The TBA is offering a six-hour CLE package designed to help Tennessee lawyers quickly complete their remaining hours before the Dec. 31 deadline. The package includes a mix of ethics updates; AI,  practice management and attorney wellness programs; professional skills training; and a 2025 legislative update. Check out the specific courses included in the package on the TBA website. Looking for something else? TBA also has eight, 10, 12 and 15-hour packages, packages based on specific topics or practice areas, live webcasts and on-demand video all month long. Explore all the Year End options to complete your CLE requirement by Dec. 31.

The TBA Attorney Well Being Committee will host a “Seasonal Support for Lawyers: Helping with the Holiday Blues” webcast on Dec. 18 from 11 a.m. to noon CST. The free session will offer an empathetic discussion about the increased pressures many legal professionals face during the holiday season and provide guidance on navigating stress for a healthier experience. Panelists will address real challenges confronting lawyers today and highlight resources available to support attorney well-being. Contact TBA staff member Jarod Ward at jword@tnbar.org with any questions.

Knox County Assistant District Attorney Andrea Kline has been appointed to serve as the newest judge on the county's General Sessions Court, Division IV. The Knox County Commission selected Kline in a special election to replace retiring Judge Andrew Jackson VI, according to a press release. Kline has spent 25 years with the District Attorney General’s Office, prosecuting thousands of cases across all areas of criminal law. She earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law.

The Knox County Board of Education recently approved a legislative agenda opposing mandates that would require public school districts to check students’ immigration status. According to the Moore County News, Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, and Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, sponsored bills in the 2025 General Assembly that would have required or permitted such checks. Board members added a tenet urging the state to support the principle that public schools exist to educate all children. During the legislative debate, Watson said the measure was designed to save money. He cited a Rutherford County School Board resolution estimating it costs $3,500 more per student to educate non-English-speaking children. The state Senate passed the bill, and it remains pending in the House.

The Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection on Dec 2. paid a $5,000 claim filed against Francis Xavier Santore Jr. The fund also directed Santore to reimburse the fund. The fund was established by the Tennessee Supreme Court to reimburse individuals for losses caused by dishonest conduct by attorneys. The fund is operated by a board, which meets quarterly to consider claims. In September 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court amended Rule 25 to require the fund to notify the Tennessee Bar Association of claims paid. News releases also are posted online.

A service and celebration of life for Memphis attorney Stuart Kenneth R. "Ken" Shuttleworth will be held Dec. 11 at Calvary Episcopal Church, 102 N. 2nd St., Memphis, TN 38103, according to an email announcement from the law firm of Shuttleworth PLLC. The service will begin at 2 p.m. CST, with a reception to follow at the church. Shuttleworth died July 26. A private family ceremony previously was held in Florida.

Are you still looking for ethics credits before Dec. 31? Look no further! The TBA's 12 Days of Ethics launches today and runs through Dec. 19 with innovative programs and packages you don't want to miss. Be sure to check our social media channels over the next 12 days to see the programs being offered. Visit TBA's Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn channels for more information, and join the fun by posting your own 12 Days experience using the hashtag #TBA12Days. Looking for something else? Visit  the TBA CLE Course Catalog to access more than 200 programs available now!

TBA’s “Sunrise Series,” which offers early-morning CLE webcasts from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. CST, continues tomorrow with Stuart Teicher presenting "Good Lawyers Gone Bad: Ethics Lessons from True Lawyer Slime and Crime." The session will explore actual missteps committed by lawyers and the ethics lessons underlying the actions. Make plans now to get your day started with a CLE boost!

Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles heard arguments this week in a case seeking greater media access to information about state executions. A group of news outlets has sued to compel the Department of Correction to provide the information, according the Nashville Banner. Myles said her ruling, even if released before the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols next week, will not affect press access at that event. Paul McAdoo, with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, asked Myles to accommodate the request for access “as soon as practical.” In related news, a group of medical professionals are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to pause executions until the lethal injection protocol can be reviewed by a court. A letter from the group raised “grave concerns” with the use of pentobarbital. The Banner has more on both stories in its newsletter.

During a recording of the WKNO podcast "Behind the Headlines," Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris stated that an office other than the sheriff’s should be running the county jail. A total of 12 prisoners have died in custody of the sheriff’s office so far this year, including at least four in November. Harris criticized what he described as a lack of urgency from Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. and said he is exploring options with the Tennessee Corrections Institute and other state officials, including potential changes in training or even private management. Bonner, who is suing Harris over budget restrictions, said many inmates who died had longstanding health issues tied to poverty and noted that medical care in the jail is overseen by a contractor selected by the mayor’s office, not the sheriff. The Daily Memphian has the story.