Mock Trial Committee member Bridget Pyman and Essential Documents for Essential Workers Chair Matt Knable visited the University of Tennessee College of Law today to speak with students about the benefits of their free membership with the Tennessee Bar Association. They encouraged students to get involved early by applying to the TBA's Diversity Leadership Institute program, volunteering at pro bono clinics and attending CLE programs.

This year’s Tennessee Supreme Court Boot Camp will kick off tomorrow morning with the addition of two special elements. As in past years, attendees will observe oral arguments in real cases and then engage in a discussion about the preparation and considerations for deciding to seek review in the court. But this year, attendees also are invited to see Justice Holly Kirby sworn in as the court’s newest chief justice prior to the CLE at the state capitol, and then hear former TBA president Bill Harbison present a special program on the history of the court at Holland & Knight after the Boot Camp. The TBA's Boot Camp program will kick off at 9:30 a.m. CDT at the Tennessee Supreme Court building in Nashville with oral arguments before the full court. An analysis and discussion will follow with Miller & Martin's Robert Parsley and Nashville lawyers Donald Capparella of Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella and Edmund Sauer with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. The program will wrap up at 4:30 p.m. CDT.

Join the Memphis Bar Association YLD for a fun-filled evening on Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. CST at 409 S. Main in Memphis. A portion of the proceeds will provide bar exam scholarships for three University of Memphis law students. Find out more here.

The Legal Aid Society will be holding a virtual debt clinic on Oct. 30 from 9 -11 a.m. CDT on Zoom. Volunteers are needed. Contact Grace Troutman by email or phone (615) 780-7120 with any questions.

West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) will hold a number of activities this month as part of Celebrate Pro Bono Month and is looking for volunteers to help. On Oct. 5, the group will offer a free CLE to train lawyers how to assist rural clients with conservatorships. A virtual expungement clinic will be held the weeks of Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 to assist clients in Crockett and Obion counties. Two free virtual trainings will be held to help volunteers prepare for this work. Then on Oct. 25, the group will host “Breaking the Stereotype: What Pro Bono Looks Like in 2023,” which will feature Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins and WTLS Pro Bono Coordinator Andy Cole discussing the different ways attorneys can fulfill their ethical obligations to complete pro bono work. One free hour of CLE credit will be available to attendees.

Assistant U.S. Trustee Nick Foster was honored recently at reception held by the U.S. Justice Department in Chattanooga, the Hamilton County Herald reports. Foster was named assistant U.S. trustee for the Eastern District of Tennessee over the summer. Before that, he served as a trial attorney in the Chattanooga office of the U.S. trustee beginning in September 2008. Born and raised in Memphis, Foster earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and law degree from Mississippi College School of Law. He was joined at the reception by his wife, attorney Leslie Foster, and their two daughters.

Montgomery County lawyer Robert Louis Booker was permanently disbarred from the practice of law today. The court found that Booker, in representing a client in a contested divorce, charged a $3,200.00 non-refundable fee without a written agreement, or alternatively failed to deposit the fee into an IOLTA account as a retainer and bill against it. In addition, Booker failed to explain the scope of his representation to his client, and because he did not have a written fee agreement, failed to have proper grounds to withdraw based upon the assertion that the client failed to make payments as agreed. Finally, the court found that Booker impermissibly disclosed confidential information pertaining to the client in his motion to withdraw and failed to respond to letters from the Board of Professional Responsibility seeking a response to the complaint. His actions were determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5(b)(f), 1.15, 1.16(b)(5), 1.6, 8.1(b) and 8.4(a)(d).

As Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell continues his first week in office, Republican state leaders say they are ready to turn the page on the state's relationship with its capital city. Gov. Bill Lee told reporters last week that he looks forward to working with O'Connell. Lee also said he spoke with O’Connell on election night and again since, and is working to schedule a more formal meeting. House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, also said he looks forward to bolstering the state’s relationship with Nashville — even though the city and state may not always see eye-to-eye. "We've had conversations and we plan on having ongoing conversations and building the relationship," Sexton said. The Tennessean has more on the story.

On the heels of a high-profile criminal case last year, Tennessee politicians vowed to push resources toward the state's evidence testing labs that were taking more than 34 weeks, on average, to process sex offense evidence. That effort appears to be paying off, the Tennessean reports. New data shows that in the Jackson lab, the average turnaround time for forensic sex offence evidence was 17.8 weeks over the past year, a significant improvement over the 41.9 weeks reported between August 2021 and August 2022. Testing times also improved In the Nashville and Knoxville labs. Efforts over the past year included outsourcing the testing of 500 rape kits and bolstering forensic scientists, lab technicians and administrative support personnel at state labs.

Gov. Bill Lee will formally swear in Justice Holly Kirby as the chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday at 9 a.m. CDT in the Historic Supreme Court Chambers of the Tennessee State Capitol. The day also will include the TBA’s Supreme Court Boot Camp program and a presentation on the history of the court by former TBA president Bill Harbison. Later this month, on Oct. 13, a reception for Kirby will be held in Memphis at 3 p.m. CDT at the law firm of Burch, Porter & Johnson, where she practiced law before joining the bench. Kirby was unanimously elected chief justice by the court for a two-year term and took the oath of office privately on Sept. 1. She was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2014 by former Gov. Bill Haslam. Before that appointment, she was named the first female judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals and served there for almost 19 years.