The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) has extended the deadline for submitting session proposals for this year's Equal Justice University (EJU). Proposals are now due April 24. Topics of interest include employment law, family law, health and benefits, housing and consumer, special education and juvenile justice, as well as professionalism. See all topics and submit proposals online. The 2024 EJU is set for Aug. 28-30 at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro.

When you’re busy, it’s difficult to think of a ringing phone as a prospective client rather than a mere interruption. The TBA's Practice Management Center offers a chart comparing services that not only answer phones but can help with client screening, intake and more. Access this and more resources in the center's Opening a Firm section.

The Tennessee House and Senate Finance committees have passed the FY2024/25 budget, HB2973/SB2942, which includes $8.6 million in additional recurring funding to increase the hourly rate an additional $10 an hour for court-appointed attorneys representing the indigent. Tennessee’s court-appointed attorneys, who represent indigent citizens who are statutorily and constitutionally entitled to legal counsel, are the lowest paid in the country, and have not had their hourly reimbursement rate raised in 26 years. The TBA has worked hand in hand with the Supreme Court and the Administrative Office of the Courts to encourage the General Assembly to fairly compensate attorneys representing the indigent. During the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee meeting, House Finance Committee Chair Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain, stated, “This is a start. It’s not market compensation, but it will allow us, hopefully, to address a problem. It’s very difficult for judges to find attorneys to take these indigent cases, so with additional funding, hopefully we will be able to get more cases through our system and stop the roadblocks.” The next step for the budget is passage by the House and Senate before they adjourn next week.

The 2024 Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative (CCPBI) Gala will be held Saturday evening at the Nashville office of Bass, Berry & Sims, located at the Pinnacle at Symphony Place. The event will be a cocktail supper, with live music and a brief presentation, including awarding the inaugural Branham Grants. The CCPBI, a partnership between the TBA Access to Justice Committee, TBA Corporate Counsel Section and the Tennessee Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, established the grants in honor of long-time access to justice champion Andy Branham, who died in 2022. The Branham Grants support pro bono projects designed to provide civil legal resources and support for people with, affected by, or at risk for addiction in Tennessee, as well as those in recovery. Individual tickets may be purchased here. See photos from last year's event. 

Nashville Chancellor I’Ashea Myles started hearing arguments this week from lawyers hoping to have records related to the mass shooting at The Covenant School released to the public. The hearing, which is expected to last into Wednesday, will determine whether some records are released. The Tennessean reports that the key to the case is whether to apply a state rule exempting records that are part of a "pending or contemplated criminal action" from release. Lawyers on different sides of the case differed on the application of the rule given the current status of the police investigation of the shooting.

Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) is losing its largest source of funding, effective June 30. According to the Daily Memphian, the congressionally funded Legal Services Corporation sent a letter to MALS Board Chair Brian Heim on April 5, stating that MALS had failed to improve operations and had not engaged in best practices to effectively provide legal services. Heim responded to the news saying, “MALS is assessing that funding decision’s impact on our ongoing operations. We are assessing the opportunities to convince LSC to reverse their decision.” The funding — roughly $1.7 million — will be turned over to West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS), which is based in Jackson. That office is preparing to take over operations July 1.

The Tennessee State Legislature on Monday unanimously passed a bill that would involuntarily commit certain criminal defendants for inpatient treatment and temporarily remove their gun rights if they are ruled incompetent to stand trial due to intellectual disability or mental illness. Named for Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig, who was killed in November after she was hit by a stray bullet while walking near campus in Nashville, "Jillian's Law" requirements would kick in for defendants charged with felonies or class A misdemeanors. The Associated Press reports that the person would remain committed until they are deemed competent to stand trial, or until the court approves a mandatory outpatient treatment plan that accounts for the community’s safety. The bill now heads to Gov. Bill Lee.

Four candidates have applied to run for the Shelby County Criminal Court Division 9 judgeship formerly held by Melissa Boyd. If the state legislature does not move the seat elsewhere, the following candidates will appear on the Aug. 1 ballot: Jahari Dowdy, an attorney with 20 years of experience in criminal defense and Shelby County Juvenile Court representation; Michael Floyd, an attorney who was appointed special judge to Memphis City Court in 2005; Shelby County District Attorney First Deputy Chris Lareau; and Joe Ozment, a criminal defense attorney with 32 years of experience. The Daily Memphian has more.

Gov. Bill Lee has joined five other Southern governors in issuing a joint statement opposing the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) unionization campaign. The statement comes days before votes will be cast in a unionization effort at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. The Tennessean reports that the election is being watched as a sign for whether unions can gain ground in the South, a region that has long resisted organized labor and in recent years has attracted both American and foreign car manufacturers.

Knoxville attorney Jack H. "Nick" McCall Jr., 63, died April 13 on the final day of his family vacation in the Bahamas. McCall was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, serving as a Regular Army captain before receiving his law degree from the University of Tennessee, where he served as editor in chief of the Tennessee Law Review. He was of counsel with Hunton & Williams’ Knoxville office from 1994 to 2003, and served as general counsel and secretary of CTI Molecular Imaging Inc. from 2003 to 2005. During that time, he taught as an adjunct professor at UT Law. The author of various articles on legal, foreign policy and historical topics, and the author/co-author of three books, McCall served on the TBA Board of Governors as well as on the Knoxville Bar Association Board, and the founding board of Legal Aid of East Tennessee. He was a member of the TBA’s Leadership Law Class of 2005, among other honors, awards, activities and community service roles. In his last position, McCall served as a senior attorney and deputy designated agency ethics official with the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville, from which he retired in 2021. Our thanks to the Knoxville Bar Association for its assistance with this story. Arrangements are pending.