Stay current with legal news in Tennessee. This page features the latest news for and about the Tennessee legal community, either produced by the Tennessee Bar Association or collected from news sources.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, House Speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey today proposed a constitutional amendment that would set in stone the state's merit selection system for appointing appellate judges. Haslam said the amendment is needed to settle once and for all the long dispute over how judges are named and elected. "The uncertainty surrounding the process, the differences on what the constitution means and the effect that these have on the judicial branch are all results that no one wants," Haslam said. "This is the best way to handle it." TBA Executive Director Allan Ramsaur has argued that such a constitutional amendment is unnecessary but said that if the General Assembly decides it is, the association will support it.
Award presented to Wendee Hilderbrand at luncheon ceremony
NASHVILLE, Jan. 24, 2012 — Nashville lawyer Wendee Hilderbrand was honored with the state's top award for pro bono work at the Tennessee Bar Association's recent public service luncheon. Held each year as part of the association's Leadership Conference, the luncheon featured award winners in several categories and a keynote address by Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin S. Huffman.
Award presented to Dawn Deaner at luncheon ceremony
NASHVILLE, Jan. 24, 2012 — Nashville Public Defender Dawn Deaner was honored as the state's top public service attorney by the Tennessee Bar Association at its recent public service luncheon. Held each year as part of the association's Leadership Conference, the luncheon featured award winners in several categories and a keynote address by Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin S. Huffman.
Award presented to 'Student Volunteer of the Year' at luncheon
NASHVILLE, Jan. 24, 2012 — Brittany Thomas, a third-year student at the University of Tennessee College of Law, was honored with the state's top award for law student pro bono work at the Tennessee Bar Association's recent public service luncheon. Held each year as part of the association's Leadership Conference, the luncheon featured award winners in several categories and a keynote address by Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin S. Huffman.
NASHVILLE, Jan. 24, 2012 — The Knoxville law firm of Paine, Tarwater and Bickers LLP was recognized at the Tennessee Bar Association's annual public service luncheon Saturday for its commitment to pro bono legal service. It joins more than 40 firms across the state that have adopted formal pro bono policies calling on employees to do more for Tennesseans who cannot afford legal representation.
NASHVILLE, Jan. 24, 2012 — Raymond M. Wood of Manchester has been named the 2012 CASA Volunteer of the Year by the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (YLD). The award recognizes Wood's 11 years of service as a volunteer for CASA Works Inc., which serves children in Bedford and Coffee counties.
Area honors memory of leader who made "serving lawyers every day" his theme
NASHVILLE, Jan. 23, 2012 — Nearly 100 lawyers, friends and family members gathered to dedicate the Larry Dean Wilks Member Services Center at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville last week.
Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Binkley Jr. has ordered former Nashville attorney Michael H. Sneed to pay more than $18,000 in restitution to clients he represented while suspended and disbarred. Binkley also set of deadline of July 6 for affected clients to seek reimbursement. Sneed was suspended in February 2009 and then disbarred in early 2010. For approximately 18 months during that time he continued to represent clients. Binkley also directed Sneed to pay the state $154,000 in civil penalties.
Morgan Crutchfield, a part-time student at Lincoln Memorial University's Knoxville-based John J. Duncan Jr. School of Law, is suing the institution, claiming college administrators negligently allowed her to enroll in the school even though she is ineligible to sit for the state bar exam. Crutchfield says that school officials told her she could enroll despite lacking 12 credit hours in her undergraduate degree -- so long as she completed the hours during her first year of law school.
The Environmental Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association is now accepting entries for the Jon E. Hastings Memorial writing competition. All law students enrolled in a Tennessee law school in 2011 or 2012 are eligible to enter. Entries must be submitted by April 2, 2012. Learn more about the award and download a copy of the rules.
Nearly 100 lawyers, friends and family members gathered today to dedicate the Larry Dean Wilks Member Services Center at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville. Wilks, a former TBA president and Springfield lawyer, died Aug. 30, 2011. The Member Services Center provides office space, computer access and staff support for members who need a workspace while in downtown Nashville.
Members of the 2012 Diversity Leadership Institute gather for their first session in Nashville in January 2012. They are: Front row, left to right: William O'Connor, William Terrell, Shalini Bhatia, Amy Williams, Mandy Floyd Second row: Austin Kupke, Kenneth Walker, Rachel Kirby, Robin Nicholson Back row: Joseph Kendrick, Ricardo Cortez, Spencer Bell, Ryan Donaldon, Shalondra Grandberry Not pictured: Jessica Jackson, William Trumm
The Memphis metro area will be sliced up into different congressional districts under a redistricting plan released today, while Davidson County will remain the hub of the 5th Congressional District. The map drawn by Republican lawmakers doesn't break Nashville into several congressional seats, as some Democrats had feared, but does make other changes in Middle Tennessee, altering the 4th District significantly to extend it from Rutherford County near Nashville to Bradley County near Chattanooga.
The Tennessee Supreme Court's decision to strengthen the state's judicial recusal rules is being praised in editorials close to home and nationally. In a statement issued today, Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg said, "The Tennessee Supreme Court should be applauded for taking this important step forward.
The Tennessee Supreme Court today adopted the first comprehensive rewrite of the rules governing judicial conduct in more than 20 years. The rules changes, effective July 1, come as a result of a two and a half-year process initiated by the Tennessee Bar Association including a public comment period and hearing. "The Court has demonstrated it will do what is necessary to maintain public trust and confidence in our justice system. The new rules offer a comprehensive, clear, workable way to ensure that judges are fair and impartial," said TBA President Danny Van Horn, of Memphis. "The new rules also do much to assure that campaign contributions and partisan politics play no role in Tennessee courts as they dispense justice."
One of the major new emphases of the proposal as adopted by the Court is giving better guidance on when a judge should recuse him or herself or be disqualified from hearing a matter. The rules not only address substantive standards for recusal, including the amount of support a judge or the judge's opponent might receive during a campaign, but also establish a procedure for independent, expedited review of judges' decisions on recusal and disqualification.
Wilkins Tipton PA is seeking an associate attorney with four to five years experience in insurance defense litigation to fill a contract or part-time position in Nashville. The firm, which is based in Jackson, Miss., focuses on defense litigation and serves clients throughout Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Contact G. W. Flinn or Judy Thorpe at (601) 366-4343 or jthorpe@wilkinstipton.com to apply for the position.
Three Shelby County commissioners filed suit against the full commission yesterday over the body's stalled deliberations on a redistricting plan. The suit asks the chancery court to bar any future elections of county commissioners using existing district lines and to either direct the commission to "proceed expeditiously with redistricting" or establish the constitutional districts itself.
An editorial in the Mountain Press reminds readers that a petition, even if it's signed by more than 16,000 people, is not the way to change a judge's decision to retry those convicted in the 2007 rape, kidnapping, carjacking and killing of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom. "Our court system cannot operate the way it is supposed to if people think that overwhelming public opinion and sentiment can sway the legal system.
The American Bar Association today responded to a complaint filed by Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, saying the school was not in "substantial compliance" with all of the its Standards for Approval of Law Schools. The Knoxville school had filed suit in federal court against the ABA after the ABA denied the school accreditation. Read more from the ABA
