Items belonging to late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are set to be donated to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., next month, The Hill reports. In a release, the Smithsonian said a “significant selection of artifacts” representing Ginsburg’s career will be given to the National Museum of American History in a March 30 ceremony. The ceremony will serve as the “first public reveal” of exactly which items will join the institution’s collections. Ginsburg will also be posthumously awarded the museum’s Great Americans medal, which recognizes “lifetime contributions embodying American ideas and ideals” and those who “have not only made a lasting impact in their fields, but whose philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors set them apart.”

The Law Tech 2022 series kicks off Thursday with two sessions and a chance to win some techy prizes. The Virtual Law Firm, is it Right For You? premieres at 10 a.m. CST and is a one-hour program that will explore the concept of virtual law firms. Registrants for the program could win a HidrateSpark STEEL Smart Water Bottle. Then at 1 p.m. CST, watch Drowning in Email - An Outlook Power Hour, which will provide a how-to on using Outlook’s feature set to efficiently store, organize email and attachments, and successfully deal with high email volume. One lucky registrant will win a set of Beats Studio Buds during that session. This year’s Law Tech CLE will be offered virtually in February with six sessions over three days – Feb. 10, Feb. 17 and Feb. 24. Find all Law Tech 2022 courses here.

Germantown resident Brandon Toney yesterday pulled a petition to challenge state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, in the Republican primary, the Daily Memphian reports. Toney says Kelsey’s federal indictment on campaign finance charges fueled his decision to run. “He is embarrassing our party,” Toney said. “He’s embarrassing our state legislature. He is embarrassing all of us.” Toney owns Collierville small business First Fruit Collection and is a nurse practitioner. He wants to see the state put a better emphasis on health, noting Tennessee is consistently ranked among the unhealthiest of states. Toney currently serves on Germantown’s Economic Development Commission. “I’m not a politician. I’m just an everyday guy that wants to go and serve his community,” he said.

Shelby County commissioners yesterday agreed to delay making decisions about filling the seat of former state Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, the Daily Memphian reports. The Senate last week expelled Robinson following her October conviction on four counts of federal wire fraud. U.S. Judge Sheryl Lipman later threw out two of those convictions. The county commission is responsible for appointing someone to finish Robinson’s term, but whether they will is an open question. Commissioner Van Turner said appointing someone would “give credence to what we think would be a grave injustice.” According to the Tennessee Lookout, federal prosecutors have asked a judge to impose a two-and-a-half-year sentence on Robinson, claiming she has shown a “defiant refusal to accept responsibility” for the convictions. They are also appealing Lipman’s decision to toss of the convictions. Robinson is appealing her conviction.

Free Legal Answers, the online virtual legal clinic that helps qualifying users get civil legal advice from volunteer attorneys, has surpassed 200,000 client questions, doubling the total number of its inquiries in less than two years. Free Legal Answers has experienced rapid growth since March 2020 when the program hit 100,000 questions. Nationwide, more than 43,400 hours of pro bono legal service were submitted with 10,288 volunteer attorneys registered to participate and 45 states committed to the program. More information is available in the most recent Free Legal Answers report. Sponsored by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, Free Legal Answers was established a decade ago as a joint project of the TBA, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and Baker Donelson. 

TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson has been named a 2022 Women of Influence honoree by the Nashville Business Journal. The 35 honorees are businesswomen leading top companies and nonprofits, supporting their communities and inspiring those coming behind them. They are selected for the honor based on their positive impact on the profession and the community. Stevenson, the first Black woman to the lead the bar association, previously spent 12 years at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings before becoming a shareholder at the world's largest labor and employment firm, Littler Mendelson PC. She is a past president of the Nashville Bar Association, the Lawyers' Association for Women in Nashville and the Council on Aging of Greater Nashville. She will be honored at an awards celebration on May 10. Meet the 2022 Women of Influence.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, yesterday announced he’ll be running for a third term in that state’s newly redrawn 7th Congressional District, the Tennessean reports. "As your representative in Washington, I will work to protect the rights of Tennesseans to govern themselves," Green said. The announcement comes just days after Gov. Bill Lee signed off on a set of new Senate, House and congressional district maps. According to the new map, the 7th District will now include downtown Nashville, northwest Davidson County and western Williamson County, in addition to Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson, Houston, Dickson, Cheatham, Humphreys, Hickman, Perry, Wayne and Decatur counties and most of Benton County.

The Davidson County Juvenile Justice Youth Court Program, an initiative by the court to inform and educate teens about the role of law in our democracy and their role as active citizens, needs attorney volunteers to act as judges in its proceedings. As a judge, the lawyer volunteer will work with a team of students who will act as bailiffs, court clerks, interpreters, jury members, and other court-related assignments. The proceedings are expected to take 1 to 1.5 hours per docket. Volunteers are also eligible to receive CLE credit. Learn more and volunteer on the Youth Courts website.

Belmont University College of Law will hold a symposium Friday on “The Evolution of Entertainment.” The event will begin with breakfast at 8 a.m. The program starts at 9 a.m. and will run until noon. Three panels of entertainment attorneys and professionals will provide insights into the ever-changing entertainment industry and the need for adaptable professionals in order to best serve creatives. For those who do not want to attend in person, a Zoom option is available. Learn more or register here.

The TBA Intellectual Property Section will hold its annual forum in person in Nashville on April 8. The program will cover topics ranging from NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) to ethics, patents, legal technology and more. A happy hour will follow the program. Follow the program webpage for more details coming soon.