Trump moving too fast for you? The White House’s list of Executive Orders is available here, along with the President’s priorities. This an official website.

And a non-official site, Just Security, is publishing a daily update of legal challenges to said actions. Here. The tracker launched on January 29, 2025.

Clark Milner joins White House staff

Clark Milner

Clark Milner, an attorney who grew up in Knoxville’s Westmoreland neighborhood, has been named senior advisor for policy and special assistant to President Donald Trump, per Victor Ashe, writing in Shopper News.

Milner is a 2006 graduate of Webb School of Knoxville, the University of Georgia and the University of Tennessee College of Law. He was a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan from 2013-14. His wife, Caroline Milner, is an attorney who once clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. He has worked for former Gov. Bill Haslam, Gov. Bill Lee and U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty.

Notes & Quotes

Carlos Yunsan

Carlos Yunsan, immediate past president of the Knoxville Bar Association, was recognized at the National Conference of Bar Presidents, finishing in the top three for the President’s Page Award. Read more at https://loom.ly/VtWx2_s

Legal Advice Clinic for Veterans. Wednesday, February 12, 2025, noon to 2 p.m. Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville. In 2025, the clinics are held every other month: February 12, April 9, June 11, August 13, October 8 and December 10. Veterans who are not able to attend the clinic in person are encouraged to continue to use the telephone clinic option. Preregistration is required for telephone clinic and veterans are asked to call Legal Aid of East Tennessee at 865-637-0484 to preregister.

Decade Old Missing Person Case Ends with First Degree Murder Conviction

Charme Allen

District Attorney Charme Allen reported that prosecutors in the Major Crimes Unit obtained a conviction for murder after the victim had been missing for over a decade. A 62-year-old man will serve life in prison. He pleaded guilty to killing a former emergency nurse and volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol in 2013. He is serving a second life sentence for a murder in Madison County, Tennessee. Details here.

In Memoriam

Joseph Cook

Joseph Griffin Cook, 85, of Knoxville, passed away on January 21, 2025. He was the youngest member of the faculty at the University of Tennessee College of Law when he accepted the position of assistant professor in 1965. In 1972, he was promoted to full professor, and in 1979 he was named the Williford Gragg Distinguished Professor of Law which he held until his retirement in 2016 as professor emeritus. He was the UT Macebearer in 2004-05. Details of his life are in his obituary here.

Salvatore “Sal” Varsalona, 60, of Clinton, passed away on February 2, 2025. In 1993, Sal became an attorney and began his practice in Clinton, Tennessee, where he practiced until the time of his death. A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, February 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Main Street Baptist Church, Rocky Top, Tennessee. His full obituary is here.