TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is back with attorney and TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists, Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. They recap TBA's Day on the Hill, discuss HB2644/SB2633 (adoption clean-up bill), HB2002/SB2517 (Memphis judge bill) and funding for indigent representation. TBA President Jim Barry and Bedford County attorney Garrett Haynes testified before the House Civil Justice Committee during Day on the Hill. You can view their testimony at this link by clicking the Tennessee Bar Association tab. Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Law Tech 2023 is now available as a 1-Click package. Topics covered include using technology to advance your practice, what role ChatGPT and artificial intelligence will play in legal document creation, a deep dive into remote ADR, and the ever-popular "Bill & Phil Show" with Bill Ramsey and Phillip Hampton. Earn 4.5 dual credit CLE hours with this four-part series.

The TBA's International Law Section will host its annual forum on May 17 in Nashville. Topics include a session on how to use the U.S. Federal Trade Office Market Diversification Tool, an introduction to practicing international law, and a discussion with Brie Knox, director of U.S. Commercial Service Tennessee/U.S. Department of Commerce/International Trade Administration. You won't want to miss this informative program, held in the beautiful Tennessee State Archives building, and don't forget that your section membership includes a discount on all section-sponsored CLE!

With the Tennessee Supreme Court’s recent decision to abolish a common law rule that required testimony of a criminal defendant’s accomplice to be supported by other evidence, the Tennessean looks at how this change could impact trials in the state. The piece quotes a number of criminal defense attorneys, as well as Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk, who says the change “has the potential to impact a large number of cases.” Read more reactions in the article.

After approving a fifth judicial commissioner position at its last meeting, the Hamilton County Commission yesterday named Rachel Ortwein to the post. Ortwein, who previously was an assistant district attorney, had been serving as an "on call" judicial commissioner. She was the only applicant for the position, Chattanoogan.com reports. She will join Chief Lori Miller, Ron Powers, Charles Paty and Blake Murchison. Judicial commissioners, also known as magistrates, set bonds and handle warrants.

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani has named Adam Hiller the co-managing partner of its Nashville office. He joins Heather Gwinn in this shared leadership role. Hiller, a litigator with experience in federal and state courts, represents a broad array of clients in the construction sector, including architects, engineers, general contractors and construction managers, commercial property owners and developers, subcontractors and environmental consultants. He joined the Nashville office in September 2019 from the firm’s New York City office. Read more in a release from the firm.

The La Vergne city council has approved a settlement agreement with former officer Maegan Hall, who filed a federal lawsuit against the city accusing her supervisors of grooming her, WKRN reports. Hall filed suit in February 2023 against the city, two former sergeants and the former chief of police. She and four other officers were fired in January 2023 for allegedly having sex while on duty, sending nude photos of each other, not disclosing their relationships and lying during an internal investigation. Former Chief Chip Davis was fired a month later after a third-party investigation found he was aware of the sex scandal but failed to report it, and may even have encouraged the behavior. Hall will be compensated $500,000 for “civil rights claims based on personal physical injuries.”

The Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council has announced its first round of community grant recipients with $81 million set to be distributed throughout the state, the Nashville Post reports. Treatment programs received the highest subset of money: $32.8 million. The next highest was recovery support at $19 million. The remaining categories were primary prevention at $12.2 million, around $8 million each for education and training and harm reduction, and $752,508 for research and evaluation. Out of 396 proposals, the council approved 116 grants.

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., has approved a $125 million settlement resolving claims that the federal judiciary overcharged users of its PACER electronic court records system for downloading documents. He also awarded plaintiffs' lawyers nearly $25 million in fees and expenses, Reuters reports. The judge granted final approval to a class action settlement that its backers say will reimburse the "vast majority" of PACER users in full for excessive fees charged over eight years. The U.S. government agreed to settle the case in October 2023.

For years, information about Tennessee sex offenders have been just a few keystrokes away. Now, Tennessee lawmakers are considering a move that would create a similar registry for domestic violence offenders, according to News Channel 5. The proposed registry, passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, would differ from the sex registry in several ways, including: requiring the victim's consent to place a name on the registry, omitting specific addresses, and tying the duration of the name on the registry to the number of offenses committed. In commenting on the bill, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it would cost around $500,000 to operate each year. The Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault is taking a neutral stance on the bill, saying that such registries can have unintended impacts on survivors. Track action on SB2277/HB2898 here.