TBA is out with a new Legislative Updates podcast today with TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. This week they discuss HB318/SB270, the most recent version of Gov. Bill Lee's adoption bill; HB854/SB919 and HB855/SB921, TBA's adoption bills; HB1071/SB1393, TBA's medical records bill; HB40/SB122, legislation prohibiting foreign ownership of real property by nonresident aliens; and HB795/SB283, the "Guns in the Courthouse" bill. Legislative Updates airs each week the legislature is in session on TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold three clinics next week. On Wednesday, the group will hold a veterans clinic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Operation Stand Down in Nashville. On Thursday, a general advice clinic will take place at Greenhouse Ministries in Murfreesboro from 3 to 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, a general advice clinic will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Belmont’s McHugh Clinic in Nashville. All times central. To volunteer for these clinics, contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. Get details on all March clinics.

Join the TBA International Law & Practice Section for part one of its annual forum to be held virtually on March 17. The program will begin at 9 a.m. CDT and offer attendees two hours of general CLE credit. The first session will focus on foreign direct investment with Adam Breeze, director of business development (United Kingdom and Ireland) for the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development. The second session will cover cybersecurity issues with Knoxville lawyer Jody Prestia and Nashville lawyer Thomas Ritter with Maynard Cooper & Gale. Part two of the forum is being planned for June. Watch for more details coming soon.

Do you love to celebrate the good in your community? If so, prepare to join the Community Legal Center (CLC) in Memphis on April 1 at the historic Stax Museum. The center's fundraiser will take place from 7-9:30 p.m. CDT as it celebrates another year of impact. The night will feature soul music from the Stax Music Academy Alumni Band and food from Coletta’s. Thanks to the event's generous sponsors, all ticket sales will go directly to serving the CLC's low-income legal clients. Get more information and purchase tickets.

Join members of the TBA Attorney Well Being Committee for a live interactive roundtable for law students and young lawyers on how best to manage work-life balance as a legal professional. This 45-minute Zoom event on March 29 at noon CDT will feature seasoned lawyers discussing their day-to-day practice, and provide effective tools for personal well-being. The event is free and open to all currently enrolled law students and TBA members but reservations are required. Questions and feedback are encouraged for this interactive roundtable. Submit any questions in advance to jword@tnbar.org.

The AP reports that Tennessee Republican lawmakers yesterday advanced legislation that would prevent transgender people from changing their driver’s licenses and birth certificates, a move that officials warn could cost the state millions in federal funding. LGBTQ-rights advocates have long argued that having a driver’s license or birth certificate match a person’s identity is not only personally important but also beneficial to avoiding harassment. If enacted, the proposal would define male and female in state law and base people’s legal gender identities on their anatomy at birth. Legislative officials tasked with calculating the fiscal impact of bills have stated that the bill would likely open the state to “civil litigation and could jeopardize federal funding” because it could conflict with federal rules.

The Department of Children’s Services (DCS) commissioner gave an update to the legislature that showed improvements to the troubled system. Margie Quin went before the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee yesterday as part of the department’s budget request. Quin highlighted several ways that DCS has made changes already this year, and how more funding could help it continue that upward trajectory. “We’re not doing all that we want to be able to do,” Quin says. “And we’re here looking for a better solution.” She says one of the biggest victories is that kids are no longer sleeping in office buildings, except for in Shelby County. WPLN has the story.

This year's Business Law Forum will be a hybrid program, so we hope you will join us either virtually or in person at Bass Berry & Sim's Nashville offices on April 21. In-person registration is at 9 a.m. CDT and the program will begin for both in person and virtual attendees at 9:30 a.m. A networking reception for in-person attendees will follow the forum at 4 p.m. The focus of the program will be business transactions in the news and how they apply to those practicing law in Tennessee. Additional details on the sessions coming soon.

The Times Free Press reports that around 350 Chattanooga residents demonstrated during a downtown rally in Miller Park Wednesday against bills that would ban public drag performances and transgender medical care for minors. The bills have had wide support in the Republican-dominated legislature and are making their way to Gov. Bill Lee's desk. Lee has supported the bills and said he plans to sign both.

Two people protesting LGBTQ-related legislation were briefly detained during an appearance by Gov. Bill Lee at a grand opening celebration in Memphis, the Commercial Appeal reports. Memphis police confirmed that both John Wilbanks and Brandy Pride were detained and issued misdemeanor citations in lieu of a physical arrest. Wilbanks is charged with disorderly conduct while Pride is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting official detention. Lee was in town for the opening of the Whitehaven YMCA.