Bye, Bye, Byrd?

Summary Judgment After Hannan and Martin: Which Way To Go?
By Andrée Sophia Blumstein

The Confusion: Byrd v. Hall

Sixteen years ago, in Byrd v. Hall, the Tennessee Supreme Court undertook “to establish a clearer and more coherent summary judgment jurisprudence” by setting out the basic principles to be applied in deciding a motion for summary judgment.[1] Byrd quickly became Tennessee’s summary judgment bible.[2] It has been cited in close to 2,000 judicial opinions. Scarcely ...
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Just Throw a TARP Over the Problem

By Kathryn Reed Edge

Government loves acronyms. From ERISA to the EPA, agency-speak sets apart practitioners who understand the language of their particular expertise. The popular media have made much of the United States Treasury’s “bail out” of financial institutions and the rescue of the Big Three automakers, and with this effort has come a new set of acronyms to be misunderstood by those who are not involved in their

What’s So Great About Diversity?

By Buck Lewis

The term “diversity,” sort of like the term, “rule of law,” means different things to different people. Elected officials like to say that they are going to bring “diversity” to their administrations. Law firms have “diversity” links on their Web pages. Law schools like to tout the “diversity” of their student bodies. I think it’s healthy to remind ourselves, every once in a while, that diversity is not just a trendy management

Brittenum was manager in 2005

The “People You Need to Know” section of the January 2009 edition of the Tennessee Bar Journal contains a statement that Melvin Malone “is believed to be the first African-American to serve as manager of a large Tennessee law firm.” For your information, Dedrick Brittenum, an African-American, served as chief manager of Farris Bobango Branan PLC (formerly Farris Mathews) in 2005. Farris Bobango has offices in Memphis and Nashville.

Nevertheless, congratulation

Let the court know what you think

Court Requests Comments on IOLTA Petition, Mediators

IOLTA changes, comments due Feb. 20
The Tennessee Supreme Court released for comment in December a proposal to adopt changes to the Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program filed in late November by the Tennessee Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Association, Tennessee Association for Justice and Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services. The court has requested comments on the proposal through Feb. 20. The prop

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: Bruce Dwain Atherton, Louisville, Ky.; Robert Natole Farinacci, Concord, Ohio.

The following attorneys have complied with Section 20 of Supreme Court Rule 9, which requires the payment of annual registration fees, but remain suspended for noncompliance with continuing legal education requirements: Jewel Guy Boozer, Whitevill...
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Law Firm Diversity Programs Flourish

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC’s Diversity Scholarship Program awards scholarships annually to law school students who have completed their first year of law school. The first recipients are are Shazi Jiang of Vanderbilt School of Law and Staci Pierce of Cumberland School of Law. The firm awards each recipient a salaried second year summer associate position in one of the firm’s offices, and, after the completion of the summer associate

The Statute of Limitations for Conversion of Personal Property

A new client enters your law office to complain about conversion of personal property. After introductory pleasantries, you should ask “When?” The client may say, “Well, I found out on [a date more than three years ago].” Probably you will need to advise this soon-to-be-former client that the matter must be placed in the category of tough.

Does the discovery rule apply to conversion of personalty? Let’s start with the statute

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008: Who Isn’t Disabled?

While most of the nation wondered if and when the federal government would intervene in the crisis in financial markets, on Sept. 25, 2008, President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008,[1] which explicitly rejects a line of Supreme Court decisions which had, over the course of years, narrowly interpreted the reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The act, which became effective Jan. 1, represents a compromise between those repres

Claim of Privilege

By Barry Siegel | HarperCollins | $25.95 | 314 pages | 2008
Reviewed by Hon. Roger E. Thayer

In October 1948, a U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortress crashed near Waycross, Ga., shortly after taking off during daylight hours. Six members of the crew and three civilian engineers died. Three crew members survived the accident. The mission of the trip was to test certain secret navigational equipment. The widows of the three civilian engineers filed suit against the government seeking d
...
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Shakespeare: The World as Stage

By Bill Bryson | Harper Collins | $19.95 | 199 pages | 2007
Reviewed by Donald F. Paine

This is an excellent brief but comprehensive biography of our best dramatist. The unabridged audio version is read by Bryson in his acquired British accent (he was born in Iowa).

Shakespeare has his modern detractors. But he added more than 2,000 words and phrases to the English language. Who first wrote “cold comfort” and “foregone conclusion”? Guess.

Estate lawyers have po

Legal Rawhide: Time to Brand Them Dogie Lawyers!

Long before I dreamed of being a lawyer, I wanted to be a cowboy. I wanted to sit tall in the saddle like the Marlboro Man or Roy Rogers or Gene Autry. That’s because I grew up watching TV Westerns such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Wyatt Earp.

My all-time favorite TV Western was Rawhide. The show featured cattle drivers and starred Eric Fleming as trail boss Gil Favor and a young actor named Clint Eastwood as ramrod cattle driver Rowdy Yates. The co-s

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