MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Erica Green, (865) 525-5134
Knoxville Bar Association Barristers announce High School Mock Trial Competition
KNOXVILLE, TN January 21, 2020 - The Barrister’s, the Young Lawyer’s Division of the Knoxville Bar Association, annually hosts the Regional High School Mock Trial Competition for Districts 2, 3, and 4* every February. With high school budget cuts around the country increasing, and available funding for civic engagement decreasing, Mock Trial is an excellent way for High School students in the aforementioned districts to develop a fuller understanding of our justice system and experience the legal process first hand. Many students have been known to choose a legal career based on their mock trial experiences, and several Barrister’s members are formal mock trial competitors.
During the Regional High School Mock Trial competition, students will act as lawyers and witnesses, as both the prosecution and the defense, and act out a - well - mock trial. This years’ case is a civil matter that involves "fowl" play between two restaurants and a debate over who can claim to be the king of the chicken sandwich.
This year’s Knoxville Regional competition will take place at the Knoxville City County Building on February 21st and February 22nd. The final round will take place on February 23rd at the Duncan School of Law at LMU.
The specific times are as follows:
ROUND ONE - Friday February 21st, 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. ROUND TWO - Saturday February 22nd, 8:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. ROUND THREE – Saturday, February 22nd, 10:30 a.m. - 1p.m. ROUND FOUR - Saturday, February 22nd , 1:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. FINAL ROUND - Sunday February 23rd [TBD]
The winners of the competition will advance to the State-wide tournament in Nashville March 20-21.
The dedicated volunteers, including East Tennessee law school students, attorneys, and judges, serve as the bailiffs, scoring judges, and presiding judges over this wonderful annual competition. The competition is free to students to enter; their coaches simply need to fill out the rosters and coordinating forms and submit them to knoxhsmt@gmail.com.
Participation in this wonderful program is not as high as it once was, and as young lawyers, we want to do everything we can to get the word out about this unique, beneficial, and all-around fun opportunity for our East Tennessee high school students.
*Districts include:
District 2: Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Fentress, Grainger, Jefferson, Scott, Sevier and Union
District 3: Knox
District 4: Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea and Roane
For more information about the Barristers, please contact Barristers President Allison Jackson at (865) 546-0500 or Marsha S. Watson, Executive Director of the Knoxville Bar Association at (865) 522-6522.
Click here to volunteer for the 2020 Mock Trial Competition.
ADM2018-02237 On December 18, 2018, the Supreme Court entered an order soliciting written comments on proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, section 26, regarding the payment of the professional privilege tax by attorneys. After the expiration of the public comment period, the Supreme Court has considered further revisions to the proposed amendments. The deadline for submitting written comments is January 30, 2020. Written comments may be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov.
ADM2018-02187 On December 6, 2018, the Supreme Court entered an order soliciting written comments on proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 43, regarding interest on lawyers’ trust accounts. After the expiration of the public-comment period, the Supreme Court has considered further revisions to the proposed amendments. The deadline for submitting written comments is January 30, 2020. Written comments may be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov.
ADM2018-02186 On December 18, 2018, the Supreme Court entered an order soliciting written comments on proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, section 10, regarding annual registration and payments by attorneys. After the expiration of the public comment period, the Supreme Court has considered further revisions to the proposed amendments. The deadline for submitting written comments is January 30, 2020. Written comments may be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov.
Photo Gallery Year in Review By the Numbers Annual Meeting PowerPoint Slides KBA President Wynne Caffey-Knight presided over the Annual Meeting of the Knoxville Bar Association on Friday, December 13, 2019. More than 275 lawyers and judges were in attendance. Mrs. Caffey-Knight announced that the following KBA members were elected as officers for 2020: Cheryl G. Rice – President-Elect, Jason H. Long – Treasurer, and Loretta G. Cravens - Secretary. The membership elected the following KBA members to the four open positions on the Board of Governors: Hon. Kristi Davis, Mark A. Castleberry, Michael J. Stanuszek and Elizabeth M. Towe. Hanson R. Tipton assumed the presidency of the 1900-plus member Knoxville Bar Association at the close of the meeting.
Hanson R. Tipton is a member in the Knoxville law firm of Watson, Roach, Batson & Lauderback, PLC. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and his J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Mr. Tipton has been active in the Knoxville legal community for almost twenty years. He has served on and chaired numerous committees and boards in the Knoxville and Tennessee Bar Associations. He won the 2014 KBA President’s Award in recognition of outstanding performance and dedicated service on behalf of the Knoxville Bar Association. Mr. Tipton previously served as law clerk for Senior Judge John K. Byers.
In his remarks to Knoxville Bar Association members at the Annual Meeting, Mr. Tipton thanked the members for their continued committed service to the KBA and the people of our community in need of legal services. He discussed his plans for 2020, including a Habitat for Humanity house build, celebration of the centennial of women’s suffrage in the United States, and a focus on servant leadership. Mr. Tipton encouraged members to take advantage of the many resources and service opportunities offered by the KBA.
