TBA's Tort & Insurance Section has announced that its annual forum will take place virtually on Feb. 23. The program will feature a session on healthcare updates, an overview of the ethical issues that attorneys face when conducting investigations and interviewing current and former employees of an opposing corporate litigant, and a panel of attorneys discussing the proper disclosure of experts. Reserve your spot today!

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments met recently to consider nine applicants for the Court of Criminal Appeals vacancy in the Western Section. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the council selected the following applicants to send to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration: Joshua B. Dougan, William Mark Ward and Matthew Joseph Wilson. Learn more about each candidate on the Administrative Office of the Courts’ website. The vacancy was created by the death of Judge John Everett Williams on Sept. 2.

The Tennessee Bar Association will be closed Nov. 21-25 in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. Offices will reopen on Nov. 28 at 8 a.m. CST. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that Tennessee’s mandatory sentence of life in prison when imposed on a juvenile homicide offender is cruel and unusual punishment and violates the juvenile’s rights as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. In a narrow ruling, the court did not change Tyshon Booker’s sentence, but granted him a parole hearing after he has served between 25 and 36 years in prison so that his age and other circumstances can be considered at that time. Booker, who was 16 at the time, was convicted by a Knox County jury of first-degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence of 60 years for the murder and 20 years for the robbery, to run concurrently. The Court of Criminal Appeals had affirmed the convictions and sentence.

Do you control your digital life or does it control you? Whether texting, emailing, posting on social media or browsing the web, many people are at the mercy of their digital devices. Internet addiction is on the rise and is linked to mental health concerns like depression and anxiety. This one-hour webcast, featuring attorneys Becky Howlett and Cindy Sharp, will help lawyers manage and even unplug from the digital world — ethically and mindfully. Join the webcast on Dec. 19 from noon to 1 p.m. CST.

Tennessee Department of Children's Services (DCS) Commissioner Margie Quin is seeking $156 million in new funding, including $15.8 million for caseworker salary increases, the Tennessean reports. In her department’s budget request, Quin noted that nearly half of all new caseworkers quit within their first year. Quin called the turnover rate "horrific" as the department faces a challenge of correcting years of systemic staffing woes and increased numbers of children in state foster care. "It is no secret that DCS has failed to hire and retain staff, and as a result has seen unusually high caseload averages throughout the state, especially in hard-hit staffing areas like Davidson County," Quin told Gov. Bill Lee and his budget staff.

The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar today advanced a proposal to make standardized admissions tests optional at accredited law schools. The council voted on the amendment to its testing mandate, Standard 503, at a hybrid meeting in Atlanta. The standard currently requires law schools to use a “valid and reliable” test to assess applicants. Historically, that has been the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). At today’s meeting, the council also voted to amend Standard 501 to include an annual review of admissions policies and practices. The proposals will now go to the ABA House of Delegates for consideration at its February 2023 meeting in New Orleans. If approved, the changes would not be implemented until the fall of 2025, the ABA Journal reports.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order seeking comments on a proposal from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission to increase the number of course hours for family mediators who wish to obtain the designation “Specifically Trained in Domestic Violence Issues.” The proposal from the commission would amend Rule 31(14)(g) to increase the required training from 12 to 16 hours. Comments should be submitted by Jan. 17, 2023, and reference docket number ADM2022-01538.

Following Yale Law School’s decision earlier this week to boycott law school rankings published by U.S. News, three additional law schools have announced they will do so as well. Harvard Law School, University of California Berkeley Law School and Georgetown University Law Center now say they will not participate in the rankings either. Berkeley Dean Erwin Chemerinsky says the rankings are “profoundly inconsistent” with the school’s “values and public mission” and penalize schools that help students launch careers in public service law. U.S. News & World Report said it has no plans to change its goals for the rankings. Reuters has more about Georgetown’s decision while Bloomberg looks at Berkeley’s move.

The next Second Saturday Legal Clinic (2SLAC) will take place Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to noon CST at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. Firm sponsors are needed as well as individual volunteer attorneys and support staff! Sign-up here. Then on Dec. 13, the Memphis Veterans Phone Clinic will take place from noon to 2 p.m. CST. Volunteer attorneys are needed to provide legal advice to veterans on a variety of civil issues ranging from child support to debt relief. Certification to practice before the Veterans Administration is not required to participate in this clinic. Contact Jake Dickerson to volunteer.