U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has joined the growing chorus of U.S. News & World Report law school rankings critics, Reuters reports. During a recent talk at the University of Notre Dame Law School he said, "I think they’re based on things, from what I understand, that are very amorphous, very subjective, very word-of-mouth factors that don't correlate well with the education that you’re actually receiving, and I find them highly problematic." He also said that he does not consider law school ranking when hiring clerks.

Effective last week, Judge Sheryl H. Lipman assumed the duties of chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. She replaced District Judge S. Thomas Anderson, who served for six years as chief judge and completed his tenure. The court announced the news Monday.

Attorney volunteers are being sought for multiple mock trial competitions across the state. Next week, on Feb. 3-5, the University of Memphis School of Law will be hosting the Region 8 National Mock Trial Regional Competition and is looking for attorneys to serve as judges. Sign up here to help. Later in February, the Memphis Bar Association is looking for volunteers for its local high school competition, which will take place Feb. 17-19. Sign up here. Finally, the Tennessee State High School Competition, hosted by the TBA Young Lawyers Division, is seeking judges, lawyers and law students to serve in various roles. That event will take place March 17-18 in Nashville. Click here to volunteer.

At the 125th Annual Meeting of the Chattanooga Bar Association this week, Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw was sworn in as the new president. Senior Judge Curtis L. Collier of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee administered the oath of office. The association also presented six awards and recognized lawyers who have been in practice for 50 years or more, as well as new sustaining fellows of the Chattanooga Bar Foundation. Award recipients were: Hugh J. Moore Jr., Jac Chambliss Lifetime Achievement Award; Rosemarie L. Hill, Ralph H. Kelley Humanitarian Award; Clerk & Master Robin L. Miller, Harry Weill Zealous Practice of Law Award; former judge Jackie Bolton, Albert L. Hodge Volunteer Award; Sam D. Elliott, President’s Award; and Alexis Crutchfield, Young Lawyers Division Volunteer Award. Read more about event in the meeting program.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and Belmont University College of Law kicked off the new year by hosting a “TN Free Legal Answers” clinic on campus last week. Students and volunteer attorneys worked together to answer client questions submitted on the Free Legal Answers site, donating more than $3,000 in pro bono time!

Opinions issued by Tennessee state courts late Wednesday and yesterday were not included in Thursday's TBA Today newsletter due to a technical error. The four opinions — In Re Ethan W. Et Al, Darryl Robinson v. State of Tennessee, State of Tennessee v. Shannon Leigh Smith and Newmon Winton v. State of Tennessee — are included today.

A story in the Jan. 25 issue of TBA Today contained incorrect information about the death of Memphis motorist Tyre Nichols. According to noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols' family, the 29-year old died as a result of “multiple uses of force.” The Daily Memphian has more of his comments.

Memphis Bar Association President Jennifer Sink released a statement today responding to the death of Tyre Nichols and the arrest of five Memphis police officers. She applauds the upcoming public release of body camera footage of the incident but says while the video will show what happened, it will not explain why it happened. “There will likely never be a satisfactory explanation for why,” she writes. “These officers did not act in a way consistent with their training ... But more importantly, their actions defied our expectations for basic human decency.” She concludes by saying she intends to facilitate an open dialogue this year about the “many serious issues implicated by this tragic event.”

Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) will hold three legal clinics in February. The “Attorney of the Day Clinic” will take place Feb. 2 and 16 from 1-3 p.m. CST at the Shelby County Courthouse, 140 Adams Ave., Room 134, Memphis 38103. The monthly clinic at the Benjamin Hooks Library will take place Feb. 11 beginning at 10 a.m. The library is located at 3030 Poplar Ave., Memphis 38111. For both clinics, clients will be served on a first come, first served basis. For questions or to volunteer contact Heather Staggs or Walter Casey.

Hosted by Thomas Santel Jr. of Parkerson Santel in Murfreesboro and Stephen Shields with Jackson, Shields, Yeiser, Holt, Owen & Bryant in Memphis, the TBA Dispute Resolution Section will present a one-hour Mediation Updates webcast on Feb. 2 from 11 a.m. to noon CST. Shields and Santel will discuss legal rules and opinions affecting the mediation process and the mediator’s conduct during that process. They also will focus on legal aspects of the mediation participation agreement as well as advisory opinions issued by the Tennessee Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission (ADRC).