The May/June issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is now available online! This is the annual Access to Justice-focused issue, with essays highlighting how advancements in AI and technology are helping legal services organizations better serve their clients. Also included is TBA President Ed Lanquist Jr.'s final column, which offers an extensive overview of the various applications of AI in legal services, the benefits it offers, the challenges it faces and the future prospects of AI in enhancing access to justice. Eddy Smith invokes HBO's "Succession" in explaining irrevocable trusts, John Day breaks down data on civil and criminal filings and outcomes in the state court system, Marlene Eskind Moses and Ansley Ownes Tillett explain the implications of the Tennessee Supreme Court's decision in Trezvant v. Trezvant, and members of TBA's Access to Justice Committee share their memorable pro bono opportunities.

It is not uncommon for attorneys retiring from long and successful legal careers to be interested in staying connected, using their skills and experience in support of communities they care about. In some cases, retirement marks a shift from high-pressure work and client demands to more flexible, mission-driven roles. Read more about Tennessee's Emeritus Attorney Pro Bono Program and get a firsthand account from a current emeritus attorney.

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani (GRSM) announced the opening of its newest office in Knoxville, bringing the firm’s national footprint to 83 offices across the United States. Heather Gwin, managing partner of both the Nashville and Knoxville offices, says, “Knoxville is a natural next step for our continued growth in Tennessee. We’ve built a strong foundation in the state, and this expansion allows us to deliver even more localized support to clients while leveraging the full depth of GRSM’s national platform.” The new office, located at 4315 Kingston Pike, Ste. 210, Knoxville 37919, will include five attorneys local to Knoxville and be supported by attorneys in the firm's Nashville office. Read more in a press release.

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. This case concerns the claims of several hundred children in Benton Harbor, Michigan, who drank lead-contaminated water from the City’s public water system for three years and now suffer from the consequences of elevated lead levels in their blood. Plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan against several state officials and city officials, as well as two engineering firms, whom they blame for failing to mitigate and even worsening the lead-water crisis and misleading them about the dangers of the drinking water. They brought substantive-due-process and state-created-danger claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state-law negligence claims. The district court dismissed the complaint. We AFFIRM IN PART and REVERSE IN PART. Because Plaintiffs plausibly pleaded a violation of the right to bodily integrity against the city officials, we reverse and remand as to those officials and as to the municipality but affirm as to the state officials. We also reverse the district court’s declination of supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claims and remand for reconsideration.

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge. In this putative class action, plaintiffs claim that defendant DENSO’s 401(k) Plan overpaid for recordkeeping and administrative services. In their view, the Plan’s substantial assets and the commoditized nature of those third-party services required the Plan’s fiduciaries to use their significant bargaining power to negotiate lower fees and their subsequent failure to do so breached their duty of prudence in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The district court dismissed plaintiffs’ complaint for failing to set forth the required “context specific” facts—such as the types and quality of services provided—to render plausible an ERISA overpayment-for-recordkeeping- services claim. We agree and affirm.

PER CURIAM. Larry Householder was Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. A jury found him guilty of conspiring to solicit and receive almost $60 million in return for passing a billion-dollar bailout of a failing nuclear energy company. A jury also found lobbyist Matthew Borges guilty of playing a role in Householder’s conspiracy. Because we find no reversible error, we affirm their convictions.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned order, has allowed the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military, pausing a lower court order that had blocked the policy nationwide. The Department of Defense issued the ban in February, disqualifying "people with gender dysphoria" or those who had undergone related medical treatment, citing concerns over military readiness. Several transgender service members and advocates challenged the policy, and a district judge ruled it unconstitutional. Today's order granted the government's emergency request to suspend the ruling. The court's three Democratic-appointed justices dissented. SCOTUSblog has more.

CLAY, Circuit Judge. This case concerns the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (“NVRA”), 52 U.S.C. § 20507. Plaintiff Public Interest Legal Foundation (“PILF”) filed a two-count complaint alleging that Defendant Jocelyn Benson (“Secretary Benson”), in her official capacity as Michigan Secretary of State, has not complied with the NVRA by (1) failing to conduct maintenance of voter registration lists, and (2) failing to allow inspection of public records and data. PILF specifically alleges that the State of Michigan has failed to make adequate efforts to remove dead registrants from voter rolls and has refused to grant PILF access to public records relating to those voter rolls. Secretary Benson subsequently moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment.

A Fayette County jury convicted the Defendant, Roy Garrens, Jr., of especially aggravated kidnapping of a child under thirteen, aggravated assault by strangulation, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping by the possession or threat of the use of a deadly weapon. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of fifteen years’ imprisonment. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to support one of his aggravated kidnapping convictions. He also asserts that the trial court erred by (1) failing to merge convictions representing alternative theories of especially aggravated kidnapping; and (2) sentencing the Defendant as a Range II, multiple offender. Upon our review, we agree with the parties that the Defendant’s kidnapping convictions in Counts 2 and 3 should be merged, and we respectfully remand these counts for entry of corrected judgments noting the merger. In all other respects, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The May/June issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is now available online! This is the annual Access to Justice-focused issue, with essays highlighting how advancements in AI and technology are helping legal services organizations better serve their clients. Also included is TBA President Ed Lanquist Jr.'s final column, which offers an extensive overview of the various applications of AI in legal services, the benefits it offers, the challenges it faces and the future prospects of AI in enhancing access to justice. Eddy Smith invokes HBO's "Succession" in explaining irrevocable trusts, John Day breaks down data on civil and criminal filings and outcomes in the state court system, Marlene Eskind Moses and Ansley Ownes Tillett explain the implications of the Tennessee Supreme Court's decision in Trezvant v. Trezvant, and members of TBA's Access to Justice Committee share their memorable pro bono opportunities.