Thomas S. Scott, Jr. was presented the KBA’s highest award, the prestigious Governors’ Award, which is given annually to a lawyer whose peers believe has brought distinction and honor to the legal profession. Mr. Scott has distinguished himself with a long and tremendous career of service to the bar and to the community, including serving as KBA president in 1990. Mr. Scott is a worthy recipient of the Knoxville Bar Association’s Governors’ Award for his enduring, faithful, and distinguished service to the community.
The Presidents’ Awards for 2019 were presented to Courtney Epps Read and Emily Stulce for their work as Co-Chairs of the Functions Committee. The award for outstanding writing was presented to Luke Ihnen for his feature on the Butcher Banks which appeared in the November issue of the KBA monthly magazine DICTA. Retired Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley Jr. was presented with the Don Paine Lawyer Legacy Award and the Judicial Excellence Award was presented to U.S. District Court Judge Pamela L. Reeves.
Allison Jackson was introduced as President of the Knoxville Barristers, the Young Lawyers Division of the KBA. It was announced that during the elections last week, Amanda Tonkin was elected Vice President, Bryce Fitzgerald was elected Secretary/Treasurer and Meagan Collver and Courtney Read were elected Members-at-Large. It was also announced that Jason Collver and Meagan Collver, Co-Chairs of the Hunger & Poverty Relief Committee, were presented with the Barristers’ Presidents’ Award for 2019.
On December 10th, Gov. Bill Lee appointed Kyle Hixson as criminal court judge for the 6th Judicial District, a vacancy created by Judge Bob McGee’s retirement. The 6th Judicial District covers Knox County. Prior to this appointment, Hixson served two stints in the Office of the Knox County District Attorney General. He is also an adjunct professor of law in trial practice at the University of Tennessee College of Law.
ADMIN2019-02079
On November 21, 2019, the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (“BPR”) and the Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection (“TLFCP”) filed a petition asking the Court to amend Rule 8, RPC 1.15 of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court by adopting a new RPC 1.15(f). The proposed amendment is set out in the Appendix to this Order.
The Court hereby publishes the proposed amendment for public comment and solicits written comments from the bench, the bar, and the public. The deadline for submitting written comments has been extended to April 3, 2020. Written comments may be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov.
The Annual Membership Meeting will be held on Friday, December 13, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. at the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building. A continental breakfast will be available at 8:00 a.m. in the Small Assembly Room. At the end of the meeting, Hanson R. Tipton will assume the presidency.
View the Candidate Bios
The Nominating Committee for the Officers and Board of Governors of the Knoxville Bar Association for the upcoming year is comprised of: Hanson R. Tipton, Chair, Tasha C. Blakney, Soojin Kim, Chris W. McCarty, Hon. John F. Weaver, M. Samantha Parris and Matthew R. Lyon.
The Committee, having met, recommends that the following, all of whom are members of the Knoxville Bar Association, be placed in nomination at the Annual Meeting:
President-Elect: Cheryl G. Rice Treasurer: Jason H. Long Secretary: Loretta G. Cravens There are four open positions on the Board of Governors. Three of the Board of Governor positions will be for three-year terms. The fourth is the one-year term government/public sector position. Nominations to fill the open positions on the Board of Governors are the following:
Three-Year Terms:
Melissa B. Carrasco Michael J. Stanuszek Mark A. Castleberry Elizabeth M. Towe Meghan H. Morgan Taylor A. Williams
Government/Public Sector Position: Hon. Kristi M. Davis
According to Article VI, Section 1, of the KBA By-Laws: "Nominations may also be made from the floor during the Annual Meeting by any member in good standing."
Pursuant to the Bylaws change approved at the Annual Meeting in 1996, members are permitted to vote by absentee ballot. The provisions are included at the bottom of this page.
All judges have been requested to delay court until 10:00 a.m. on the morning of December 13, 2019.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS VOTING IN THE KBA ELECTIONS Any member in good standing who personally comes to the offices of the Knoxville Bar Association during regular business hours on any of the ten (10) working days immediately preceding the day of the Annual Meeting will be permitted to vote. The member must first file a written form making oath that he or she will not be in town or otherwise be unable to attend the Annual Meeting. Then the member will be permitted to cast an absentee ballot for such officer or board positions as may be contested.
KBA Office Regular Business Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 10 Working Days Prior to the Annual Meeting: November 27 - December 12, 2019
NOTICE FROM KNOX CO. CIRCUIT COURT CLERK’S OFFICE
The Knox County Circuit Court Clerk’s office has started sending bright green, postcard-style notices to attorneys informing them of upcoming motion hearings and trial dates. The clerk’s office also plans to begin sending email notices to lawyers probably beginning early next year. The new paper cards started going out to law offices in mid-October.
Previously attorneys with cases before circuit court had received similar-sized hearing notices but they were printed on plain white paper. The change to using a more vivid color and much thicker paper stock came in response to concerns that the notices were sometimes lost, misplaced or just plain overlooked. There was also concern that some of the prior notices – which were much flimsier than the new ones - were being damaged or lost in post office machines. Circuit Court Clerk Charles Susano is in the process of implementing several possible remedies, including the green cards and working with the office of information technology to implement the email notices.
.jpg){kind=logo}
