A tribute to former TBA President Thomas Maxfield “Max” Bahner and his wife Sarah was included in Friday’s edition of Chattanooga.com. The piece chronicles the couple’s love story, including how they met and how they achieved a “marriage of equals,” their love of travel and how they supported each other in their individual endeavors. Rarely apart in life, they died just 15 days apart last month. A memorial service for both will take place this Friday at 1 p.m. EST at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 305 W. 7th St., Chattanooga, TN 37402. Memorial gifts may be made to Orange Grove Center, 615 Derby St., Chattanooga, TN 37404 or the music fund at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

A new online database of federal judges’ financial disclosure reports has been plagued with delays in the fillings being made public, hampering a tool mandated by a bipartisan bill meant to bring greater transparency to the courts. Around 2,500 federal judges and U.S. Supreme Court justices are required to file annual disclosure reports. Yet as of this week, one year since the database was unveiled, it contained only 1,138 annual reports for 2022 and 1,943 for 2021, according to Fix the Court. Reuters has more on the story.

Tennessee’s attorney general says the state needs to pay attention to concerns of East Tennesseans about Ballad Health, a state-approved hospital monopoly, Tennessee Lookout reports. In an interview with the news source, Jonathan Skrmetti said there “has to be a lot of thought given to where things are moving,” noting that “people in upper East Tennessee are not happy with the current situation.” Ballad operates without the fear of competition pursuant to an agreement with Skrmetti and the state Department of Health. In exchange, the company pledged to meet various charitable obligations and quality of health care requirements. Recent documents, however, show that Ballad fell short of charity care obligations by $148 million over four years and failed to meet 80% of the requirements to bolster care. Community complaints also have centered on staff shortages. Skrmetti declined to say whether his office would take any action against the company.

Wayne County General Sessions & Juvenile Court Judge James Y. Ross was recently installed as president of the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. Ross, who replaces Shelby County General Sessions Judge Deborah Henderson, says he will work to get all municipal judges involved in the conference and hopes to use his term in office to address issues affecting part-time judges and issues coming through the General Assembly. Ross earned his law degree from the Samford University Cumberland School of Law in 1987. In 1998, he began serving as a part-time judge for two cities, and then he was elected to the general sessions court. During his tenure on the bench, he also has continued to serve as judge for the cities of Clifton and Collinwood. Prior to assuming this new role, Ross served as president of the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference.

A legislative study committee kicked off a series of hearings this week designed to examine the feasibility of rejecting federal money for education, the Nashville Banner reports. The Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding will hold five sessions over the next week and a half to hear from seven panels. The first presentation was from the Office of Research and Education Accountability, which focused on the federal funding formula that determines how much education aid each county in the state receives. Today, lawmakers were set to hear from The Sycamore Institute and local education leaders from across the state. Tennessee Lookout has the full schedule.

The Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference awarded the 2023 Judge Sharon Lee Award for Judicial Excellence to retired Chattanooga City Court Judge Russell Bean as its conference in Franklin. Retired Supreme Court Justice Lee, who once served as a municipal judge, was on hand to present the award. Bean was recognized for 22 years of service to the state. Chattanoogan.com reports on the award.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Tuesday welcomed a new group of lawyers to the practice of law in Nashville. TBA President-elect Ed Lanquist, a shareholder with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, was on hand to introduce candidates to the court, while members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division greeted new admittees and talked with them about the benefits of TBA membership. TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright and former President Jason Pannu also were in attendance to represent the TBA. Ceremonies will continue next week on Nov. 14 in Memphis at Memphis City Hall and Jackson at the Jackson Supreme Court Building. See photos from today's ceremony or from the ceremonies in Knoxville.

Make plans now to attend the Appellate Section’s one-hour webcast “The Ins and Outs and Do’s and Don’ts of Appellate Work” on Nov. 29 from noon to 1 p.m. CST. The program will feature a panel of judges who will offer tips about practicing in appellate court, including how to develop and present persuasive arguments, the do's and don'ts of oral arguments, characteristics of a strong brief, and missteps to avoid. Judges confirmed include Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins, Court of Appeals judges Kristi Davis and W. Neal McBrayer and Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John Campbell.

TBA YLD, in partnership with Belmont University College of Law and the Administrative Office of the Courts Access to Justice Initiative, launched its first Essential Documents for Essential Workers clinic on Saturday. Volunteer attorneys met with officers from the Williamson County Police Department to draft and execute wills, powers of attorney and advanced healthcare directives. Nineteen attorneys and eight law students assisted 28 families during the clinic and provided $21,000 in free legal services. Special thank you to coordinator Charles Ferguson and to Thomas Reuters and Chambliss for their sponsorship. To volunteer at an Essential Documents for Essential Workers clinic in your area, contact YLD Public Service Chair Alix Rogers.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has ordered an investigation after media personality Steven Crowder released what he said were documents from the Covenant School shooter online today, reports the Tennessean. The Metro Nashville Police Department issued a statement late Monday afternoon, saying the images were not affiliated with its investigation and confirmed it is cooperating with Metro legal's investigation. There is an ongoing legal case involving the release of the writings and other documents. This is a developing story.