One of the most important responsibilities of the TBA is to advocate for the legal profession and our system of justice with Tennessee lawmakers. TBA’s Government Affairs team is committed to affect positive change on behalf of Tennessee attorneys when the 2024 session of the 113th General Assembly reconvenes on Jan. 9, and we need your help! Please consider joining TBA’s Grassroots Advocacy efforts to receive action alerts as relevant policy issues arise, including indigent representation. Respond to this survey to ensure that your voice is heard.

Retired federal appeals court judge Bernice Donald will serve as the neutral mediator in a civil lawsuit brought by Tyre Nichols’ family and estate against the city of Memphis, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis and other former city personnel implicated in his death. The Daily Memphian reported today that the mediation is scheduled to begin on Feb. 9, 2024. City officials, as well as former police officers Preston Hemphill and DeWayne Smith and former Memphis Fire Department personnel Robert Long, JaMichael Sandridge and Michele Whitaker — none of whom were charged criminally — have agreed to Donald’s appointment. Five former police officers who were charged in Nichols' death — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — have not said if they will participate, but likely will not take part until after their criminal cases are resolved. The civil suit alleges that the city and the police chief created an environment that fostered a culture that led to Nichols’ beating and death. The city says the death was the result of five rogue officers. Donald retired from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last January. She was appointed to the court in 2011 after serving as a federal judge in Tennessee’s Western District.

A trial date of March 24, 2025, has been set in a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow of an inmate who died at the Shelby County Jail last year, Daily Memphian reports. The federal suit alleges that Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., chief jailer Kirk Fields and the Shelby County government were complicit in the deadly beating of Gershun Freeman and seeks $100 million in damages. Freeman died at the jail Oct. 5, 2022, after being beaten by corrections officers. Nine of the officers are facing criminal charges for their alleged roles in his death.

The Washington County Bar Association has announced new officers for 2024. They are: President Thomas J. Smith, President-elect Jerome Cochran and Treasurer Jesse J. Campbell with the Garza Law Firm; and Vice President Grace Studer and Secretary LaRae Ganger with Spurrell, Studer & Ganger. Hunter Shepard with Herrin Booze & McPeak Attorneys at Law moves into the immediate past president spot. All are in Johnson City. Board members elected for the new year are: Nora Koffman, Solange McDaniel and Hunter Shepard. Congratulations to all.

Information about fall 2023 admissions and other matters reported by law schools to the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is now publicly available. Data on admissions, tuition, living costs, financial aid, class and faculty demographics is summarized and searchable. Bar passage rates and employment reports will be released separately next year in March and April, respectively. Read more in a news release from the organization.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently reinstated three lawyers to the practice of law who had been suspended for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements. Two were reinstated after failing to complete requirements in 2023. One was reinstated for failing to complete requirements in 2015. View all administrative suspensions and reinstatements here.

Four candidates are vying for the Davidson County Fourth Circuit Court seat in the March 5, 2024, Democratic primary, the Nashville Post reports. They are: Stan Kweller, who was appointed to the seat in January following the death of Judge Phil Smith, Tusca Alexis, Audrey Anderson and Stephanie Williams. No Republican candidate filed for the circuit, which hears family law cases. Alexis has worked as a public defender and in private practice for more than 33 years. She handles family law, criminal defense, medical malpractice, worker’s compensation, personal injury, wrongful death and immigration cases. Anderson has been a divorce and family law attorney for nearly 25 years. She says she would prioritize collaborative law and mediation for simpler divorce cases. Williams has more than 20 years of family law experience, including founding the Family Justice Center and working as special master under former Judge Smith. She has pledged to make the family court system “more accessible and affordable.”

A U.S. delegation is meeting with Mexico’s president today in an attempt to have Mexico do more to limit a surge of migrants at the southwestern border, the Associated Press reports. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said he is willing to help, but wants to see progress in U.S. relations with Cuba and Venezuela, two of the top sources of migrants, and more aid for the region. The number of people apprehended at the southern border exceeded two million in both 2022 and 2023. In September alone, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended more than 200,000 migrants crossing the border and a new caravan of some 7,000 people recently left southern Mexico bound for the U.S. border. The BBC has more on that story.

U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee announced yesterday that his office has reached an agreement with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County to settle allegations that Metro violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide reasonable modifications that would allow disabled individuals to attend public meetings remotely. As part of the settlement, Metro will revise its ADA policies and pay $500 to the complainant. Read more in a news release from the U.S. attorneys office.

As 2024 approaches, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office Division of Consumer Affairs urges Tennesseans to make a renewed effort to protect themselves and the elderly from scams in the new year. The office has provided key tips to help consumers avoid scam loss, including being aware of fake debt collectors, using only verified customer service contacts for questions about accounts, thoroughly scrutinizing online offers, hiring only licensed contractors, and avoiding transactions involving gift cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfer. Consumers also can sign up for fraud alerts and learn more about reporting scams from the Federal Trade Commission.