A group of Democratic U.S. senators is asking the Senate Appropriations Committee to approve increased funding for federal public defenders in fiscal year 2024. The group of 23 lawmakers say $1.52 billion is needed to avoid significant job cuts among the ranks of public defenders. Bills that have advanced through congressional committees so far call for providing and $1.38 billion or $1.41 billion. Read the group's letter or more about the issue from Reuters.

The number of jobs in the U.S. legal services sector rebounded in September after nearing its lowest level this year in August, Reuters reports. New Labor Department data shows the sector added 5,100 jobs last month. Legal job numbers have fluctuated since hitting an all-time high in July 2022.

In response to a lawsuit challenging its minority fellowship program, the law firm of Perkins Coie has changed its criteria, expanding the applicant pool to all law students, not just members of "historically underrepresented" groups, Reuters reports. The suit, brought by Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights, challenged the program as unlawful based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent rulings on affirmative action in higher education. The group recently dropped a similar law suit filed against Morrison Foerster after that firm changed eligibility criteria for its diversity, equity and inclusion fellowship. Bloomberg Law has more on that development.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee has filed a federal lawsuit against a Murfreesboro ordinance designed to ban drag performances from public property, the Associated Press reports. The suit was brought on behalf of the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ rights and has hosted a Pride event in the city since 2016. The organization has faced opposition from city leaders since its 2022 event, which was criticized as being inappropriate. The city first warned TEP it would deny future event permits but later updated its community decency standards to “assist in the determination of conduct, materials, and events that may be judged as obscene or harmful to minors.” The suit alleges the ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution’s first and 14th amendments.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the Kingsport Bar Association will host their monthly Kingsport Bar Clinic on Oct. 19 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. EDT at VO Dobbins Community Center, 301 Louis St., Kingsport 37660. The clinic is open to the public, offering general legal advice on civil matters, including housing, property, taxes, estate, contracts and family law. Attorney volunteers should email shuff@laet.org for more information.

This Thursday, ethics expert Stuart Teicher will present three virtual ethics courses that will benefit all practitioners: When a Lie Isn't a Lie: The Ethics of Half-Truths, beginning at 9 a.m., focuses on lies clients tell and how attorneys can handle them; 10 Coping Skills that Come from the Ethics Rules, beginning at 10:15 a.m., explores the rigors of the practice of law and ways to overcome challenges; and ChatGPT, Siri and Alexa are Out to Get You, beginning at 11:30 a.m., breaks down the upsides of, and the problems with, the hottest technologies. Join us for one course or all three. All times central.

Memphis voters on Thursday elected Paul Young, the current head of the Downtown Memphis Commission, as their next mayor. The Commercial Appeal reports that with 27.62% of the vote, Young won the mayoral race with 24,408 total votes — 4,500 more than his closest competitor, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner. Former mayor Willie Herenton came in third, followed by attorney Van Turner. Voters also selected a number of new council members. Here are those results. Three of the council’s single-member districts remain undecided after no candidate garnered a majority of the vote, according to unofficial results. The races for those districts will go to a runoff on Nov. 16.

The state is making progress in reducing the backlog of untested rape kits, however, some say more progress is needed. ABC 24 reports that the state has cut the backlog in half, thanks to the hiring of 44 new crime lab scientists and the outsourcing of some tests to Florida. At the state lab in Jackson, staff has cut turnaround time from one year to 18 weeks. “We need these scientists to keep that turnaround time low,” State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis says, so that “we never get back in the situation we were in just a year ago.”

Teams of pro bono attorneys, paralegals and law students in Nashville and Jackson, Mississippi, will compete in the 2nd Annual Capital City Pro Bono Challenge to see which city handles the most expungement cases at designated clinics. Four law firms with offices in both cities, Adams & Reese, Baker Donelson, Bradley and Butler Snow, are joining forces with volunteers from corporate legal departments, law schools and legal aid providers. The first Nashville clinic will be held Oct. 11 from 9 a.m. to noon CDT at 154 Rep. John Lewis Way, North. The event is hosted in partnership with Legal Aid Society of Nashville & Middle Tennessee, The Contributor and the Office of the Metro Nashville Criminal Court Clerk.

The Tennessee Supreme Court and the Access to Justice Commission are hosting a free CLE and pro bono recognition event Oct. 10 at Belmont School of Law. TBA and ATJ Committee Chair Linda Seely will present Tackling Difficult Pro Bono Questions. The session will take place from 4-5:15 p.m. CDT, immediately before the recognition ceremony. Participants are invited to stay for both events. The recognition event will start at 5:30 p.m. Members of the Tennessee Supreme Court will be on hand to honor pro bono recognition recipients. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht will serve as the keynote speaker. Light refreshments will immediately follow the presentations. RSVPs are requested.