The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected a Board of Professional Responsibility petition for immediate suspension of Hawkins County lawyer Daniel Graham Boyd. The court took the action after a trial court granted Boyd judicial diversion. The court also directed the board to “evaluate the facts and circumstances” of the case and proceed as appropriate.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently granted a request from Knox County lawyer Mark Steven Graham for a hearing to reconsider a temporary suspension imposed on May 20 for failure to comply with a Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) monitoring agreement. The court had rejected a similar request in May, but said Graham had since “alleged sufficient facts to establish good cause” for a hearing. The court cited his willingness to execute and comply with a monitoring agreement. It directed the Board of Professional Responsibility to hold a hearing and its recommendation with the “utmost speed consistent with due process.”

At the 2024 Lawyers Luncheon, outgoing TBA President Jim Barry presented a number of awards. Memphis lawyer Miles Mason Sr. received the Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing for his article on establishing paternity for unmarried parents in the November/December 2024 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal. Cookeville attorney Laura Dykes received the Fifth Annual Claudia Jack Award for her work as a public defender in Davidson County and in the 13th Judicial District in Cookeville. Nashville Public Radio reporter Meribah Knight received the Fourth Estate Award to for her four-part podcast "The Kids of Rutherford County," which spotlighted the inhumane treatment of juveniles in Rutherford County. In addition, new TBA Vice President Charlotte Knight Griffin presented Memphis attorney and former TBA President Bill Haltom with the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows.

Barry presented his President’s Awards to Ann Pruitt and Linda Seely, for their work as Access to Justice Committee co-chairs; to Kendra Mansur, Laura Brown and Rachel Moses for their work on new TBA initiatives to address safe and stable housing; and to former Assistant Executive Director Barry Kolar for his 23 years of service to TBA, serving twice as interim executive director. See photos from the event.

Nashville lawyer Ed Lanquist Jr. was sworn in today as the 144th president of the Tennessee Bar Association. The oath of office was administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby during the TBA’s Annual Lawyers Lunch. Lanquist is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz and has practiced intellectual property law for more than 30 years. During remarks following the swearing in, Lanquist pledged a renewed emphasis on serving members of the association during the coming bar year and an increased focus on educating lawyers about legislative issues important to the legal profession — including elimination of the professional privilege tax and increased funding for indigent representation. He also announced two exciting CLE programs: an Urban Bourbon trip to Louisville, Kentucky, and a return to Cuba in February 2025. Registration for that program is now open. Watch his remarks, as well as the full footage of the Lawyers Lunch, on the TBA's Facebook page. See photos from the lunch.

Save the date for the annual Animal Law Forum on Oct. 4! This unique opportunity will provide updates on trends and advancements in animal law while allowing participants to network and enjoy the fun and activities the Nashville Zoo offers. Zoo admission, breakfast and lunch are included with the program. Don't miss this event; you never know who is going to show up!

The Tennessee Supreme Court has imposed a three-year suspension on Knoxville attorney Loring Justice. The decision affirmed the recommendation of a hearing panel and overturned a chancery court decision, which had imposed permanent disbarment. The court found that Justice filed various motions, which contained insulting and inflammatory statements about the judge presiding over a child custody dispute involving his minor child and the child’s mother. Justice previously was disbarred in 2019, under previous rules that did not make that discipline permanent. Read more in a release from the court.

The Tennessee sheriff who was indicted and arrested on more than a dozen official misconduct charges in Gibson County is now facing charges in Davidson County, Action News 5 reports. Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas yesterday was indicted on 18 criminal counts and booked into Nashville’s detention center. The actions were taken in both counties after an investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office identified a scheme by Thomas to “enrich himself and a group of investigators by profiting from the labor and care of Gibson County and Tennessee Department of Correction inmates.”

The Nashville office of the national law firm Morgan & Morgan is slated to move from its Broadway office to mixed-use tower One Nashville by year's end. A permit notes that the law firm will take approximately 19,500 square feet of space on both the first and third floors of the building, previously called One Nashville Place, at 150 Fourth Ave. N. The firm currently operates from about 20,000 square feet at the 810 Broadway building near the I-40 interchange, Nashville Post reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision today that a group of anti-abortion doctors did not have standing to challenge new rules related to mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used in medication abortion. The decision overturns a ruling by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which had made it more difficult to obtain the drug. The opinion did not address any underlying regulatory or safety issues raised by the group, only finding that the doctors did not show they had personally been harmed by the government’s rules. In related news, Reuters reports that another case from three Republican-led states is still working its way through the appeals process and if taken up by the court could test the legitimacy of the rule.

In another decision released today, the court overturned a lower court’s ruling ordering Starbucks to reinstate seven Memphis-based employees terminated amid a unionization drive. The justices rejected a “more lenient test” used by the lower court to determine the employees had to be reinstated. Instead, it directed courts to use a more stringent, four-factor test applied in other contexts. Read more about both decisions from The Hill.

Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey wants to withdraw his guilty plea in a federal fraud case, and made the case for being allowed to do so before a panel of judges on the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Kelsey previously received a 21-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations. During the hearing, the judges noted that Kelsey could face more prison time if found guilty again. They also heard arguments from Kelsey’s lawyers that the prosecutor’s response to a question from the trial judge “blew up” the plea agreement. Prosecutors argued they provided a “proportionate” response to a question about whether a sentencing enhancement was appropriate in the case. A federal district court judge previously ruled that Kelsey could not change his plea. Tennessee Journal reports on the hearing.