A swearing-in ceremony will take place tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. CDT for 21st Judicial District Attorney General Stacey B. Edmonson, the Williamson Herald reports. Edmonson was appointed last month by Gov. Bill Lee to fill a vacancy created by the death of Kim Helper. The event will be held in the Cornelia A. Clark Courtroom in the historic courthouse in Franklin. The oath of office will be administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeff Bivin. Edmonson has served the district for nearly two decades, most recently as deputy district attorney general, a role she has held for 12 years.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a declared candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. president, will give the keynote address at this year’s Tennessee GOP Statesmen’s Dinner in Nashville. The dinner will take place at the Music City Center on July 15, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released an opinion today to provide guidance on how lawyers may use a legal assistant to perform client intake tasks. Formal Opinion 506 reiterates Model Rule 5.3 and states that an assistant may perform an array of tasks at client intake, but the lawyer should ensure that prospective clients are always offered an opportunity to discuss the fee agreement and scope of representation with the lawyer. The opinion notes the benefits of using nonlawyer assistants but emphasizes that such assistants “must be carefully and astutely managed” to avoid ethical violations.

Rep. Bill Beck, who died of a heart attack this past weekend, will lie in state at the Tennessee Capitol tomorrow from 2-6 p.m. CDT. On Saturday, funeral services will be held beginning at 11 a.m. in the Polk Theatre at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, 505 Deaderick St., Nashville 37243. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. The Tennessee Journal reported the news.

The TBA Annual Convention in Knoxville next week will feature a two-part wellness program on how to improve personal and group well-being. Don’t miss our panel of judges and lawyers discussing topics such as the impact of well-being on productivity, establishing healthy and sustainable habits, seeking professional help, and using mentoring as a tool to promote individual and group wellness. The program will take place June 16 from 9:45-11:45 a.m. EDT at the Marriott Knoxville Downtown Hotel. Want to join colleagues just for this program? The TBA is making a select number of programs available for purchase separate from the full convention registration. Sign up here.

The TBA Elder Law Section’s recent program on conservatorship is now available on demand as a 1-Click package. The program features top experts providing specialized information relevant to conservators, guardians ad litem and attorneys ad litem. The sessions — “Neurocognitive Disorders and the Problems They Bring to Conservatorships” and “Preparing a Home for Comfort and Safety” — can be purchased separately or bundled together.

A news item in Tuesday’s edition of TBA Today incorrectly reported a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on a death penalty appeal from William Glenn Rogers. The item was based on reporting from a dated story. Judge Amul R. Thapar on Monday delivered the opinion of the court to uphold the death penalty for Rogers.

The TBA recently learned of the death of former Nashville attorney Steve Cobb, who died earlier this year in Fort Myers, Florida. He was 78. A former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Cobb later represented the Tennessee Bar Association before the legislature for many years. In his private practice, Cobb focused on family law and immigration. He is a former president of the Nashville Bar Association and was instrumental in the founding of the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute (now the Tennessee Language Center) and the Nashville Sister Cities organization, which continues to support the longstanding relationship between lawyers in Nashville and Caen, France. Contributions in his memory can be made to UNICEF.

A special primary election will be held Aug. 3 to fill the House District 51 seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Bill Beck, D-Nashville, the Tennessean reports. The Davidson County Election Commission today set that date and Sept. 14 for the general election. Beck, a Nashville lawyer and longtime Democratic state representative died after suffering a heart attack on Sunday. He was 61.

Chattanooga lawyer Justin B. Faith has been appointed as the State Membership Chair for Tennessee by American Bar Association (ABA) President Deborah Enix-Ross. Faith will work with bar leaders and delegates to promote ABA membership growth and engagement in Tennessee. Faith practices civil business litigation and estate litigation at Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon PLLC  and currently serves in the Tennessee Bar Association’s House of Delegates and on the TBA Young Lawyers Division Board. For more information, or if you have any questions about ABA membership, email Faith or call him at 423-756-5171.