The East Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women (ETLAW) is celebrating 40 years of advancement with a gala dinner event on Nov. 17 at the Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville. Knox County Circuit Court Judge Deborah Stevens will lead the festivities and programming, which will include remarks from former Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee. View the invitation or purchase tickets.

The Nashville legal community welcomed newly installed Supreme Court Justice Dwight E. Tarwater with a reception last week at the Nashville School of Law. A native of Knoxville, Tarwater earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee, where he previously earned his undergraduate degree in political science. He has had a long career in private practice with the Knoxville firms of Egerton, McAfee, Armistead and Davis and Paine Tarwater Bickers LLP. He also served as general counsel to former Gov. Bill Haslam. The event was jointly sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association, the Lawyers' Association for Women, the Nashville Bar Association and Nashville School of Law. See photos from the event.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee is co-hosting a Name Change Filing Party on Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT at Edney Innovation Center in Chattanooga. The community event is presented in partnership with the Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective where clients from the Virtual Pro Se Name Change Clinic can receive free notary and printing services, be matched with emotional support volunteers and apply for filing fee scholarships. All are welcome. For more information, email mdevoe@laet.org.

The Tennessee Bar Association has a new resource for test-takers who were not successful on the bar exam. Faith Watson, a YLD Board member and professor at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in Memphis, has pulled together the resources, which include strategies, tips for understanding the results and alternative careers that don't require a law license. If you know someone who did not pass the bar, this information is both helpful and encouraging.

Blackbaud software company has reached a settlement with Tennessee and 48 other states for its deficient data security practices and response to a 2020 ransomware event that exposed the personal information of millions of consumers across the United States. Blackbaud will pay $49.5 million to states as part of the settlement, with Tennessee receiving $882,312, according to a release from the Tennessee Attorney General's office.

A list of those who passed the July 2023 Tennessee bar exam is now available. Check the TBA’s website for the complete list of successful applicants. Those who meet all licensing requirements will be sworn in the first two weeks of November. Watch for more information about bar passage rates and statistics coming soon.

Justice Holly Kirby was formally sworn in as chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court at ceremonies at the Historic Supreme Court Chambers in the Tennessee State Capitol. Gov. Bill Lee administered the oath of office to Kirby, who then addressed those assembled. The full ceremony is available for viewing on the court YouTube channel.

A three-judge federal court panel has ruled the state of Alabama must use a new congressional district map for the 2024 elections to remedy Voting Rights Act violations found in the state's 2021 congressional map, News Channel 9 reports. The plan was created by a court-appointed special master after the panel rejected the state's 2023 congressional map passed by Republican lawmakers during a special legislative session.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee's (LAET) Chattanooga office will host an attorney workday for expungement cases on Oct. 11 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. EDT at their office at 100 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Suite 402, 37402. This is a non-client facing clinic where attorney volunteers can work together to evaluate cases and fill out paperwork for expungements. The event is co-sponsored by LAET, TBA and CBA Young Lawyers Division. For more information or to volunteer, email mdevoe@laet.org.

A Tennessee woman who drew national attention when she had to travel out of state to access a medically necessary abortion is now running for the state legislature, News Channel 5 reports. Allie Phillips announced Monday she's running for the Democratic nomination for Tennessee's House of Representatives District 75, a seat currently held by Clarksville Republican Rep. Jeff Burkhart. Phillips says her experience trying to access a medically necessary abortion in the state inspired her to run.