Tennessee Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty are working with their Democratic counterparts to move separate bills through Congress. Blackburn and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, saw their Kids Online Safety Act pass through the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously this week. It will now head to the Senate floor for consideration and likely passage. The bill seeks to "provide kids and parents with tools, safeguards and transparency they need to protect against threats to children’s health and well-being online," according to Blackburn's office. Hagerty brokered a deal with House Democrats last week to pass companion legislation to a $280 billion package to accelerate U.S. chip production, streamlining the permitting process for manufacturing technologies impacting national security. 

A new American Bar Association analysis confirms President Joe Biden has far outpaced his Oval Office predecessors in nominating women and racially diverse attorneys to the federal bench. Reuters reports that the ABA found as of July 1, 68% of the 68 federal judges nominated by Biden and confirmed by the Senate are Black, Hispanic or Asian American, and just three are white men. By contrast, 16% of the judges installed on the federal bench by former President Donald Trump are non-white, according to the organization's 2022 Profile of the Legal Profession. The report, released Thursday, details how diversity within the federal judiciary is slowly increasing. Read the full story.

Nashville law firm Cornelius & Collins LLP, has relocated from downtown to MetroCenter. “Our new location in the Tennessee Bankers Association building on Athens Way is much more convenient for many of our clients and allows them to avoid the difficulties of traveling into and parking downtown,” said Brian Holmes, the firm's managing partner. Read the full press release.

The Tennessee Bar Journal accepts submissions for publication on an ongoing basis, so consider writing an article for the TBA’s bi-monthly magazine. Articles should be of interest to Tennessee attorneys — you could detail a new state law or a complicated area of law, or take a larger issue and connect it to what it means for Tennessee attorneys and the justice system. Find a global issue within your particular experience or knowledge and tell about it and how it affects Tennessee law. Take a look at the writer’s guidelines and email editor@tnbar.org with questions! We are especially looking for diverse voices — from BIPOC writers, from our friends in the LGBTQ+ community and from attorneys who have had diverse life and legal experiences. 

The American Bar Association’s policymaking body, the House of Delegates (HOD), convenes next month to conclude the ABA 2022 Annual Meeting with more than 30 items on the agenda, including several resolutions that address the country’s incarceration challenges and other criminal justice issues. Also, the HOD will host a roundtable discussion “Democracy in Peril: How Can We Change the Course for America?” on Aug. 8, at 11 a.m. CDT. The program will explore the causes of concern about the future of U.S. democracy and of those around the world. 

When attendance declined at Graceland in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID pandemic, it also caused the venue to miss payments for bonds issued by the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County. While attendance has rebounded some, bond payments have still lagged causing the legislature this past year to pass a law change that will help avoid nonpayment of the bonds in the future. The Commercial Appeal has the full story.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division hosted its second Essential Documents for Essential Workers clinic in Chattanooga on July 23. Essential workers and their spouses met with volunteer attorneys to draft wills, powers of attorney and advanced health care directives. More than 30 families were served, 17 attorneys volunteered their time and over $14,000 of free legal services were donated. Thank you to District Representative Logan Threadgill and Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC for organizing the event! See pictures from the clinic.

Veritas HHS is facilitating the search for a child support program attorney in Athens. The attorney is responsible for the legal actions required in a designated caseload and represents the interests of the state child support program in judicial and administrative hearings, including appeals, in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility. The attorney works in collaboration with case managers and specialists, providing legal guidance to ensure actions are legally sufficient and meet state policy and procedural requirements. To see the full job description and how to apply visit the TBA’s JobLink platform.

Indiana lawyer Donna R. T. Goodman was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee Monday. Goodman had been placed on inactive status on Aug. 30, 2000. She filed a petition seeking reinstatement and the Board of Professional Responsibility found it to be satisfactory.

Donald W. Rees, a co-founder of the law firm of Gordon & Rees died July 17 at the age of 86. He worked at the firm for nearly 50 years and saw it grow to be the 24th largest firm in the country. The firm has 74 U.S. offices, including an office in Nashville, which it opened in August 2018. Originally from Indiana, Rees graduated from Stanford Law and worked with a law firm in Los Angeles. He later joined the San Francisco firm of Fields Gordon & Rees. In 1974, Rees and his law partner Stuart “Stu” Gordon left the firm to start their own. The firm now operates as Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani. Above the Law has more on his life and the firm has a tribute. A celebration of life is scheduled for mid-August in California.