Nashville attorney and former Tennessee Bar Association President John Tarpley will be honored next month with the prestigious William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award. Named for former Attorney General William M. Leech and presented by the Fellows of the TBA Young Lawyers Division, the award is given to a Tennessee lawyer who has been of outstanding service to the profession, legal system and the community. Tarpley is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Lewis Thomason. In addition to his service to the TBA, he has held numerous leadership positions with local, state and national legal organizations, and has served as president of the board of directors of the Music City Chapter of the March of Dimes and as a member of the board of directors of First Steps. He is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Nashville. The Leech Award will be presented at the Tennessee Bar Association Annual Convention in Nashville on June 17 during the Lawyers’ Luncheon. Read the full press release.

The Nashville-based Center for Nonprofit Management is holding a free virtual event Friday to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. The “Virtual Day of Convening” will feature AAPI voices and narratives through panel discussions as well as visual and performance art. Topics include “What AAPI Means,” “How the AAPI Community Is Addressed in DEI Conversations,” “Hate Crimes and COVID-19” and “The Bamboo Ceiling.” Each session will run for 30 minutes between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Learn more about the event and register here.

New data from the U.S. Labor Department shows the legal sector added 4,700 jobs in April, in what's largely been a trend of monthly growth since May 2020, Reuters reports. According to preliminary seasonally adjusted data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, sector jobs totaled 1,177,900 last month.

Law.com and ALM Intelligence are out with their annual Mental Health Survey of the legal profession with more than 3,400 respondents detailing the state of their mental health, work environments, perceptions of colleagues, client expectations and the effects of remote work. The 2022 results show a slight decline in those reporting anxiety, depression and isolation from last year. And there was an increase in those who believe their firms provide a safe environment to raise concerns about mental health. However, for the third year in a row, close to three-fourths of respondents believe their work environment contributes to their mental health issues. Law.com analyzes the survey results and offers a data snapshot of the findings.

The TBA's 2022 Federal Practice Forum will take place Wednesday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CDT, with presentations tailored to both experienced federal court practitioners and those who are new to federal practice. This program features a panel offering tips and tricks on court practice, plus dual sessions covering intentional equity and cybersecurity. The day wraps up with a session on the Ford Motor Company’s appearance in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2021.

Throughout the last several weeks, #TeamTBA has highlighted the TBA CLE crew. Now it's time to meet their manager, Jennifer Vossler! As the TBA Director of Education & Professional Development, Jennifer leads her team in providing TBA members with the best CLE courses, education and professional opportunities. Aside from her CLE talents, she can sing virtually any Disney song on command, thanks largely in part to her two-year-old daughter, Emily!

The #TeamTBA series offers members a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the TBA and how each staff members makes the association run. Check back every Wednesday for a new staff profile in TBA Today and on the TBA's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The Nashville Predators hockey team has awarded a $5,000 grant to the 23rd Judicial District Recovery Court to provide bicycles, tricycles and ride-on toys for the children of Recovery Court participants. The court, which serves Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart counties, is presided over by Circuit and Recovery Court Judge Suzanne Lockert-Mash. “We appreciate the Nashville Predators for giving us the means to teach important parenting skills,” Lockert-Mash said. “Simple things like teaching a child to ride a bike or tricycle creates a bond between parents and their children.” Read more here.  

Knoxville’s Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law is seeking applications for an Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to begin July 1. The new position is envisioned as a key leadership role at LMU Law and would collaborate closely with the dean, other law school and university leaders, students, faculty, and staff to develop, promote, and facilitate LMU Law’s strategic goals and concrete actions to forward progress in diversity, equity and inclusion. Inquiries and letters of interest may be sent to Melissa Montroy or submitted electronically. Applications will be accepted until May 31. Read more about the position on TBA’s JobLink page.

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins today vacated the conviction of Claude Francis Garrett who in 1992 was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Lori Lee Lance, the Tennessean reports. Lance died in a Nashville house fire that Garrett was accused of intentionally starting. The dismissal comes after reports and testimony by witnesses for the Innocence Project and the Davidson County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit, that said the fire was not intentionally set. The DA’s office in a statement today said Garrett’s original conviction was "based on outdated investigative methods and baseless conclusions.” In his ruling vacating the conviction, Watkins wrote that Garrett has shown “actual innocence” and would not have been convicted by a jury “in light of the new scientific evidence.”

Law books from the judge’s chambers at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building U.S. Courthouse in downtown Nashville are seeking a new home. If you are interested in reserving the books, contact Hardi Ibrahim. More pictures of the books can be found here.