Former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland will be the new head of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, reports the Daily Memphian. The announcement follows the law school telling staff Strickland was the preferred candidate in an email two weeks ago. Strickland is an alumnus of both the law school and the university, and he was a practicing attorney until he became mayor in 2016. Strickland will join the law school’s faculty as a professor of practice April 8 and become dean June 1. Current Dean Katharine T. Schaffzin announced to the law school community in August of last year that she would step down at the end of the school year.

A national group representing the Satanic Temple filed a lawsuit against Memphis-Shelby County Schools alleging it violated the organization’s First Amendment right to free assembly when it blocked the After School Satan Club (ASSC) from meeting at Chimneyrock Elementary School. According to the Tennessee Lookout, a representative of the group contacted school district officials in November of last year to request space for club meetings at the same rate charged to other after-school groups, including the Good News Club, a group sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship. The lawsuit alleges Memphis Schools charged ASSC “exorbitant” fees, including a $2,045 “special security fee” for additional security officers if it wanted to host a meeting, while not assessing a similar fee to other nonprofit organizations meeting at school facilities.

A bill that would increase the penalty for making a threat of mass violence against a Tennessee school has passed the House 90-0. WCYB reports that the bipartisan HB2198/SB2263, introduced by Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, and Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, "increases the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony," according to Mitchell. The Senate Judiciary Committee was set to take up the bill this week but deferred it to next week.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week heard oral arguments in a case that could have sweeping consequences for all Americans’ access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill. According to The Hill, the court is essentially being asked to uphold an appeals court ruling that overrides a series of changes made by the Food and Drug Administration over the past decade, including increasing the gestational age at which mifepristone can be used to up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, allowing the medication to be mailed to patients, lowering the dosage, allowing telehealth prescribing and permitting providers other than physicians to prescribe the drug.

Denton Loudermill, a Kansas City-area resident, on Monday sued U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett in federal court. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that after a fatal shooting at a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration on Feb. 14, Burchett tweeted a photo of Loudermill, falsely saying he was one of the shooters and was an illegal resident. Neither is true. Loudermill's suit alleges that the false tweet from the congressman caused him distress and he is seeking $75,000 due to the "highly offensive" nature of the accusations. Loudermill was arrested because he was suspected of being drunk in public; he was released and police never suspected he was connected to the shooting.

The Tennessee Senate on Monday passed SB2093, a bill that will allow records from the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development to be exempt from public records laws if the tourism commissioner and attorney general deem them “sensitive.” The Tennessean reports that the House passed a version of the bill in February, but the legislation has faced more debate in the Senate, where amendments were added to define how long documents could remain secret without being destroyed. The two chambers will have to work out their differences before the legislation can go to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of the Solicitor has ordered Morristown manufacturer Tuff Torq Corporation to pay a $296,951 penalty for illegally employing children as young as 14 years old. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that the DOL's Wage and Hour Division confirmed several children worked for the manufacturer, which supplies parts for John Deere and Yamaha. Additionally, Tuff Torq will set aside $1.5 million from profits made during the children's employment, which will go to the children.

Make plans now to join colleagues from across the state at the TBA’s 2024 Annual Convention, set for June 12-15, at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Perennial favorites such as the Bench Bar program and lunch, Lawyers Lunch and joint event with the Tennessee Judicial Conference return to the agenda alongside new offerings including a Wednesday night dine-around for all attendees; a Public Service breakfast, where TBA will honor legal aid, private practice and law student pro bono work; a ticketed reception on Thursday night open to the entire legal community; and a chance to be the honorary Peabody Duck Master! This year’s theme — “A Bridge to the Future” — also will bring compelling CLE programs focused on artificial intelligence and how this rapidly expanding technology will impact the practice of law. During the week, the Tennessee Lawyers' Association for Women, Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers and Tennessee Trial Lawyers' Association also will hold meetings and events at the Peabody, making Memphis the place to be this June. Access registration, hotel reservation information and more on the event website.

The Tennessee Bar Association is accepting nominations for its 2024 Claudia Jack Award and Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award. The Claudia Jack Award honors an outstanding public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who has served the legal community and clients in an exemplary fashion. It is named after the late Claudia Jack, a public defender and long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged. The Drowota Award is given to a judge or judicial branch official of a federal, state or local court in Tennessee who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, the legal system and the administration of justice, as exemplified by the career of former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Frank F. Drowota III. The deadline to submit nominees for both awards, which will be presented at the TBA Annual Convention in June, is April 1.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has garnered dozens of pages of comments in response to a proposal to allow fully online law schools to become eligible for provisional and full ABA approval. Law.com reports today that those comments indicate “overwhelming support” for the idea. The ABA began soliciting comments on the proposal in January.