Are you still looking for ethics credits before Dec. 31? Look no further! The TBA's 12 Days of Ethics launches today and runs through Dec. 19 with innovative programs and packages you don't want to miss. Be sure to check our social media channels over the next 12 days to see the programs being offered. Visit TBA's Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn channels for more information, and join the fun by posting your own 12 Days experience using the hashtag #TBA12Days. Looking for something else? Visit  the TBA CLE Course Catalog to access more than 200 programs available now!

TBA’s “Sunrise Series,” which offers early-morning CLE webcasts from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. CST, continues tomorrow with Stuart Teicher presenting "Good Lawyers Gone Bad: Ethics Lessons from True Lawyer Slime and Crime." The session will explore actual missteps committed by lawyers and the ethics lessons underlying the actions. Make plans now to get your day started with a CLE boost!

Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles heard arguments this week in a case seeking greater media access to information about state executions. A group of news outlets has sued to compel the Department of Correction to provide the information, according the Nashville Banner. Myles said her ruling, even if released before the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols next week, will not affect press access at that event. Paul McAdoo, with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, asked Myles to accommodate the request for access “as soon as practical.” In related news, a group of medical professionals are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to pause executions until the lethal injection protocol can be reviewed by a court. A letter from the group raised “grave concerns” with the use of pentobarbital. The Banner has more on both stories in its newsletter.

During a recording of the WKNO podcast "Behind the Headlines," Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris stated that an office other than the sheriff’s should be running the county jail. A total of 12 prisoners have died in custody of the sheriff’s office so far this year, including at least four in November. Harris criticized what he described as a lack of urgency from Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. and said he is exploring options with the Tennessee Corrections Institute and other state officials, including potential changes in training or even private management. Bonner, who is suing Harris over budget restrictions, said many inmates who died had longstanding health issues tied to poverty and noted that medical care in the jail is overseen by a contractor selected by the mayor’s office, not the sheriff. The Daily Memphian has the story.

Vanderbilt University Law School is seeking volunteers to conduct 20-minute virtual mock interviews for LL.M. students in early February. For more information and to volunteer, contact Legal Studies Program Manager Tricia Crocker at the law school.

TBA Past President Buck Lewis and his wife Malinda have been honored in Memphis and in Knoxville for their work and support of the American Red Cross. Buck Lewis served sequentially as chair of the advisory board in each city. The board room in Knoxville and the red staircase in Memphis have very recently been named in the couple's honor. He began his Red Cross service in 2005 after helping organize legal aid for Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Memphis. His commitment to community service, shaped by his parents’ example and reflected in his work with organizations including the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and the American Bar Association’s FreeLegalAnswers.org, continues to guide his leadership in strengthening Red Cross partnerships, fundraising and volunteer engagement across the state. Read more on the American Red Cross website.

Lee Beaman, the former Nashville car dealership owner nominated by President Donald Trump to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors, faced a Senate committee this week, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn introduced Beaman to the committee, saying, “He brings decades of experience in business leadership, community service and organizational governance with him to fill this role at the TVA.” Democrats on the committee questioned Beaman about his ties to Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles. Beaman previously served as Ogles’ campaign treasurer, though he denied holding the position when senators said disclosures were made. Knox News also reports on the hearing. Beaman must still face a committee vote before his nomination can go to the full Senate. If confirmed, his term would expire in 2030.

Yesterday afternoon, Judge Waverly Crenshaw canceled next week’s scheduled evidentiary hearing in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case pending further order, according to the Nashville Banner newsletter. Among other motions, next week’s hearing was meant to consider the issue of vindictiveness. In October, a federal judge in Nashville ruled there is a “realistic likelihood” the government acted vindictively in bringing human smuggling charges against Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador before being brought to Tennessee in June to face criminal charges. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected a petition to amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 10.1 to allow bar associations in the state to access contact information of licensed Tennessee attorneys from the Board of Professional Responsibility. The TBA filed a petition seeking the change in August after the court amended the rule to limit public access to attorneys’ contact information.

Vince Dean has announced he will seek another term as Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk, the Chattanoogan reports. First elected to the position in 2014, Dean said he is pleased to reflect on the accomplishments achieved through the efforts of his administration. One of his first goals was to make the offices he oversees more user-friendly. Dean currently serves on the board of directors for the County Officials Association of Tennessee and on the legislative committee for the State Court Clerks Association of Tennessee.