Programs 2021-2022

PROGRAMS FOR 2021-2022

AUGUST 17, 2021
Reception

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021
Canons of Construction
(responsible for May Toast) CLE Program (1.5 hours)

Courts throughout the United States often turn to canons of construction to assist them in interpreting statutes, regulations, contracts and other legal documents. These canons are more like guidelines than actual rules. Some canons are contradictory on their face; others work against each other in particular contexts. The purpose of this program is to provide a review and practical overview of the most frequently cited canons of construction and their application.

OCTOBER 19, 2021
The Tulsa Race Massacre:
What Have We Learned in the Last 100 Years?
(responsible for April Toast) CLE Program (1.5 hours)

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is among the worst incidents of racial violence in United States history. Between 100 and 300 persons were killed and more than 8,000 persons were rendered homeless when a white mob attacked residents, homes, and businesses in the predominantly Black Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This program will review the civil and criminal cases resulting from this massacre and their outcome. It will also explore the litigation and claims that could have been brought to assist the victims. It will also discuss the lessons this event should teach the legal profession and the lawyers’ ethical obligations in these circumstances.

NOVEMBER 16, 2021
Whiskey and the Law
(responsible for March Toast) CLE Program (1.5 hours)

Alcoholic beverages have been around since as early as 6600 BC. English colonists in America began brewing beer in the early 1600s, and government regulation and taxation of alcoholic beverages followed shortly thereafter. The Whiskey Rebellion, the Temperance Movement, and the adoption of the Eighteenth and Twenty-First Amendments are milestones in government oversight. The purpose of this program identify the manner in which the federal, state, and local governments regulate and alcoholic beverages and beer produced in Tennessee or sold in Tennessee but produced elsewhere. The program will also address constitutional issues regarding the manner in which state and local government regulates the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages and beer.

JANUARY 18, 2022
Over the Hurdles: Title IX and the Rights of Biologic Female and Transgender Female Athletes
(responsible for February Toast) CLE Program (1.5 hours)

Whether transgender individuals should be able to compete in sport in accordance with their gender identity is a contested question within legal literature and among sports organizations, fellow competitors, and spectators. Because of concerns regarding athletic advantage (particularly regarding transgender females), several sports organizations have placed restrictions on transgender competitors, and legislature in several states, including Tennessee, have enacted legislation barring transgender female athletes from competing in female scholastic sports. The purposes of this program are: (1) to define who transgender athletes are and the history of transgender athletes; (2) to review the competition and qualification standards adopted by various athletic governing bodies; and (3) to review the history and purpose of Title IX and its application to female transgender
athletes.

FEBRUARY 15, 2022
The Difference Between Demanding Payment to Avoid Litigation and Extortion
(responsible for January Toast) CLE Program (1.5 hours)

Lawyers constantly search for means to assert leverage on an opponent to secure an advantageous settlement for their clients. While Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 4.4(a)(2) prohibits a lawyer from ?threaten[ing] to present a criminal or lawyer disciplinary charge for the purpose of obtaining advantage in a civil matter,” it does not prohibit threats to instigate ancillary civil proceedings against an adverse party. However, such threats could be found to violate Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 8.4(b), (c), or (d). A threat to instigate a civil proceeding could also subject a lawyer to discipline if it is made without sufficient basis in law and fact. Threatening a civil proceeding could also implicate Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 3.1 or 4.4(a)(1). The purpose of this program is to discuss the application of these Rules of Professional Conduct to these circumstances, as well as the profession considerations that
employing this tactic entails.

MARCH 15, 2022
The Current Case for Reparations as a Constitutional
and Appropriate Remedy for Past Racial Discrimination
(responsible for November Toast) CLE Program (1.5 hours)

The issue of the financial effects of slavery on African Americans and the appropriate remedies for these effects have been discussed and debated since the end of the Civil War and the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment. As early as 1865, General William Tecumseh Sherman proposed setting aside land for former slaves, but his order was countermanded by President Andrew Johnson several months later. During the ensuing decades, other legislative and judicial efforts to seek reparations for African Americans were proposed and sidelined. New attention was drawn to the reparations issue in 2014 with the publication of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article ?The Case for Reparations” in The Atlantic magazine. Many other scholarly books and articles on the subject have been published, and the House of Representatives is currently conducting hearings concerning the creation of a commission to study history of slavery and its effects on African Americans. This program will (1) review the history of the reparations remedy, (2) identify legal and constitutional issues surround reparations, and (3) discuss the alternative forms reparations could take and the economic impact of each of these alternatives.

APRIL 19, 2022
Environmental Justice Protection and
Remedies for Under-Represented Communities
(responsible for October Toast) CLE Program (1.5 hours)

Environmental justice means not only protecting human health and the environment for everyone, but is also means that all people should be treated fairly and given the opportunity to participate meaningfully in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws. It addresses the disproportionate effect of environmental polices and practices on communities of color, indigenous communities, low income communities, and other vulnerable populations. This program will (1) examine environmental justice through the lens of current developments by government actors, non- government environmental organizations, activists, academics, and corporations, (2) focus on some Tennessee and national cases of note, and (3) the role lawyers can play to identify practical ways to advance the goals of environmental justice.

MAY 17, 2022
“The Merchant of Venice” Mock Appeal
(responsible for September Toast) CLE Program (1.5 hours)

William Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice” is a drama raising issues involving religion, social status, and gender. It involves a trial to enforce a loan agreement in which the borrower agrees to pay the lender “a pound of flesh” if he is unable to repay the loan. When the borrower defaults, the lender files suit to enforce the contract. Even though the contract is upheld, the lender is forced to settle for monetary compensation and is eventually ruined financially by the judge. In this program, the lender is appealing from the decision not to enforce his contract. The lawyers “representing” the lender, seeking to overturn the refusal to enforce the contract as written, will present argument regarding a number of irregularities at trial, including the bias of the judge and the religious discrimination against the lender.