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| Monday, October 26, 2009 |
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Court adopts MJP rules package
A comprehensive set of rules dealing with multijurisdictional practice (MJP) was adopted by the Tennessee Supreme Court on
Friday. Download the orders here and here. The rules set up a new regulatory framework for in-house counsel and other lawyers who
may work in Tennessee without being admitted. Effective
Jan. 1, in-house corporate counsel are required to register, submit to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the court and pay all of the same fees as regularly licensed lawyers. Lawyers who have registered under the new rules can only practice for their corporate client and may not appear in court or hold themselves out as licensed attorneys. In addition, the package sets up a framework for lawyers who might have some
temporary presence in a state making them subject to discipline and setting out parameters for their practice.
The court also adopted new Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 47, the so-called "Katrina Rule,"
which establishes a framework for lawyers from other jurisdictions to temporally practice and do pro bono in Tennessee if the court declares a
major disaster.
In adopting these rules, the court said that the TBA had "taken a leadership role" and has rendered "invaluable service" to the court,
Tennessee's judicial system and to the public. The TBA has already scheduled a one-hour web cast CLE program on the MJP rules for Nov. 12.
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TODAY'S OPINIONS
Click on the category of your choice to view summaries of today’s opinions from that court, or other body. A link at the end of each case summary will let you download the full opinion in PDF format. To search all opinions in the TBALink database or to obtain a text version of each opinion, go to our OpinionSearch page. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password, you can look it up on TBALink at the TBA's Membership Central.
01 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
01 - TN Court of Appeals
00 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
00 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
You can obtain full-text versions of the opinions two ways. We recommend that you download the Opinions to your computer and then
open them from there. 1) Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This should give you the option to
download the original document. If not, you may need to right-click on the URL to get the option to save the file
to your computer. 2) Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view
and save a plain-text version of the opinion.
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SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS Grants & Denials List
Court: TSC
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2009/certlist_102609.pdf
CAROL D. SHELTON ET AL. v. RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TENNESSEE
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
C. Dewees Berry and Charles David Killion, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant Rutherford County, Tennessee.
M. Taylor Harris, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Carol D. Shelton; Ben A. Shelton, III;
William Albert Shelton; Jennifer R. Shelton; Mimi P. Shelton; Ben A. Shelton, III, Steve Shelton, and William Albert Shelton as Co-Trustees of the Blackman Road Properties Charitable Remainder Trust; William Albert Shelton as custodian for William Albert Shelton, Jr. and as custodian for Thomas Reynolds Shelton; Ben A. Shelton, III as custodian for Paul Andrew Shelton, for Kayli Virginia Shelton and for Amy Elizabeth Shelton; Blackman Road Properties LLC; and Carol D. Shelton as Trustee of the Ben A. Shelton Revocable Trust.
Judge: BENNETT
The Rutherford County Board of Commissioners denied a rezoning application to allow the development of an amusement park. The property owners filed a petition for certiorari challenging the denial of the application and the validity of a section of the county zoning resolution pursuant
to which the county commission required a two-thirds vote for passage of the application. The chancery court vacated the county commission's decision and remanded the matter for further consideration. We have determined that the provision of the county zoning resolution requiring a
two-thirds vote is invalid and that the zoning application should be granted since it received a majority vote.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2009/sheltonc_102609.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Celebrate Pro Bono
Court of the Judiciary
Legal News
Passages
Disciplinary Actions
TBA Member Services
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| Celebrate Pro Bono |
| Events across state offer assistance, celebrate good work |
Lawyers across Tennessee joined in activities to Celebrate Pro Bono Month today with events in both Chattanooga and Memphis that recognized the 25th Anniversary of the launch of IOLTA (Interest On Lawyers' Trust Accounts). About 30 people, including city and county mayors, attended a noon reception at the Courts Building in Chattanooga that also featured the reading of a proclamation declaring it Pro Bono Week in the city. In Memphis, the IOLTA reception kicked off at 5 p.m. following an Attorney of the Day Clinic, a lunch and learn program and a "Wills for Heroes" event in Germantown.
