, will host a poll watching training on March 27 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. The training will provide information on up-to-date election laws, common poll watching incidents and details on how to become a poll watcher. Register by signing up on Organize Tennessee’s website or registering through Zoom. For help with registration, email Executive Director Kayla Parker.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 71 lawyers yesterday for failing to pay the state professional privilege tax as required by Tennessee Code Annotated 67-4-1702. Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 26, attorneys who are deemed noncompliant for 90 days or more are summarily suspended. See the online list or view the order. Those who comply with the rule will be noted as reinstated.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the TBA has rallied its past, current and future female presidents for a one-hour conversation on their experiences, influences and the impact women have made on the legal profession. The virtual panel will take place on March 24 from 3 to 4 p.m. CDT. TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson will moderate the panel, which will include: former TBA presidents Sarah Sheppeard, Cindy Wyrick, Jackie Dixon, Gail Ashworth, Marcy Eason and Kathryn Reed Edge; TBA Vice President Tasha Blakney; TBA President-elect Sherie Edwards; and current TBA President Michelle Greenway Sellers. Register now.

Work is complete on the state-of-the-art Rhea County Justice Center, which will serve as the new home of the county’s Circuit, Chancery and General Sessions courts. Located three miles north of the historic Rhea County Courthouse that it’s replacing, the 94,000-square-foot Justice Center boasts a number of technological and security-related upgrades that will make court run more safely and more smoothly for judges, staff and court users. The building will also house the Rhea County Sheriff’s Department and a new county jail, which can house 342 inmates. Other parts of the building will be rented out by a variety of different agencies, providing room for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, public defenders, probation, and parole offices. The historic Rhea County Courthouse was made famous as the site of the Scopes Trial and houses a museum dedicated to the trial. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the new Justice Center.

The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday filed a civil rights lawsuit against Cumberland County for failure to act on charges of sexual misconduct by former Solid Waste Department Director Michael Harvel, the Crossville Chronicle reports. The DOJ says four current and former Solid Waste Department employees filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission detailing sexual harassment they, and other women, were subjected to by Harvel. The suit also references six employees who did not file complaints with the EEOC. The suit says that from February 2015 through February 2018, Harvel subjected female employees to unwelcome, nonconsensual sexual contact on a “daily or near daily basis.” The suit seeks monetary and non-monetary relief, including that the county establish better measures to prevent and correct sexual harassment. A settlement is expected in the case by April 8. Harvel also faces criminal charges related to the complaint.

The FBI yesterday released findings from its investigation into the Christmas Day bombing in downtown Nashville, including what they believe motivated the man who detonated the bomb, WPLN reports. According to the report, Anthony Warner of Antioch sought to end his own life due in part to “life stressors” like paranoia and beliefs he adopted from several conspiracy theories. “The FBI’s analysis did not reveal indications of a broader ideological motive to use violence to bring about social or political change, nor does it reveal indications of a specific personal grievance focused on individuals or entities in and around the location of the explosion,” the report said. Several reviews of the explosion are still ongoing, including Metro Nashville Police Department’s review of its own handling of a 2019 tip from Warner’s girlfriend that he was building a bomb in his RV.