This year's Litigation Forum will be a live virtual event next week on May 4, offering essential and useful material for litigators. Programming will include sessions covering the economic loss doctrine, court-mandated ADR and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in the legal landscape. Find out more here.

This one-hour webinar will focus on when you need a guardian ad litem in domestic law cases versus when you need a guardian ad litem in probate cases. Presenters will discuss the requirements of each role, offering tips for beginners and best practices. This free webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 24, at 2 p.m. CDT. Register here

Key members of the newly appointed 2023-2024 Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Board met in Memphis last month for a spring retreat to make plans for next year's programs and projects. President-elect Quinton Thompson, who will take over as YLD president at the TBA Convention in June, welcomed the group to the downtown office of Morgan & Morgan. He provided an overview of the upcoming bar year and introduced his new initiative "Diversity Law Week." Board members also heard a presentation on leading with purpose with attorneys Amber Floyd, Nicole Grida, Charlotte Knight Griffin and Terrence Reed and Memphis Councilman J.B. Smiley Jr..

Just in time for next week’s Law Day celebration, TBA member benefit partner Clio has information and resources on the history of Law Day, how to participate in marking the day and ways to write and speak about this year’s theme “Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration.” Read more here to get involved.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today reinstated Davidson County lawyer William Parker Woods with an effective date of April 19. Woods petitioned the court for reinstatement after being placed on inactive status in December 2015. The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility reported to the court that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and Woods had met the requirements for reinstatement.

Knoxville lawyer Frank Henry Marsh Jr. died on April 21 at the age of 94. After serving in the Pacific Theatre and Korea as a member of the U.S. Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps, Marsh attended the University of Tennessee College of Law. Following graduation, he opened a law practice in Knoxville. In his early career, he also managed U.S. Sen. Estes Kefauver's campaigns in Knox County and was city trial attorney. After practicing law for 25 years, Marsh returned to the university and earned a doctor of philosophy with a focus in bioethics. He then began a second career as a professor at the University of Colorado and its school of medicine. He retired from the school in 1992 and joined the Department of Philosophy at UT Knoxville. Between the ages of 80 and 82, he wrote two fiction books. A private family service was held at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Memorial donations may be made to the church’s Habitat for Humanity program, 6500 Northshore Dr., Knoxville, TN 37919 or Doctors Without Borders.

The Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Duncan School of Law is hosting its first moot court intramural competition this year in honor of alumnus Matthew B. Long. The competition will serve as the tryout for rising second-year students to join the school’s moot court team. The competition is named for Long, who died in 2020 at the age of 37. He was a member of the school’s inaugural class in 2013 and competed on the moot court team, winning awards for brief writing. In related news, LMU Law students also competed in the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition and won recognition for their briefs and oral advocacy. Of note, McKenzie Wilson was the school’s first ever 2L to compete as an oral advocate while the 3L team advanced past the preliminary rounds to be named regional quarterfinalists.

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) program will hold a pro bono clinic on May 3 for those needing legal advice on issues surrounding their creative practice. The free 30-minute in-person appointments are available to income-qualified artists, musicians, creatives and arts organizations in the state. The clinic will run from 6-8 p.m. CDT.  Those who would like to participate should register here. A VLPA staff member will contact registrants to gather more information and determine pro bono eligibility. To volunteer at the clinic email vlpa@abcnashville.org.

The employee sustained an injury to her right hand and right knee after tripping over a pallet in the course of her employment. The employer accepted the claim as compensable and provided medical benefits, including authorization of a partial knee replacement. After that surgery, the employee began experiencing back and hip pain, prompting a referral for a neurosurgical evaluation that resulted in a recommendation for lumbar surgery. A dispute arose over the employer’s authorization of decompression surgery but denial of a recommended fusion, and the employee filed a petition seeking to compel the employer to authorize both procedures and to pay temporary disability benefits for the period of time she alleged she was disabled as a result of her hip and lumbar conditions. Following an expedited hearing, the trial court ordered the employer to authorize the recommended surgery in full and concluded the employee was entitled to temporary disability benefits. On appeal, we affirmed the trial court’s interlocutory order. After the surgery was completed, the employer continued to contest the compensability of the spinal conditions. After a compensation hearing, the trial court determined the employee proved by a preponderance of the evidence that her spinal conditions were compensable. It further identified a date of maximum medical improvement it concluded was consistent with the expert medical evidence. The employer has appealed. Having carefully reviewed the record, we affirm the trial court’s decision and certify it as final.

The Appellant, Christopher M. Black, appeals the trial court’s summary dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion asking this Court to affirm pursuant to Court of Criminal Appeals Rule 20. Said motion is hereby granted.