On Saturday, the TBA's Young Lawyers Division hosted a Wills for Heroes clinic in Franklin and 35 lawyers turned out to prepare free
wills, powers of attorney and advance directives for area police,
firefighters and emergency personnel. The clinic
served 78 first responders and their families. The event was organized by YLD Wills for Heroes Committee chair and Lebanon lawyer David Veile, and Franklin lawyer Joy
Day. If you are interested in having a Wills for Heroes event in
your area please contact Veile. |
See photos from the Wills for Heroes event in Franklin
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| Court of the Judiciary |
| Judges Bell and Dumas face charges |
| The Tennessee Court of the Judiciary has recently filed formal charges against two judges -- Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell and Nashville and Davidson County General Sessions Judge Gloria Dumas. |
Learn more from the Administrative Office of the Courts
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| Legal News |
| Details for uniform IOLTA sent to lawyers |
Tennessee lawyers this week began receiving letters from the Tennessee Bar Foundation explaining changes to the Interest On Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program, which require all idle client and third-party funds to be deposited in interest-bearing accounts by Jan. 1, 2010. For more information, download frequently asked questions and the form you will need to take to your financial institution to enroll your account in the IOLTA program.
On Friday, Oct. 30, at 12:30 p.m. CDT, the TBA will present a free CLE on the new IOLTA rules. It will be presented as both an onsite program in Nashville and as a live web cast. Register for the onsite program in Nashville
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Register for the live web cast
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| Nashville firm trains newer attorneys for trial work |
| In an effort to cut costs, Nashville's Bass Berry & Sims is now training less-experienced attorneys to take on trial work for cheap. Part of the training includes videotape critique. Watch
attorney Brian Iverson's direct examination during associate litigation training on YouTube.
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WPLN reports
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| Wharton, Avery sworn-in in Memphis |
| A C Wharton was sworn in as mayor of Memphis just after noon today with retired Circuit Court Judge George Brown administering the oath of office.
Wharton resigned his job as Shelby County mayor at 9 a.m., clearing the way for him to cross the government plaza downtown to take the oath of office as city mayor.
U.S. attorney David Kustoff administered the county oath of office just after 10:30 a.m. to County Commission chairwoman Joyce Avery, who will take the role of acting county mayor for up to 45 days. |
The Commercial Appeal covered the events
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| Passages |
| Memphis 'Pillar of Excellence' Lee Winchester dies, visitation today |
| R. Lee Winchester, partner of the Winchester Law Firm, died Oct. 24. He was 85. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee.
He served as president of the Memphis Bar Association from 1965-66 and was a Charter Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. He was honored as a
"Pillar of Excellence" in 2007 by the Cecil C. Humphrey School of Law.
Visitation will be at Memorial Park Funeral Home on Poplar Avenue today from 5-8 p.m. Services will be 11 a.m. on Tuesday at St. George's Episcopal Church. The family asks that memorials be sent to the Emmanuel Center, St. George's Episcopal, of the charity of the donor's choice.
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Read the obituary in the Commercial Appeal
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| Disciplinary Actions |
| Two attorneys reinstated |
| Cordova attorney Michael Edward Latimore and Mississippi lawyer John B. Hyneman have been reinstated to the practice
of law. Each had been suspended in August 2008 for failure to comply with CLE
requirements.
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| Williamson County lawyer censured |
| On Oct. 23, Williamson County lawyer Trey Cain received a public
censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Cain formed an LLC with two non-lawyers to handle loan
modifications for clients who were in danger of defaulting on real estate loans. Some services were
promoted as having attorney involvement, but Cain failed to take
reasonable measures to assure that persons obtaining the "law-related services" knew that the services were not
legal services and that the protections of the client-lawyer relationship did not exist. |
Read the BPR release
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| TBA Member Services |
| Get Connected: Sign up for TBA Connect today |
| Join your colleagues on the TBA's new Social Networking platform for members called TBA Connect. This service provides many of the same features of mainstream sites such as Linked In or Facebook, but access is limited to members of the Tennessee Bar Association and approved guests. |
Join TBA Connect now
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Discontinue your TBA Today subscription? ... Surely not!
But if you must, visit the TBALink web site at:
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Questions, comments: Email us at TBAToday@tnbar.org
About this publication: Today's News is a compilation of digests of news reports of interest to Tennessee lawyers compiled by TBA staff, links to digested press releases, and occasional stories about the TBA and other activities written by the TBA staff or members. Statements or opinions herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Tennessee Bar Association, its officers, board or staff.
© Copyright 2009 Tennessee Bar Association
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