The Nashville School of Law (NSL) held its Annual Recognition Dinner on Friday night and honored class of 1964 alumnus Tom F. Cone. A Nashville business leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Cone joined the NSL board in 1991 and served as its chair from 1993 to 2015. Cone and his wife, Charlotte, have been long-standing supporters of NSL, including funding the Charlotte and Tom Cone Scholarship Fund. See photos from the event in the Nashville Post.

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week dismissed a petition for reinstatement from Sumner County lawyer Ronnie Huggins. The court took the action after the Board of Professional Responsibility reported that Huggins had not satisfied outstanding obligations with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education, had not paid the required reinstatement fee and remained in default of a student loan. On April 13, the court gave Huggins until May 29 to satisfy these obligations. Because the obligations were not met, the court dismissed the motion without prejudice.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will consider applicants for three new judicial positions throughout the month of July. The positions, recently approved by the Tennessee General Assembly, will be effective Sept. 1. On July 12, the commission will hear from four applicants for the 19th Judicial District Circuit Court. They are: Gregory D. Smith, Ashleigh L. Travis, Kimberly G. Turner and Jeff K. Walker. The hearing will be held at the Montgomery County Historic Courthouse, 1 Millennium Plaza, Clarksville 37040 at 9 a.m. CDT. On July 13, the commission will consider three applicants for the 22nd Judicial District Circuit Court. They are: Lee E. Brooks, Julie C. Heffington and P. Nicole Long. A hearing will be held at 9 a.m. CDT at the Maury County Tom Primm Commission Meeting Room, 6 Public Square, Columbia 38041. On July 18, the commission will hear from five applicants for the 13th Judicial District Criminal Court. They are: William M. Blaylock, Rebecca Brady, Shawn C. Fry, Brandon S. Griffin and Benjamin Marsee. A hearing will be held at the Stone Memorial High School, 2800 Cook Road, Crossville 38571 beginning at 9 a.m. CDT. The commission is expected to vote immediately following the interviews to forward three names for each position to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. For more information, contact John Jefferson, 615-741-2687.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold a veterans clinic Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S., Nashville 37203. To volunteer for the clinic, contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all June clinics.

The Tennessee Supreme Court welcomed a new group of lawyers to the practice of law in ceremonies held across the state and in the virtual world last week. The court held five online admission ceremonies before turning to the physical world with sessions Thursday in Jackson and Memphis and today in Knoxville and Nashville. Special thanks to Memphis Bar YLD President Patrick Hillard, TBA Board Secretary Terica Smith, Knoxville Bar Association President Loretta Cravens, TBA President-elect Jim Barry and TBA President Tasha Blakney for introducing the new lawyers to the court at the virtual and in-person ceremonies. See photos from the events.

Gov. Bill Lee recently signed a bill that gives dozens of people a chance to be removed from the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry due to a decades-old law regarding HIV exposure. ABC24 in Memphis reports that the bill amends the current law — where potentially exposing someone to HIV was a felony and required people to register as sex offenders — removing the sex offender registry requirement for people convicted of criminal exposure. People will qualify for removal if they do not have any other sex offenses on their record, although there is no clear timeline for how quickly names will be removed.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday adopted Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 55 – Use of Technology for Court Proceedings. The rule allows the use of teleconferencing, video conferencing and other technology to conduct court proceedings remotely at the discretion of the trial or appellate court. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the court encouraged the use of technology to facilitate remote proceedings, and has since found that parties and courts benefit from remote proceedings, making the pandemic exception a permanent option.

Holland & Knight has announced that Robert Crammig will assume the newly created senior leadership roles of chair and CEO after longtime managing partner Steven Sonberg steps down. A press release from the firm states that the leadership change follows a period of transformational growth at Holland & Knight that has included the firm's combinations with Nashville-based Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis in March 2023, and Texas-based Thompson & Knight in August 2021.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit brought by former BlueCross employee Heather Smith, who was fired after expressing her objection to being required to take a COVID vaccination. The Chattanoogan reports that the court directed Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton to have further proceedings after he had initially dismissed the case.

The Brennan Center for Justice has released a new report noting that State Reps. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, and Justin Jones, D-Nashville, were the first state or federal lawmakers in more than a century to be expelled for their viewpoints or speaking without permission. According to The Daily Memphian, the report argues that the expulsions of Pearson and Jones were discriminatory, unconstitutional and without recent precedent, and the Tennessee House’s actions, showed “all the hallmarks of suppressing speech based on its viewpoint.”