The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) is pleased to announce the release of an update to the Domestic Violence Handbook.
In 1997, the KBA Board of Governors determined that a handbook of local resources would be valuable to victims of domestic violence. The KBA Women in the Law Committee volunteered to develop and distribute copies to the local shelters and agencies who assisted victims of family violence. Later that year, the committee published a 62-page document titled "Domestic Violence: We Can Live Without It. Rights and Options Available Under the Law."
The Knoxville Bar Association gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the many volunteers who have contributed to this handbook over the last 25 years. The Domestic Violence Handbook would not have been possible without the leadership and commitment of the KBA’s Access to Justice Committee, staff at Legal Aid of East Tennessee, and students of the University of Tennessee College of Law. We want to recognize and thank Knoxville attorneys Zach Arnold, Rebecca Eshbaugh, Adam Russell, LMU Duncan School of Law student Brandy Brogdon, Community Mediation Center Executive Director Jacqueline Kittrell, and Community Mediation Center Lead Trainer Jennifer Comiskey who have significantly contributed to recent thorough updates.
The Domestic Violence Handbook is available for download at www.knoxbar.org.
The Knoxville Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) can connect members of the public with a qualified attorney who is a member of the Knoxville Bar Association and can meet their legal needs with skill and care. The Knoxville Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service may be reached online at www.knoxbar.org/lawyerfinder or by telephone at (865) 522-7501.
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an Order today amending TSC Rule 21 eliminating the cap on distance learning CLE hours. The effect is that Tennessee attorneys can earn all fifteen of their CLE hours online.
VIEW THE ORDER
The Knoxville Barristers Hunger and Poverty Relief Committee would like to invite members to participate in this year’s canned food & fund drive, which benefits Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. Second Harvest Food Bank secures and distributes an average of 22 million pounds of food and grocery products annually through a network of more than 630+ partnering nonprofit organizations such as food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and schools.
If your firm would like to participate in this year’s drive, please use the link below to create your team by November 2:
https://virtualfooddrive.secondharvestetn.org/a/a61aa181189fe1c3706f5637c2fab1928ef4f30c Rules of the Competition
Anyone can win this year’s friendly competition! The winner will be determined by the most meals per employee so that both the weight of the donated food and the monetary donations are included in the calculations for the final standings.
After November 2, you may contribute to the Knoxville Barristers Food & Fund Drive, even if you are unable to sign up as a firm or organization. If you have questions, please contact Bridgette Fly, Programs & Communications Coordinator.
No. ADM2022-01198
ORDER
The Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice & Procedure annually presents recommendations to the Court to amend the Tennessee Rules of Appellate, Civil, Criminal, and Juvenile Procedure and the Tennessee Rules of Evidence. With its meeting on June 10, 2022, the Advisory Commission completed its 2021-2022 term, and the Commission thereafter transmitted its recommendations to the Court.
The Court hereby solicits written comments from the bench, the bar, and the public concerning the Advisory Commission’s recommended amendments set out in Appendix I (proposed amendments to the Rules of Appellate Procedure, Evidence, Civil Procedure, and Criminal Procedure) to this order. The deadline for submitting written comments is December 2, 2022. Written comments may either be submitted by email to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or by mail addressed to:
James Hivner, Clerk Re: 2023 Rules Package 100 Supreme Court Building 401 7th Avenue North Nashville, TN 37219-1407
and should reference the docket number set out above. The Clerk shall provide a copy of this order to LexisNexis and to Thomson Reuters. In addition, the order shall be posted on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s website.
The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) is pleased to announce the release of an update to the “Legal Resource Guide – Finding Legal Assistance in Knoxville,” a directory of legal service and information providers in our community. This 21-page resource includes information about government agencies, nonprofits, pro bono organizations, and others who help to ensure that all citizens have equal access to justice.
The Legal Resource Guide is compiled from information gathered by the Knoxville Bar Association staff from the agencies and offices listed therein. The KBA is grateful for the assistance of the many offices who responded to our requests for updated information, and their generosity in sharing information about their respective organizations with the public.
The Legal Resource Guide is available for online viewing or download from the KBA website at www.knoxbar.org/LRG. The full array of information and services provided to the public by the KBA is available at www.knoxbar.org/legalhelp.
We know that members of the public rely on quality access to appropriate legal services. The Knoxville Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) can connect members of the public with a qualified attorney who is a member of the Knoxville Bar Association and can meet their legal needs with skill and care. The Knoxville Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service may be reached online at www.knoxbar.org/lawyerfinder or by telephone at (865) 522-7501.
