In recognition of Well-Being Week in Law and Mental Health Awareness Month, the TBA is offering a special CLE package featuring three hours of programming focused on attorney wellness, mindfulness and compassionate lawyering. The package includes sessions on preventing burnout, addressing bias in the legal system and fostering empathy in legal practice through programs such as “Thriving Under Pressure: Mindfulness Techniques to Prevent Burnout and Ensure Ethical Legal Practice,” “The Rookie Series: Compassionate Lawyering” and “Realign — Justice, Well-Being and the Law Addressing Bias.” The offering also coincides with National Treatment Court Month. The TBA has a foundational program on Tennessee’s recovery courts also scheduled. Learn more about that program on the TBA website.

On Wednesday, Chancellor I’Ashea Myles transferred Christa Pike’s legal challenge to Tennessee’s revised lethal injection protocol from Davidson County Chancery Court to the Tennessee Supreme Court, according to the Nashville Banner newsletter. Pike, the only woman currently on death row in the state, argues that the protocol is unconstitutional because it violates her “unique medical conditions.” The state sought to dismiss the case, but Myles ordered it transferred to the high court due to a recent amended rule requiring “collateral litigation” related to the “method or timing” of an execution to be filed with the court. That amendment followed a 2025 ruling in which the high court overturned a Davidson County Chancery Court ruling related to Byron Black’s execution. Pike is on death row for a murder she committed in 1996 when she was 18. Her execution is scheduled for Sept. 30.

Former Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Gerald Skahan died May 5 at age 61. Skahan, who worked as both a private defense attorney and public defender before taking the bench, was first elected in 2014 and became the first judge to preside over the county’s newly established mental health court. He served until 2022, when Judge Sheila Renfroe was elected to the seat. Skahan earned his law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1991. After leaving the bench, he served as special assistant for post-conviction litigation in the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Read more in the Daily Memphian. 

Tennessee lawyers will gather in June for the 2026 TBA Annual Convention. This year's CLE lineup, which will offer 8.5 hours of credit, will include a joint program produced by the TBA and the Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers. The session — which will honor Black entrepreneur Marie Van Brittan Brown, the inventor of the first home security system — will examine the balance between governmental interests in public safety and individuals’ constitutional rights to privacy. The discussion will address legal considerations under the Fourth Amendment, including protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as the potential implications of surveillance technologies on First Amendment rights, particularly freedom of speech. The session will take place June 11 from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. EDT at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Knoxville. Learn more about the convention and register here.

If you plan to attend the 2026 TBA Convention but have not yet booked your hotel, time is running out! The TBA hotel room block at the Crowne Plaza Knoxville will tomorrow, May 8, at 5 p.m. EDT. Book now to take advantage of our special discounted rate. Can't make it to the full convention? Join colleagues on June 11 for TBA's first-ever Tech Showcase. Day passes for Thursday are now available online.

Committees in both the state House and Senate considered several bills today to advance the special session, called by Gov. Bill Lee to redraw the state’s congressional map. Committees in both chambers passed HB7003/SB7004, allowing the legislature to change congressional districts outside of the regular 10-year cycle, and HB7005/SB7005, which provides funding for the special session. Republican leaders released a proposed map this morning that would split the 9th Congressional District, which covers Shelby County, into three parts. One section would be added to the 5th District, one would be added to the 8th District. The remaining section would become the new 9th District. The Daily Memphian has more on the day’s proceedings and a breakdown of the changes. The current 9th District has the state’s highest concentration of Black voters and is represented by the state’s sole Democratic member of Congress.

The May/June issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is now online and arriving in mailboxes soon. This is the annual access to justice-focused issue, and who better to grace the cover but retiring Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby? Justice Kirby has been a staunch advocate for ATJ-related issues across the state, and her longtime friend Linda Warren Seely captures her commitment to this important work and her sense of fairness in this profile. Additionally, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services Executive Director Laura Brown shares an update on Legal Services Corporation funding. TBA President Heidi Barcus focuses her final president's column on compassion in the legal profession, John Day looks at wrongful death lawsuit outcomes in "Day on Torts" and Ward Phillips and Brandon Morrow unpack remote work and employment disputes. Read about about Mock Trial winners, say farewell to a columnist and much more. Enjoy!

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission has received four applications for a vacancy in the 1st Judicial District following the appointment of Judge Stacy Street to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The applicants for the criminal court vacancy are: Elizabethton Assistant Public Defender Mark A. Fulks, Blountville Assistant Public Defender Tessa Nichole Lunceford, Unicoi County General Sessions Judge Robert Mitchell Manuel and Jonesborough Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Scott Shults. The public hearing for this position will be held June 4 at 9 a.m. EDT at the George P. Jaynes Justice Center, 108 West Jackson Blvd., Jonesborough 37659. Any member of the public may attend the public hearing and can express, orally or in writing, objections concerning applicant(s) for the judicial vacancy. Contact Assistant General Counsel John Jefferson at the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) at John.Jefferson@tncourts.gov or 615-741-2687 with questions. Read more in a press release from the AOC. The 1st Judicial District covers Carter, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on May 5 dismissed a reinstatement petition filed by Georgia lawyer Meredith Gardial. On Feb. 23, Gardial filed a petition to reinstate her Tennessee law license. The Board of Professional Responsibility opposed the petition, noting that she had outstanding requirements with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education. On March 17, the court directed Gardial to satisfy those requirements by May 1 or face dismissal of her petition. It now reports that Gardial has not satisfied those requirements. It dismissed the petition without prejudice so she can refile once she completes all outstanding CLE obligations.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners today nominated by acclamation Willis Lincoln "TJ" Hardaway III to fill his father's seat in Tennessee House District 93. Democratic State Rep. G.A. Hardaway died on April 24. "This could not have been better timing. Last year, I spent various moments one on one with my father, for no other reason other than wanting to know more about the man ... turns out I already knew the man because I already know myself," Hardaway said. The Commercial Appeal reports that the commission moved quickly to fill the seat due to the specially-called legislative session focused on redrawing the state’s congressional map, including the state’s last Democrat-controlled district in Memphis. TJ Hardaway will travel to Nashville tonight to be sworn in.