The LGBTQ+ community faces unique challenges in ensuring that their wishes be honored both during their lifetime and after death. A holistic and person-centered approach to elder law and estate planning demands that practitioners have knowledge of these issues in order to advise LGBTQ+ clients to accomplish their goals and honor their legacy. Join legal experts and practitioners on June 26 for this free live Zoom webinar offering an in-depth exploration of the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community. From estate planning nuances to navigating health care directives, this session will offer invaluable insights and practical strategies for providing sensitive and inclusive counsel. One hour of general CLE credit is available for a $50 processing fee.

A riot broke out Sunday at the CoreCivic-run Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility in Hartsville, renewing calls for an overhaul of prison leadership. Axios Nashville reports that a "large group of inmates from several housing units" got out of their cells and into part of the prison yard. The inmates started fires and tried to damage security camera and other property. One guard reportedly was attacked during the incident, and was treated and released at an area hospital, according to the facility. Three inmates were also treated for injuries. Among those calling for reforms are Trousdale County District Attorney Jason Lawson, who issued a statement obtained by WSMV, and state Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, who commented in a Facebook post. In 2024, the U.S. Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into conditions at the facility. Earlier this month, an inmate sued prison officials alleging that they allowed gang members to repeatedly assault and extort him. In April, a former Tennessee state trooper sued CoreCivic after he was allegedly beaten by a cellmate at the facility. The Associated Press reports that a Kansas facility is also facing criticism.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Mark Green on Monday announced that he would resign his position in Congress after a final passage vote on the party's "Big, Beautiful Bill." Green said he was leaving for a position in the private sector that "was too exciting to pass up." The Hill reports that Green's decision to stay until the House gives the GOP’s tax cuts and spending package a final stamp of approval is a relief for Republican leadership, who are contending with a razor-thin majority and passed the same bill by a single vote last month. This is the second time Green has announced his resignation from Congress. His departure will open a seat on the House Homeland Security Committee. Green represents Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of Davidson, Montgomery and Williamson counties.

Retired Nashville attorney Dot Dobbins, age 77, died Monday after being struck by a vehicle while walking her dog in Nashville's Germantown neighborhood. Dobbins, a leader in the legal aid and family law communities, practiced law for over 40 years. She began working at the Legal Aid Society (LAS) as a law clerk while at Vanderbilt Law School. After graduation, she stayed on at LAS, practicing at the Matthew Walker Health Center office in North Nashville. According to a Facebook post from LAS, while in law school, Dobbins helped start a women’s center at Scarritt-Bennett and joined the YWCA Board where she helped to raise awareness of domestic violence, including playing a foundational role in opening Nashville’s first domestic violence shelter through the YWCA. She wrote the first order of protection legislation for Tennessee and worked with the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) to get the legislation passed. When LAS founder and former Executive Director Ashley Wiltshire created the Nashville Family Law Unit, Dobbins became its lead attorney, a position she held for 11 years before leaving LAS to become general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Human Services. Prior to retiring, Dobbins practiced family law, including collaborative divorce. Dobbins was featured in a May 2021 video interview as part of the Nashville Bar Association's Historical Committee. Service information is pending.

Commentators have offered vastly different approaches to the issue of whether arbitrators can and should perform independent legal research apart from the briefs submitted to them by the parties. With the growth of arbitration, it is prudent to reexamine those approaches to the extent they have limited arbitrators’ ability to conduct fulsome legal analysis. In this webcast, Gail Vaughn Ashworth and Chris Sabis will review different approaches to independent legal research, the applicable ethical rules and how courts have approached these issues. The speakers propose an approach that balances accuracy and efficiency with the quality of arbitration rulings and awards. Register for the June 25 webcast.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has provided a notice of intent to release a request for proposal (RFP) for a statewide court case management system and efiling solution for all of the state’s trial courts. According to the AOC, this initiative is a critical element of its strategic vision to modernize court technology and enhance data accessibility across the state's judicial system. The notice, which can be found here, provides early awareness of the RFP to "support broad and fair competition for this procurement and to allow vendors, including those who may desire to partner, adequate time to respond." Interested vendors are encouraged to monitor this link for the full RFP document and submission details, which is expected to be released in July.

A Tennessee law that requires some convicted felons to provide documentation proving they are eligible to vote can stand for now, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has said. The court found that the NAACP did not prove it had standing to bring the suit, Bloomberg Law reports. The group had argued that a state rule requiring some felons to file additional records with their voter registration form violated the National Voter Registration Act. The district court had agreed and blocked the policy. The appellate decision reversed that ruling and remanded the case for proceedings consistent with its opinion. Read the opinion.

Each year the Tennessee Bar Association recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor public service award recipients at the Public Service Breakfast set for Thursday as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Franklin.

The Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award will be presented to a group of private attorneys who are serving as the legal team representing families from Nashville's Covenant School related to writings left behind by a former student who shot and killed three students and three adults before being killed by the police. Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison member Eric Osborne assembled and continues to lead the team, which has contributed over 1,350 hours to date. The Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year Award will be presented to the executive directors of the state's three Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funded organizations: Ashley Holliday with West Tennessee Legal Services, DarKenya W. Waller with Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and Deb House with Legal Aid of East Tennessee. The Law Student of the Year Award will be presented to Belmont University College of Law graduate David "Lee" Myers for his extensive pro bono service and dedication to housing justice. Finally, the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) has selected Amy Dorman as the 2025 CASA Volunteer of the Year. Dorman has served CASA Works Inc. in Tullahoma for the past 10 years, working tirelessly with 55 families and advocated for over 113 children. Read more about these award winners in the TBA's press release and in an upcoming issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. Watch a video of the awards breakfast.

The Defendant, Clayton Nelvis, was arrested in January 2023, and 1st Out Bonding Company secured his release by executing a bail bond as surety. After the Defendant failed to appear for his initial arraignment, the trial court issued a conditional judgment forfeiting the bail bond. After 180 days, the trial court entered a final judgment of forfeiture when the surety failed to appear for the scheduled hearing. Two weeks later, the surety moved to set aside the final judgment, asserting that it was not liable under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-11-139(d), which relieves a surety of liability where the defendant is not timely entered into a state or federal fugitive database following a failure to appear. The trial court denied the motion, concluding that the request for relief was untimely. On appeal, the surety contends that the statute extinguished its liability and that the trial court had no authority to enter a final forfeiture. Upon our review, we respectfully disagree and affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. The trial court found three grounds for termination: abandonment by failure to visit, abandonment by failure to support, and failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody. The trial court also concluded that terminating Mother’s parental rights was in the child’s best interest. We affirm.