Having “everywhere access” to your documents requires Internet-connected storage. If you’re a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace customer, you already pay for terabytes of online storage. Use this comparison chart to find the right cloud storage vendor for your organization. Access this and more resources in the Opening a Firm section of TBA’s Law Practice Management Center.

Join colleagues tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. CDT for the second webcast in an attorney well-being series, presented by the TBA Women in the Profession Committee. This one-hour session will use research associated with increased alcohol and drug use; increased stress, anxiety and depression; and feelings of isolation to provide real world strategies to achieve wellness while facing daily professional challenges.

The Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday passed HB1930/SB2571, the "Parental Accountability Act," sponsored by Rep. John Gillespie, R-Memphis, and Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis.  The bill would allow judges to levy up to $1,000 in fines against parents or legal guardians of children who commit a second criminal offense. The Associated Press reports that the chamber voted 72-24 to send the bill to Gov. Bill Lee. It passed the Senate on March 18. Supporters argue the proposal is needed to hold families accountable for the child’s actions. However, opponents warned that the bill unfairly targets working parents who may have limited resources and burden them with fines that they may be unable to pay. 

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a challenge to the National Labor Relations Board’s reinstatement of seven terminated Memphis employees who were organizing a union at a Poplar Avenue Starbucks cafe. NPR has more about the case, which began in 2022 after Starbucks fired the employees, citing multiple violations of company policies. The workers maintain they were fired for trying to organize a union. Today's arguments were not about whether Starbucks illegally interfered with the union drive, but whether a lower court erred in ordering Starbucks to reinstate the baristas while their firings were being investigated. A ruling is expected by the end of June and could have far-reaching implications for labor organizing efforts across the country and across industries.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners is asking Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert to formulate a corrective action plan to remedy problems found in a review of her office in March by the Tennessee Comptroller’s office. The Daily Memphian reports that the resolution seeking the corrective action plan was approved by the commission on Monday on a 7-1-1 vote with several commissioners out of the room. Commissioner Mick Wright sponsored the resolution; he has called for Halbert's resignation several times. Commissioner Britney Thornton voted against the resolution, saying she felt that Halbert was being unfairly singled out.

Obion County attorney David Lynn Hamblen has received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Hamblen represented the mother of a child in a custody matter in which an order had been entered granting the mother supervised visitation. The parties and their counsels were discussing entering an agreed order giving the mother unsupervised visitation, but prior to any agreement on that issue, Hamblen’s client called him and said she was having a problem arranging for her visitation to be supervised on a particular day. Hamblen then instructed his client to go ahead with unsupervised visitation. Opposing counsel filed a motion for contempt, and Hamblen told opposing counsel that he had instructed his client not to comply with the existing court order, and that he knew no order had been entered relieving her of the supervised visitation. The court found that Hamblen violated Rules of Professional Conduct 3.4 and 8.4(d).

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal involving a Pennsylvania state rule of professional conduct that prohibits lawyers from knowingly or intentionally engaging "in conduct constituting harassment or discrimination" based on race, sex, religion and other grounds. According to Reuters, the attorney challenging the rule argued that he risked violating it due to presentations he gives about offensive and derogatory language. In August, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the attorney lacked standing to sue because he had not shown that the rule threatened his constitutional free speech rights because it did not prohibit anything he planned to do. 

Judge Katherine Crytzer has postponed former federal prosecutor Kateri “Kat” Dahl’s wrongful termination lawsuit against Johnson City from mid-May to late October so she can have more time to rule on a dismissal motion. WJHL reports that Dahl's suit claims Johnson City violated the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA) by allegedly firing Dahl in retaliation for insisting the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) investigate sexual assault allegations against Sean Williams. The suit also names former Johnson City Police Chief Karl Turner as a separate defendant. Both sides filed summary judgement motions in January. Judge Crytzer noted that since then, the two sides have filed several additional motions that took time for her to work through.

HB1202/SB1325, legislation sponsored by Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, and Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, that would permit public school teachers in Tennessee to carry concealed handguns on campus if they meet certain requirements, passed the House 68-28-2. It previously passed the Senate by a vote of 26-5-1 on April 9. It now heads to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature. WKRN reports that Democrats brought more than a dozen amendments to try to mitigate the circumstances of the bill. All failed on party lines.

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has released a new episode of the Court Talk podcast, recorded at the 2024 Conference of Chief Justices in Nashville. Justice Sarah Campbell interviews Chief Justice Mary R. Russell of Missouri, Chief Justice Elissa Cadish of Nevada, Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement of Michigan and Chief Justice Ann Timmer of Arizona about how new technologies have been implemented in their respective states. Technology is changing at a rapid pace, and judicial systems here in Tennessee and around the U.S. are finding innovative ways to keep up, from positive uses of AI, to civic education, to improved access to justice, data access and more.