Williamson County Circuit and Chancery Courts are seeking attorneys for appointment to represent indigent clients. Attorneys are not required to be in court at the time of appointment. To sign up for appointments, please send your name, address, cell phone, email and area of interest (criminal defense, termination of parental rights, criminal contempt, etc.) to Stacy Green at stacy.green@tncourts.gov.

Five Tennessee trial court judges recently completed an intensive two-week general jurisdiction course at the National Judicial College. Circuit court judges Brent Bradberry of Carroll County, Damita Dandridge of Shelby County and Mark Hayes of Dyer and Lake counties, and criminal court judges Cynthia Chappell of Davidson County and Ryan Spitzer of Anderson County took the immersive course, which aims to provide judges with a solid foundation on courtroom leadership, judicial ethics, evidence, case management, judicial security and decision-making. Graduates can earn credit hours toward a Master of Judicial Studies degree. According to a press release, the Tennessee judges all agreed that the experience was worthy and will benefit the administration of justice in their respective judicial districts. Read more in the release and see a picture of the group.

A recent report from the ABA Journal captures the work lawyers, bar associations and legal aid groups are doing to serve communities hit by Hurricane Helene. From efforts in Augusta, Georgia, to Asheville and other parts of western North Carolina, lawyers have stepped in to provide both physical and legal assistance to storm survivors. The article also looks at how the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Disaster Legal Services program operates in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That program is now coordinating delivery of free legal services in at least six states according to the Journal. Tennessee lawyers interested in helping should complete this online form. The TBA Disaster Resources page offers general information for those impacted by disasters, as well as those seeking to provide assistance. The TBA's Helene Disaster Response page has information and resources specific to this disaster.

The Memphis Police Department (MPD) recently launched a new fugitive task force and hired a new investigative counsel to tackle thousands of outstanding warrants in county. The Daily Memphian reports that the task force operates under MPD’s Organized Crime Unit with 29 officers assigned to it. Forrest Edwards also has been hired to serve as the task force’s new investigative counsel. Edwards, a former prosecutor in the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, will serve as a liaison between the department and the prosecutor’s office, helping prosecutors build cases. MPD says there are about 24,000 outstanding warrants in the county and that the task force has made 280 arrests since its formation last month.

Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster failed to persuade a U.S. appeals court to block a proposed class action accusing them of charging artificially high ticket prices, Reuter reports. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week upheld a lower court’s ruling that Live Nation could not force ticket buyers to arbitrate their claims through a new arbitration body called New Era ADR. The court said the arbitration rules — which it called “so dense, convoluted and internally contradictory to be borderline unintelligible” — were unfair to consumers and “overtly” beneficial to the company. Live Nation defended New Era, calling its rules "sensible, fair and similar" to those at other platforms. In a separate case, the U.S. Justice Department and a group of states, including Tennessee, asked a U.S. judge in May to break up Live Nation for allegedly violating antitrust law by controlling ticket sales and pricing.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals recently considered two cases: government-proposed net neutrality rules and alleged unfair labor practices by Starbucks. In the first case, a panel of three judges heard oral arguments about whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had the authority to issue rules prohibiting internet service providers from blocking or slowing traffic from competitors or giving preferential treatment to certain customers. While industry groups argued that the “major questions doctrine” should limit the agency’s power, the government argued that the doctrine was properly applied. In the second case, the court heard from Starbucks Corp., which argued that the National Labor Relations Board erred when it ordered the company to pay “all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms” stemming from it found to be the illegal firing of an employee. Bloomberg Law reports on both hearings.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) will hold its annual Fall Memorial Service on Nov. 22 at 3 p.m. EST at the Tennessee Supreme Court Courtroom, 505 Main St., 2nd Floor, Knoxville 37902. The KBA notes that the event is intended to celebrate the careers of and honor, applaud and express gratitude for members who have died in the last year. Due to the number of losses this year, some recently deceased members will be honored at a ceremony in the spring. See the list of those to be honored in November and register to attend on the group's website.

A lawsuit against the National Museum of African American Music brought by former CEO Henry Hicks III — who departed the role in August 2023 — was dismissed last week after the parties reached a settlement out of court. Hicks’ suit, filed in August, alleged that the museum owed him $293,654 of $350,000 promised as part of a separation agreement. The agreement allegedly included assurances that Hicks would drop certain unspecified claims he had against the museum in exchange for the pay out. The Nashville Business Journal reports on the deal.

The Nashville Metro Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee held its final special meeting on domestic violence policy this week. Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk and Assistant District Attorney Christina Johnson, who leads that office’s domestic violence team, spoke, recommending several changes they said would improve Nashville’s response. Among their suggestions was sending a domestic violence professional or survivor advocate on calls with police, hiring someone specifically to work on gun dispossession, and changing state law to remove assaults between roommates from the domestic violence statute. Johnson said those cases do not include the sort of intimate partner violence the law was meant to address. Read more in the Nashville Banner’s newsletter.

Stuart Teicher, the CLE Performer, is back with three new sessions. Join him on Nov. 7 for one, two or all three of these webcasts! From 9-10 a.m., Teicher will look at a host of grammar and punctuation rules that don’t make sense and are in some cases are not even rules in "Legal Writing Rules You SHOULD Be Breaking." From 10:15-11:15 a.m., Teicher will connect the cast of "Friends" to a number of ethics rules in "Friends ... An Ethical Sitcom?" To wrap up the series, Teicher will look at the worst criminals in history and the ethics lessons they teach us. "From Bonnie and Clyde to Bernie Madoff: What the Biggest Thieves in History Teach About Attorney Ethics" will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. All times in central time zone.