Equal Justice University 2026: Full Schedule

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8:30am PDT

Tennessee Tenants Take the Lead: A Public Interest Affirmative Housing Litigation Tool

Thursday August 27, 2026 8:30am - 10:00am PDT

Overwhelmingly with housing cases, tenants and their attorneys are caught playing defense, and the options are limited. We hope to keep people housed as much as possible and if not, negotiate a move that doesn't impact their future housing health. It can be a bleak business of small wins and minimizing damage, but the task of investing in sustained affirmative litigation poses significant cost and capacity challenges. The PI Affirmative Housing Litigation Toolkit offers a solution on both fronts. The online resource will be accessible to all public interest attorneys and provides start to finish guide to litigation in five areas of housing related law: 1983, Habitability, the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, the False Claims Act, and the Fair Housing Act. Each area of law includes six individual sections focusing on law, investigation, strategy, filing, settlement, and trial. There are practical references like outlines and citation banks and templates for complaints and discovery forms, as well tools for understanding the FOIA request processes, partnering with media outlets, supporting plaintiffs through the long process of civil litigation, and preparing for trial. In a sense, the Toolkit is a crash course in potentially unfamiliar areas of law, and a plug and play handbook for further housing advocacy. Our hope is that helping to expand the ways in which public interest housing attorneys can represent our clients will ultimately advance housing justice in Tennessee.

Speakers

Maggie Behringer

A Chattanooga native, Maggie Behringer went to law school to study housing law and work with the unhoused. Maggie graduated magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College and earned a master's in fine arts from West Virginia University. She received her J.D. from Loyola Law School in... Read More →

830 10 Behringer Affirmative Litigation Toolkit EJU Presentation pdf

Thursday August 27, 2026 8:30am - 10:00am PDT
Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

10:15am PDT

Defending Criminal Activity and Drug-Related Evictions

Thursday August 27, 2026 10:15am - 11:45am PDT

Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

This session will discuss the applicable law, strategy, and ethical concerns surrounding defense of tenants being evicted for alleged criminal activity and drug-related lease violations. We will discuss: (1) Negotiation and trial strategy, including evidentiary issues to be aware of, (2) Rights available to and limitations for tenants facing these allegations in HUD-subsidized properties, including specific case law, (3) Practical concerns of aiding individuals in recovery with criminal activity or drug-related allegations in Tennessee, (4) How to handle ethical concerns related to MPC Rule 1.6, confidentiality, when Tennessee mandates reporting to DCS or APS, and (5) Considerations related to MPC Rule 1.16, when a lawyer's representation of a client is in furtherance of a crime.

Speakers

Emily Cala

Emily Cala is a Staff Attorney at Legal Aid of East Tennessee's Knoxville Office, where she works with the Eviction Prevention Program. Emily is from Cleveland, Ohio, where she attended Case Western Reserve University School of Law and graduated in 2021 before moving to Knoxville... Read More →

Michael Davis

Michael Davis, a 2015 graduate of UT College of Law, has been practicing predominantly in landlord-tenant law with Legal Aid of East Tennessee since 2020. In his time there, he has handled numerous detainer warrant defense and fair housing complaint cases as a Staff Attorney... Read More →

Kimberly Riddett

Kimberly Riddett is a Staff Attorney in Legal Aid of East Tennessee's Knoxville Office, where she works on the Recovery Legal Project, which allows her to assist individuals with a history of substance abuse with various legal issues. Kim is from Louisville, Kentucky, but moved... Read More →

1015 1145 Cala Handout Defending Criminal Activity and Drug Related Evictions pdf

1015 1145 Cala Defending Criminal Activity and Drug Related Evictions pptx

Thursday August 27, 2026 10:15am - 11:45am PDT
Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

1:15pm PDT

Competence and Capacity: Differences in Legal and Psychological Understandings

Thursday August 27, 2026 1:15pm - 2:15pm PDT

Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

This lecture bridges the often-misaligned vocabularies of law and forensic psychology as they apply to one of the most consequential determinations in legal practice: whether an individual possesses the mental ability to make decisions, execute legal documents, or participate meaningfully in legal proceedings. The presentation explores how psychologists assess cognitive and volitional functioning across multiple domains, including memory, reasoning, insight, and susceptibility to undue influence, and how those assessments map (or fail to map) onto legal standards for testamentary capacity, contractual capacity, guardianship, and informed consent. Attendees will gain insight into how forensic evaluators approach these questions, what a psychological report can and cannot tell a court, and how to effectively retain, prepare, and cross-examine expert witnesses in capacity disputes. The lecture concludes with practical applications for elder law practitioners, addressing the rising prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in aging clients, the timing of capacity evaluations, red flags at the time of document execution, and strategies for building a durable record that can withstand future legal challenge.

Speakers

Dr. Charles Ihrig

Dr. Charles Ihrig is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Professional Counselor with more than three decades of experience in mental health care. He is the Founder and President of Athena Care, established in 2001, which has grown under his leadership into one of Tennessee’s... Read More →

Dr. Jorge Boero

Dr. Boero is a native of Argentina and is fully bilingual in Spanish and English.  He is a licensed psychologist who received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of South Dakota and completed his postdoctoral training at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s... Read More →

115 215 Ihrig Competence and Capacity CLE v6 Repaired pptx

Thursday August 27, 2026 1:15pm - 2:15pm PDT
Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

2:30pm PDT

How to Run the Best Free Legal Clinic in Tennessee

Thursday August 27, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT

Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

Gallatin's free monthly legal clinic generally has more than 30 people that we help in approximately four hours, including ghost-writing divorce forms. How do we do it from pre-clinic prep to boots on the ground to wrapping up when the clinic ends. Best practices, ethical considerations, how to handle the chaos that is often a free legal clinic.

Speakers

Tomi Robb

Krista Scruggs

Ms. Scruggs is currently the advocate in the Gallatin Legal Aid Office. Krista has worn many hats at legal aid in the 19 years she has been with LAS. In this role, Krista is the person who meets all domestic violence victims. Krista makes safety plans and helps with housing for... Read More →

Dean Hinton

Since October 6, 2016, Dean has been a Legal Aid domestic relations attorney representing survivors of domestic violence in Sumner County and the 15th Judicial District. Dean graduated from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law in May 2010. He... Read More →

230 330 HintonTALS Clinic PP Final pptx

230 330 Hinton Clinic Handouts zip

Thursday August 27, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT
Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

3:45pm PDT

Get Ready to Redact: Understanding the New Tennessee, R. App. P. 20B

Thursday August 27, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm PDT

Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

This is a session on appellate practice that is applicable to all substantive areas of the law. I will explain the new Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 20B, which requires redaction of certain information in all Tennessee appellate court filings. We will discuss what needs to be redacted and how such redaction can be accomplished. We will also provide some tips and tricks that will help lawyers to comply with the rule. This is essential information for any attorney who will ever file anything in a Tennessee appellate court.

Speakers

Jacob Vanzin

Jacob A. Vanzin is a Partner at Dodson, Parker, Behm & Capparella. He practices almost exclusively in the appellate courts of Tennessee and has authored or co-authored dozens of appellate briefs.

345 445 Vanzin Get Ready to Redact Rule 20B Redaction Presentation pptx

Thursday August 27, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm PDT
Embassy Suites- Cambridge B

8:30am PDT

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2:30pm PDT

3:45pm PDT

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