The TBA Criminal Justice Section will host a free Tennessee criminal law legislative update on Sept. 24. Deputy Executive Director of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference Chelsea Curtis will detail new laws and recent changes every practitioner should know. The webinar will include information on DUIs, expungements, the new persistent domestic violence registry, definitions for abortion exceptions and much more. One hour of general CLE credit is available for a $50 processing fee. Learn more and register here.

Last week, committees in both chambers of Congress voted on appropriations legislation that includes varying levels of funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee included $566 million in LSC funding as part of its Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies FY 2026 Appropriation, according to a press release from LSC. This represents a $6 million increase from FY 2025's $560 million appropriation. Earlier in the week, an appropriations subcommittee in the House of Representatives included $300 million in funding in its version of the legislation. That funding represents a 46% cut from LSC’s FY 2025 level. The full Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Thursday. Neither bill follows the White House’s May 30 proposal, which included $21 million for an "orderly closeout" of LSC. Read more from Bloomberg Law.

Maxine Strickler, who worked for the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) for 25 years, died June 21 at age 97. Former Tennessee Bar Journal Editor Suzanne Craig Robertson remembers that when she started working at TBA in 1987, "Maxine was in the membership department. Nothing was computerized then and each member record was on a card in a big metal file called the Cardex." Services were held June 27 in Goodlettsville.

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) on Monday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review a federal judge’s order that struck down a presidential executive order targeting the law firm of Jenner & Block. The firm sued over the order in March. Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found the order violated the firm’s First Amendment rights by retaliating against Jenner for its work in court and ties to certain lawyers. Bloomberg Law has more on the development.

The 78th Judicial Conference of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will be held in Memphis Sept. 3-5 at The Peabody Hotel. The conference will open with a welcome reception on Tuesday evening, followed by two days of programming that include plenary and breakout sessions, luncheons and special evening events, including the Life Member Reception at Old Dominick Distillery and a formal banquet at The Peabody. Conference details, including hotel and registration information, can be found on the court's website. Register by Aug. 15. Call 513-564-7270 or email CA06-Conf@ca6.uscourts.gov with questions.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently announced that Alec Richardson will depart the governor’s office at the end of the month after serving for nearly seven years in multiple roles, including his most recent position of senior advisor and director of external affairs. Richardson will transition to the role of state director for U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty. As one of the longest-serving members of Lee’s team, Richardson played an instrumental role in achieving the governor’s agenda to champion rural advancement through the creation of the Governor’s Rural Opportunity Summit. "Alec’s passion for rural Tennessee has contributed greatly to our administration’s work to expand opportunity across economically distressed and at-risk counties, and I am grateful that Tennesseans will continue to benefit from his leadership in a new role," Lee said. Casey Sellers has been appointed to serve as senior advisor to the governor, in addition to her current role as director of communications and a member of Lee’s cabinet. Read more in a press release from the governor's office.

On Aug. 1, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board will hear in-person arguments in three cases at the Tennessee Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville 37219. All three are interlocutory orders granting benefits. First will be Chad Graves v. Southall Adventures, where both parties have appealed. Southall takes issue with a trial court order where medical causation was disputed, while Graves contests the decision to decline to designate an unauthorized doctor as the treating physician. Next, in Brittney Russell v. Werner Enterprises Inc., Werner appealed an order involving an assault while working, resulting in physical and mental injuries. Russell was delivering freight and had a confrontation with the manager of a retail store, followed by a shopper inserting herself into the argument. The shopper’s husband assaulted the employee. Finally is David Rainey v. US Express, where US Express appealed an order challenging rulings on whether a specific incident at work occurred as Rainey described and medical causation. The arguments begin at 9 a.m. CDT. Access the full docket.

There is a substantial difference between being a good lawyer and running a well-oiled, profitable practice. While there are some “money things” one can outsource, such as payroll mechanics, it is critical that attorneys understand core financial concepts and the associated reports produced by a practice management system. In this webcast replay, Jeffrey Krause with Affinity Consulting will highlight the kinds of accounting information attorneys need to know, as well as who else within the practice should have access to that sensitive information. Get more information and register here.

The TBA will host a replay of the webcast “Making ‘Difficult Communications' Less Difficult: Best Practices and Strategies for Success” on July 24 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. The presentation explores five barriers to healthy communication, unconscious biases and common communication mistakes made by attorneys and employers. It also offers practical strategies to build workplace relationships, improve communication skills and implement de-escalation techniques. For more information and to register, visit the TBA website. 

The federal trial for Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. — who has been accused of involvement in a county grant scheme — is now scheduled for January 2026.  Commissioner Lynn Crum, who is representing the government in the case, said the trial is expected to last two weeks. According to The Commercial Appeal, Ford’s attorney said in court Tuesday that there is still “lots to go through” in the discovery process. The government turned over thousands of pages of evidence and hundreds of gigabytes of data in March. Ford, who was federally charged with bribery and tax evasion, was placed on leave from his job with the city of Memphis in March.