KBA Member Survey Results Released for Appellate Court Retention Election
A poll of Knoxville Bar Association members regarding the retention election of the state Supreme Court justice and six appellate court judges indicates support for all to be retained. The confidential survey seeks to find whether attorneys who know the most about these jurists believe they should continue in their jobs. The retention election is on the ballot in the August 4 general election.
“The Knoxville Bar offers the poll to voters to help them assess jurists on the ballot,” said Knoxville Bar Association President Jason Long. “While voters may be familiar with the chancellors and circuit court judges and judicial candidates in our community, the work of the appeals judges is generally not as well known. So we ask Knoxville Bar members who know them best to give their opinion.”
Tennessee law requires Tennessee Supreme Court justices and appeals court judges to be placed on the ballot every eight years for voters to determine whether they should remain on their courts. These are called “retention” elections. A “Yes” vote means a voter wants the judge or justice to remain on the court for another eight-year term. A “No” vote means a voter wants the judge or justice to be removed from the court. The majority of voters decide.
The candidate survey was emailed on June 13 to each KBA member, asking whether the Supreme Court justices and the Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals jurists should be retained. The survey was voluntary and does not represent a scientific sampling of Bar members. The survey deadline was 5 pm on June 27.
View Results
The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is now accepting applications for a vacancy on the 6th Judicial District Criminal Court, which covers Knox County. The vacancy was created after the appointment of Judge Kyle A. Hixson to the Court of Criminal Appeals – Eastern Section. Attorneys 30 years of age or older, who have been residents of the state for five years and are currently residents of the 6th Judicial District, can submit the Trial Court Vacancy Commission Application by noon CDT on July 7. Candidates will be publicly interviewed on Aug. 2. Read the vacancy notice.
To comply with the Transparency in Coverage Rule, self-funded and level funded customers must post the transparency-in-coverage.uhc.com link on their website. As the initial enforcement date of July 1, 2022, approaches for posting the machine-readable files (MRF) under the Transparency in Coverage Rule, UnitedHealthcare is providing an overview of requirements for health insurers and group health plans, including self-funded, UnitedHealthcare Level Funded, Oxford Level Funded and All Savers Alternate Funding clients. For more information, please refer to the frequently updated Transparency in Coverage FAQs and Transparency in Coverage website.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this Court temporarily suspended Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 21, section 3.01(c), which requires lawyers to have a minimum of seven hours of Live continuing legal education credits in each compliance year and limits lawyers to a maximum of eight hours of Distance Learning credits in each compliance year. View the Comment Order We also temporarily suspended section 4.02(c), which reiterates the eight-hour limitation on Distance Learning credits per compliance year and limits carryover Distance Learning credits to eight hours per compliance year. The Court is now considering amending Rule 21 to delete sections 3.01(c) and 4.02(c) and permanently eliminate the limitations on Distance Learning credits. The Court solicits written comments from judges, lawyers, bar associations, members of the public, and all interested parties on the amendments now under consideration. The deadline for submitting written comments is Friday, August 5, 2022. Written comments should reference the docket number above and may be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or mailed to: James Hivner, Clerk RE: Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21, §§ 3.01(c) and 4.02(c) 100 Supreme Court Building 401 7th Avenue North Nashville, TN 37219-1407 The Clerk shall provide a copy of this Order to LexisNexis and to Thomson Reuters. In addition, this Order shall be posted on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s website.
The KBA's Appellate Court Retention Election Candidate Member Survey will be released to the membership on Monday, June 13 and the deadline is June 27. The judges on the Tennessee Supreme Court, Tennessee Court of Appeals - Eastern Section, and the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals – Eastern Section will be evaluated.The confidential survey seeks to find whether attorneys who know the most about these jurists believe they should continue in their jobs.
The survey asks members to respond to ELEVEN questions, and it will take less than three minutes to complete. However, each question requires an answer. To maximize the effectiveness of this process, we must have a high response rate, so please take the time to complete the survey. There is an option to select "choose not to vote" if you would prefer not to select "recommend retention" or "do not recommend retention" for each judge. The larger the percentage of KBA members who participate in the survey, the more representative our bar will be in the information provided to the public and the more we prove to the public that the legal profession cares about our system of justice. The KBA Candidate Member Survey has been designed to ensure the anonymity of each member's ballot and to permit only one ballot per KBA member. We know that it is critically important that no one be able to determine how any individual member voted in this survey. Survey Monkey, the electronic voting software, will confidentially "mark" the records of those members who have participated and disallow further attempts to vote. Due to firewalls that many law firms, government agencies, and companies have in place, you may find that the email invitation to participate in the Survey will be treated as spam, and the email will be blocked. Make sure to revise your settings to add the Survey Monkey domains (*.surveymonkey.com) to your list of safe senders in your email program. Read more. If you have ever opted out of a survey through Survey Monkey, you can opt-in by clicking this link.
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