A group of lawyers and law students have established the Knoxville Latino Bar Association (KLBA). The organization’s inaugural board consists of president Christina Magráns-Tillery, vice-president Esperanza Yañez, secretary Eric Amarante, and treasurer Arléne Amarante. Sherley Cruz will serve as community legal education coordinator while Willie Santana will serve as membership director. Lincoln Memorial University School of Law and University of Tennessee College of Law students Talton Dunn and Kevin Ross will represent their respective student organizations on the board. Finally, law students Sonsirez Robles will serve as special events coordinator and Ryan Valdez as sergeant at arms. KLBA will launch with a celebration honoring Knox County Criminal Court Judge Hector Sanchez on March 10 at 5:30 p.m. EST at the Foundry on the Fair Site. Tickets for the event are available, as are table sponsorships. For more information, contact Sonsirez Robles. Read more about the KLBA.

Memphis City Council member Frank Colvett has announced he will run for mayor of Memphis, making him the 10th person to join the race, the Daily Memphian reports. Additional candidates include: Daniel Abston; Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr.; retired Criminal Court Judge Joe Brown; state Rep. Karen Camper, D-Memphis; J.W. Gibson; Michelle McKissack; Hastina Robinson; attorney and Memphis Branch NAACP president Van Turner Jr.; and Downtown Memphis Commission President Paul Young. Candidates in the city elections can begin pulling and filing qualifying petitions to get on the nonpartisan ballot in May. Early voting begins in mid-September. Election Day is Oct. 5.

Gov. Bill Lee today announced he has appointed Jackson attorney Matthew Wilson to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Western Section. Jackson is an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Tennessee with nearly 20 years of legal experience at both the state and federal levels. He earned his law degree from Florida State University College of Law and was a 2016 member of the TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) program. “Matt’s extensive background in criminal prosecution has prepared him well to serve Tennesseans on the Court of Criminal Appeals,” Lee said. “I am confident he will bring valuable expertise to the bench, and I appreciate his service.” Wilson was nominated to fill a vacancy created by the death of Judge John Everette Williams. Read the announcement. The nomination is subject to legislative confirmation, according to the Nashville Post.

Gov. Bill Lee today appointed Knoxville attorney Dwight E. Tarwater to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Tarwater, a partner at Paine, Tarwater, Bickers LLP, has more than 40 years of legal experience, including decades of trial and appellate practice and service as chief legal counsel to former Gov. Bill Haslam. Lee said Tarwater’s “understanding of the judiciary’s appropriate role and commitment to the conservative principles of judicial restraint make him well-suited for the state’s highest court, and I am proud to appoint him to this position.” Tarwater is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law. He is nominated to fill the vacancy that will be created when Justice Sharon Lee retires on Aug. 31. Read the announcement. The nomination is subject to legislative confirmation, according to the Nashville Post.

Shelby County has launched a pilot program that will offer free bus passes for those in need of a ride to their court appearance, the Commercial Appeal reports. With the goal of making it easier for people to get to court, the program has started with 200 bus passes, costing the county $400 and the cost of posters. If the program works, there will also be a cost savings to the government in not having to jail people who miss their court dates. Every bus pass will be logged, with the county tracking whether the program helps people show up for court. The passes are "day passes" for the Memphis Area Transit Authority. After the pilot, the county will discuss whether data warrants expansion of the program, just as they did with the successful texting program, which sent defendants court date reminders via text.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold four 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, 309 South Academy St. in Murfreesboro from 3 to 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, two general advice clinics will be held. The first will run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Belmont’s McHugh Clinic. The second will run from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Antioch Library. All times central. To volunteer for these clinics, contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all February clinics.

All courts housed in the D'Army Bailey Courthouse at 140 Adams Ave. in Memphis will remain closed for the second day tomorrow due to inclement weather. This includes the circuit, chancery, probate and general sessions civil courts. In addition, the following courts will also be closed: general sessions criminal court; criminal court and the court clerk's office; juvenile courts and their offices; municipal courts Divisions 1, 2 and 3; state workers' compensation claims court; and the Memphis and Jackson courthouses of the federal district court.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz — with offices across Tennessee — has prevailed over a malpractice lawsuit brought by a company that invested $5.8 million in mass-tort litigation stemming from the BP oil spill, Bloomberg Law reports. Duncan Litigation Investments (DLI) and owner Max Duncan had accused the law firm of negligence for allegedly fumbling a lawsuit against attorney Mikal Watts, who was accused of seeking investors to fund numerous claims against BP. Judge George C. Hanks Jr. held that Baker owed no duty to DLI because at the time it represented Duncan individually. It wasn’t until later in a separate case that the firm represented the company.

Following the death of Tyre Nichols, state lawmakers representing the Memphis area are working on legislation to reform police practices in Tennessee. Local Memphis reports that legislators are rallying around measures to strengthen laws related to choke holds, use of force by police officers, duty to intervene, and what Nichols' family attorney Ben Crump calls “Tyre’s Law." According to Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, legislation passed in the wake of George Floyd’s death did a lot but needs to be strengthened. “It’s hard to legislate a cultural change. But you can certainly create the conditions around punishment for use of force or for a failure to intervene or duty to render care and I'm not talking about losing their jobs. I’m talking about criminal charges.” She said the group is working on specifics and should have more to reveal in the coming weeks.

The equity shareholders at Ogletree Deakins have elected Nashville lawyer Liz Washko as the firm’s next managing shareholder, and the first woman to serve in the role. She will take office in January 2024. Washko has practiced in the Nashville office since 2000 and has held almost every leadership role within the firm. She is currently one of two managing directors and has served on the board of directors since 2021. She was a member of the Compensation Committee from 2017-2021, office managing shareholder of the Nashville office from 2010-2018, and co-founder of the Pay Equity Practice Group in 2016. She continues to co-chair that group. Washko earned her law degree from Rutgers University. She practices in the areas of health law and labor and employment. Read more from the firm.