Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) recently moved into its new offices and celebrated with a ribbon cutting, ABC News 24 reports. The agency says the new location at 200 Jefferson Ave., across from the courthouse, will help it reach more people who need representation. Last year, MALS served half of the people who reached out for services. "That number for me is unacceptable," said Cindy Ettingoff, CEO and general counsel. The agency serves Shelby, Fayette, Tipton and Lauderdale counties.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Monday that it has ended the Trump-era policy requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration courts, the Associated Press reports. The move came just hours after a federal judge in Texas lifted an injunction that has kept the Biden administration from eliminating the program. The program will be unwound in a “quick, and orderly manner,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Questions still remain about whether those whose claims have been denied or dismissed will get a second chance, and if those currently in Mexico under the policy will be allowed to return to the states sooner. Homeland Security said it will provide additional information “in the coming days.”

Voters going to the polls in November will decide whether to enshrine Tennessee’s “right-to-work” law in the state constitution, and the campaigns for and against the proposal are heating up, Tennessee Lookout reports. Supporters of Amendment 1 are promoting a “Yes on 1” message and have released a new video of Gov. Bill Lee and former Gov. Bill Haslam urging voters to support the measure. Opponents have launched a campaign featuring Tennessee union members speaking against the proposal. They also take issue with the term “right-to-work,” saying it is misleading. The right-to-work movement grew out of labor organizing efforts in the 1930s and 1940s. The 1947 federal Taft-Hartley Act permitted states to establish such laws. Tennessee enacted its law the same year. Legislation approving the addition of the amendment to the ballot passed in the last two legislative years, as required by law.

Ralph Prater, who pioneered integration at what is now the University of Memphis, died Aug. 7, the Commercial Appeal reports. Prater was one of first Black students to enroll at what was then known as Memphis State in 1959. Along with students Rose Blakney, Sammie Burnett, Eleanor Gandy, Marvis LaVerne Kneeland, Luther McClellan, Bertha Mae Rogers and John Simpson, the group became known as the “Memphis State Eight.” His death leaves just Rogers and McClellan still living. In response, the university said Prater's impact on the institution and community “is immeasurable” and it “will forever celebrate his remarkable courage and legacy.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court today named Jonathan Skrmetti as the state’s next attorney general and reporter. Skrmetti most recently served as chief counsel to Gov. Bill Lee. He previously was chief deputy attorney general in the Attorney General’s Office, a partner in the Memphis office of Butler Snow LLP, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Tennessee, a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division/Criminal Section, and law clerk for Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Steven M. Colloton. Skrmetti earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. He was selected from among an applicant pool of six. The court held two days of interviews with the candidates earlier this week. Read more in a release from the Administrative Office of the Courts. In a statement issued this afternoon, current Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III said the court “made an excellent choice” and “it will be gratifying to pass the baton” to Skrmetti.

As executive assistant and events coordinator at the TBA, Karen Belcher works closely with Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson and the TBA’s Board of Governors and House of Delegates to keep meetings and events, like our Annual Convention, running smoothly! She’s undeterred by complex business meetings, but don’t ask Karen to go on a canoe trip – she’s terrified of snakes and thinks it’s probable that one could fall from a tree into the canoe!

Ever wanted to know more about the moving parts, projects and people of the Tennessee Bar Association? Look for a #TeamTBA post on all our social media outlets and in TBA Today for a closer look at each staff member, their role in the association and maybe a fun fact or two! #TeamTBA profiles are posted every Wednesday. Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

LawPay wants to help you reclaim your time with the ease and efficiency offered by its flexible modern payment technology. As the leading online payment solution for legal professionals for over 15 years, LawPay enables you to accept credit, debit and eCheck payments from clients anywhere, at any time. LawPay is committed to providing an unparalleled experience by protecting your trust account against third-party debiting and offering expert support from real people. As a TBA member, you can open a new LawPay account by Aug. 31 and pay no monthly fee until 2023! Get started here.

Legislation that would increase funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is winding its way through Congress. LSC has requested $1.26 billion to address the increased demand for civil legal services due to the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on low-income communities and the enormity of the justice gap in the United States; however, the House and Senate are looking at smaller increases. The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations approved legislation in June that would provide $675 million — up from $489 in 2022. In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee is considering a smaller increase.

Bloomberg Law reports that the American Bar Association's (ABA) House of Delegates has "passed a non-binding resolution discouraging changes to state rules barring the sharing of legal fees with non-lawyers. But it also encouraged state bar groups to explore innovations designed to increase access to justice by making legal services more affordable." Arizona and Utah have loosened restrictions on firm ownership and North Carolina, California and Michigan are considering similar measures. Sam Skolnik reports that "[t]he changes are often touted as access to justice measures, but they could also allow law firms to seek outside investors and permit the Big Four accountancies and other for-profit businesses like litigation funders to compete to provide legal services in the U.S."

The TBA Estate Planning Section is back with its popular Tee-Off CLE at Nashville’s Topgolf! The Aug. 31 program will feature three hours of programming, breakfast, lunch and two hours of golf. Speakers include Newman Bankston with Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis in Knoxville; Lebanon attorney James Barry Jr.; Jennifer Exum with Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel in Chattanooga; and Aaron Flinn with Waller Lansden in Nashville; and Ashley Stearns with Trail, Coleman & Stearns in Murfreesboro. Make plans now to join colleagues for this unique program. Thanks to sponsors Pendleton Square Trust Company and American Cancer Society for their support.