TBA’s annual ethics tradition returns with "Ethics Homeshow 2025: From Streaming to Screaming. The Most Unethical Highlights of Your Favorite Lawyer Show." Join ethics expert Brian Faughnan on Feb. 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST for this entertaining webcast that explores the most unethical moments in modern legal dramas available on streaming services. Faughnan will guide viewers through these fictional legal missteps while comparing them to Tennessee’s actual ethics rules. Spoilers are inevitable, but the lessons will be valuable. To register, visit TBA’s website.

Salvatore "Sal" William Varsalona died Sunday at age 60. In 1993, Varsalona became an attorney and began his practice in Clinton, Tennessee. Varsalona was a longtime Anderson County resident and lawyer. He represented the Anderson County Board of Education and was a former city judge in Rocky Top, previously known as Lake City. A celebration of life will be held at 6:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 11 at Main Street Baptist Church in Rocky Top, where he was a longtime member. Memorial contributions may be made to a new youth facility at Main Street Baptist Church, P.O. Box 405, Rocky Top, TN 37769.

TBA members were sent an email Friday with a ballot for the two candidates running for TBA vice president. The email was sent from Intelliscan Inc. If you did not receive the email in your inbox, please check your spam folder or with your firm’s IT administrator. If you still did not receive it, or have any other questions about the process, contact elections@tnbar.org. Electronic voting began Jan. 31 and will close on Feb. 14.

Attorney volunteers are needed on Feb. 19-20 and 24-25 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. EST to help score the District 5 high school mock trial competition. The competition will take place at the Hamilton County-Chattanooga Courts Building, 600 Market St. and Historic Hamilton County Courthouse, 625 Georgia Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37402. Click here to volunteer. Those who would like to volunteer at another district competition may find a list of all events on the TBA website.

The U.S. Senate voted 54-46 on Tuesday to confirm Pam Bondi as the next attorney general, The Hill reports. She was sworn in today at a ceremony at the White House with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administering the oath of office. In comments today, Bondi pledged to "restore integrity to the Justice Department" and "fight violent crime throughout this country" and the world. In one of her first acts after taking office, Bondi called for the creation of a “weaponization working group” that will examine the work of special counsel Jack Smith, who charged Trump in two criminal cases, and review decisions to charge individuals connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Associated Press reports.

State House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Senate Finance Chair Bo Watson, R-Hixson, filed legislation Tuesday that would allow local school districts and charter schools to opt out of enrolling undocumented children, Chattanoogan.com reports. According to the bill sponsors, HB793 aims to challenge Plyler v. Doe, a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that granted undocumented children the right to a free public education. The lawmakers say a 2019 analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data showed that about 128,000 undocumented immigrants were residing in Tennessee at the time, including approximately 10,000 children in public schools. In introducing the bill, Lamberth said, “The flood of illegal immigrants in our country has put an enormous drain on American tax dollars and resources. Our schools are the first to feel the impact." He concluded, "Our obligation is to ensure a high-quality education for legal residents first.”

In an unanimous vote Tuesday, the TSSAA rejected a proposed high school “transfer portal.” The Tennessean reports that a motion to deny the measure passed 12-0, despite lawmakers urging the TSSAA to amend its long-standing transfer rule, which requires athletes who transfer to a school in a different zone to be ineligible for one calendar year from their last varsity game unless they have a bona fide change of address. The proposal would have allowed one transfer without residency requirements. The council pledged to discuss potential changes to transfer rules in the future and has requested a special meeting before its regularly scheduled April session to address the issue further.

The American Bar Association (ABA) urged the presidential administration to roll back its executive order calling for federal investigations into diversity and inclusion efforts by bar associations, citing the groups' First Amendment rights, Reuters reports. The ABA's resolution, adopted Monday, asks the administration to modify the executive order to clarify that it will not be enforced in a manner that infringes on constitutional rights. “The First Amendment prohibits the federal government from interfering with the expressive rights of bar associations and others by threatening them with investigation and prosecution for adopting or promoting [diversity and inclusion],” reads a report supporting the resolution. Last year, attorneys general from 21 states, including Tennessee, sent a letter to the ABA opposing efforts to impose race-based admissions and hiring requirements on law schools through the accreditation process.

Legal challenges continue to be filed against President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders. A Maryland federal judge has issued a nationwide injunction blocking the administration from curtailing birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented parents. The move comes after a judge in Seattle imposed a temporary halt on the policy. In addition, the ACLU has filed suit in D.C. federal court challenging the president’s ban on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. With regard to transgender care, a suit has been filed over orders that curtail federal funding and support for medical transitions for those under age 19. Tennessee’s law banning such care for minors is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Tennessee Lookout reports that two teens who left Tennessee after the state ban went into effect are part of the group suing over the federal ban. Finally, in other news, a suit has been filed against two executive orders seeking to end federal diversity programs; a federal judge in Washington, D.C., has blocked efforts to move transgender women to men's prisons; and FBI agents have sued to protect their identities from Department of Justice leaders who are seeking information about those who worked on Jan. 6 cases. Bloomberg reports that the FBI has shared titles and offices but not names. Reuters has more on all of these suits.

Ezekiel Kelly, a 22-year-old Memphis man charged with capitol murder, will act as his own lawyer in a trial scheduled for July. The two dozen charges, including first-degree murder and attempted murder, stem from a September 2022 shooting spree and city-wide manhunt that left three people dead and three others wounded. According to the Associated Press, a judge in January granted Kelly's request to serve as his own lawyer, and on Tuesday, Kelly requested more time to access the jail computers to review the evidence against him. He has pleaded not guilty. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said his office plans to seek the death penalty if Kelly is convicted of first-degree murder.