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Tennessee Bar Journal
February 2012 • Vol. 48, No. 2
Cover Story Cover Story

Jilted

When Breaking a Heart Is Breaking the Law

There was a time when a lady could judicially purchase balm for a wounded heart. That’s what happened in 1934 when Evelyn Montgomery Hazen obtained an $80,000 judgment against louse Ralph Porter Scharringhaus for breach of promise to marry. See “Paine on Procedure” in the February 2007 Tennessee Bar Journal. What has happened since 1934 to the heartbalm causes of action in Tennessee?

Alienation of Affections

This was a common...
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Feature Story

A History of Chancery and Its Equity

From Medieval England to Today’s Tennessee

The states of Tennessee, Delaware and Mississippi are the three states maintaining distinctly separate courts of equity: Chancery Court. Yet every jurisdiction, state and federal, maintains equity jurisprudence, even if more commonly administered in the same tribunal. Equity is a product of centuries of historical development, and an appreciation of history is required for its understanding. As Jus

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President's Perspective

A Source of Pride and Responsiveness

Our New Code of Judicial Conduct

This past month, the Tennessee Supreme Court adopted a new Code of Judicial Conduct. This new code marks the first time in more than 20 years that a new set of rules has been adopted to govern the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Tennessee. The process that led to the adoption of this new code is in many ways the model for good self-regulation, cooperation between the bench and the bar, and our Sup

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News

New Code of Judicial Conduct Adopted, Praised as Model

Tennessee Bar Association’s proposal adopted

On Jan. 4 the Tennessee Supreme Court 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 m

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People

The Law Offices of Woods & Woods has added two new attorneys to its Nashville office. Allison Harding joins the firm after earning her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School recently. She will assist clients with employment and divorce matters. While in law school, Harding served as a student liaison for the Tennessee Bar Association as well as class representative to the Vanderbilt Bar Association. Michelle Reid graduated from the Nashville School of Law in 2010 and

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Disciplinary Actions

Reinstated

The following attorneys have been reinstated to the practice of law after complying with Supreme Court Rule 21, which requires mandatory continuing legal education:
Jonathan Evan Gower, Brentwood
Jennifer Pennington Guthrie, Blountville
John Robert Hershberger, Memphis
Willis Jackson Jr., Knoxville
David Craig Lee, Grandview
Elise Nicole Trail, Memphis
Hal Wilkes Wilkins, Nashville.

The following attorneys were reinstated to the practice of law after complying w
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The Law at Work

New NLRB ‘Quickie Election’ Procedures

The Obama administration’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or board) continues to significantly alter the landscape of union elections, making it easier for unions to organize Tennessee businesses. On Dec. 22, 2011, the board[1] finalized eight amendments to its union election procedures. The amendments are designed to dramatically limit employer’s legal challenges and shorten the timeline for conducting union elections. To ap

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Senior Moments

Educate Your Clients about Long-Term Care Insurance

At the mention of long-term care insurance, most of my clients respond with at least one of these objections: “I can’t afford it,” “I plan to drop dead of a heart attack,” “My family will take care of me” or the old standby: “I will never go to a nursing home!” Unfortunately, these same clients will return years later with health conditions that require around-the-clock care. Their exhausted family caregivers

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Paine on Procedure

Federal Spousal Witness Privilege

While doing some legal research in the National Enquirer on a recent weekend, I came across an article about phoney baloney lawyer John Edwards. He is facing trial in a federal district court for using vice-presidential campaign funds to conceal his extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter, mother of his child. The Enquirer reports that Edwards wants Hunter to marry him so she can refuse to take the witness stand.

What’s that all about?

Federal c...
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But Seriously, Folks

Warning to Litigators: Beware the Software

Long-time readers of this column (and you know who you are) know three things about me.

First, I’m a trial lawyer. My heroes are Atticus Finch, Perry Mason, Hamilton Burger and My Cousin Vinny.

Second, I do not like litigators. They are the Elvis impersonators ofour profession. They claim to be trial lawyers, but the truth is, they never try cases. They hardly ever go to the courthouse, and when they do, they need directions. Litigators do go throug

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