The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected proposed amendments to Rule 21 of the Rules of the Supreme Court that would have required Tennessee licensed attorneys to complete one hour of CLE credit every three years to address mental health and substance abuse disorders. The amendments were requested by the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program and Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services. The court said it received comments on the proposal from the law firm of Baker Donelson, the Board of Professional Responsibility, the Commission on Continuing Legal Education, the Knoxville Bar Association, Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, the North Carolina Lawyers Assistance Program, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and many individual attorneys. Read the court's order.

The Lawyers' Association for Women (LAW) Marion Griffin Chapter Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2026 grant program. Grants may be awarded in amounts up to $3,500 annually per applicant. Applications should be for programs that further the foundation’s mission. Applications are due by May 5 and should be submitted via email to lawmgcfoundation@gmail.com. Grant recipients will be acknowledged at the 2026 Annual LAW New Admittees’ Breakfast. Please note there are separate application forms for individual and organizational applicants. Learn more about the foundation’s mission and access the application forms online.

The American Bar Association (ABA) must face a conservative group’s lawsuit challenging the legality of its diversity scholarships for law students, Reuters reports. U.S. District Judge Joan Gottschall denied the ABA's bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed in April by the American Alliance for Equal Rights. The alliance alleges that the 26-year-old Legal Opportunity Scholarship program discriminates against white applicants. The ABA argued that the group had no grounds to sue. The judge disagreed, finding that the group’s member — a white male who had applied to law school in 2025 and researched applying for the scholarship — had standing. Gottschall did not rule on the ABA’s claim that the program is protected by the First Amendment or that changes made to the program in October made it any more acceptable.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced that he joined with Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division to file a brief on behalf of the United States as amicus curiae in support of the state’s appeal in the case challenging Gov. Bill Lee’s deployment of the National Guard in support of the Memphis Safe Task Force. The challenge to the deployment was filed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and several lawmakers, who raised constitutional and statutory objections to the mobilization. A Davidson County chancellor granted a temporary injunction that is now on appeal. According to a press release, Dunavant and Shumate argued that the federal government has a substantial interest in the case because the injunction interferes with President Donald Trump’s request for the National Guard to support public safety operations in Memphis. The Tennessee Court of Appeals has expedited the case and scheduled oral arguments for March 5 in Nashville. Read the motion to file, the amicus brief and the defendants' opening brief.

DeVante Hill, an activist during the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that he will challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, for the 9th Congressional District seat. According to the Daily Memphian, Hill announced his entry into the race at an MLK Day event at Canaan Baptist Church in Covington but it not clear if he will run in the August primaries or as an independent candidate. According to the paper, Hill was an intern in Cohen's congressional office and said he spoke with the congressman before entering the race.

A Tennessee man pleaded guilty to hacking the U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic case filing system and other federal platforms, according to The Tennessean. Nicholas Moore of Springfield pleaded guilty to one count of fraud activity in connection with computers, a Class A misdemeanor, after stealing login credentials from three individuals. According to the paper, he accessed the court’s filing system, AmeriCorps’ internal member portal and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical platform. Prosecutors said Moore accessed the systems repeatedly between August and October 2023 and posted screenshots of the compromised information to an Instagram account under the handle “ihackedthegovernment.” Moore faces up to one year in federal prison and a fine of up to $100,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 17.

Downtown surveillance cameras will not be purchased with state grant funds following a Tuesday vote from the Nashville Metro Council. According to the Nashville Post, the council voted 20-15, with three abstentions, to not use a portion of a $15 million state public safety grant awarded to the Nashville Downtown Partnership to buy 15 replacement cameras, citing concerns about state overreach, surveillance and potential impacts on marginalized communities. The council did approve using the grant funds for an armored rescue vehicle, a mobile command post and a tactical support post for the Metro Nashville Police Department. The vote followed extensive public comment opposing the cameras and ongoing debate over surveillance technology in the city.

Metro Council Member Joy Styles announced that she intends to run for mayor of Nashville, being the first candidate to declare for the August, 2027 election, Axios Nashville reports. Styles is in her second term representing the Antioch area on the council. Her voting record is pro-business, and she's also supported public safety measures, such as the police department's plan to create a network of security cameras owned by private businesses, Axios reports. “I'm running because Nashville needs a fighter, someone who's going to fight for you and your neighborhood. Over the last six years, I've shown what inclusive leadership looks like.” Styles said at her press announcement. According to the news source, incumbent Mayor Mayor Freddie O'Connell is likely to run, but has not entered the race officially.

Former state Rep. Dr. Tommie F. Brown, D-Chattanooga died Tuesday at age 91, The Chattanoogan reports. Brown served in the Tennessee legislature for 20 years and was the first African American to lead a department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). She represented her district in the state House of Representatives from 1992 to 2012. Brown also was the lead plaintiff in the landmark 1987 Brown v. Board of Commissioners of Chattanooga lawsuit, which resulted in a federal court ruling that the city’s at-large voting system violated the Voting Rights Act and significant changes in Chattanooga’s form of government. An elementary school on the UTC campus is named in her honor, and her personal and professional papers are housed in the UTC Library’s Special Collections.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 15 rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommendation to impose a 10-year suspension on Hamilton County lawyer Arthur C. Grisham Jr. Instead, the court proposed to increase the punishment to permanent disbarment. Under the rules, the board now has 30 days to file the record of the disciplinary hearing, after which Grisham will have 20 days to file his brief and then the board will have 20 days after that to respond. Grisham already is serving a five-year suspension, which was imposed on May 13, 2025.