Nashville lawyer Richard Warren Sebastian died on Feb. 9 at the age of 59. Sebastian served as the managing partner of the Ortale Kelley Law Firm and focused his practice in the areas of real estate law, commercial transactions and corporate law. Sebastian attended Battle Ground Academy, Middle Tennessee State University, and the Nashville School of Law, graduating in 1992. Services will be held at St. Henry Catholic Church, 6401 Harding Pk., Nashville 37205, on Thursday. Visitation will be from 9-10 a.m. CST followed by a mass and burial at Harpeth Hills Memory Garden, 9090 Hwy. 100, Nashville 37221.

Knoxville lawyer Gaither Wilson Horde Jr. died Friday at 97. Horde grew up in Nashville and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, participating in landings at Saipan and Iwo Jima. Following military service, he attended Peabody College and Vanderbilt Law School, receiving his law degree in 1951. Horde began practicing law in Knoxville with Stone, Bozeman, & Horde before serving as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He later served as general counsel for Union Carbide Nuclear Division and Lockheed Martin Energy Systems for 33 years. He returned to private practice, joining the law firm of Kramer Rayson, where he retired at the age of 90. From 2011 to 2015, he served on the TBA's House of Delegates. The family will gather at Edgewood Cemetery for a private graveside service on Feb 16. Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army of Knoxville, P.O. Box 669, Knoxville, TN 37901-0669.

Attorney volunteers are needed for an Essential Documents for Essential Workers clinic at Belmont University’s Ministry Center on Feb. 24 from noon to 3:30 p.m. CST. At the clinic, attorney and law student volunteers will draft simple wills and powers of attorney for low income clients. Forms will be provided and no prior estate planning experience needed. To sign up to volunteer and for more information, please contact Ginny Blake at Ginny.Blake@belmont.edu.

A federal judge preliminarily has approved more than $104 million in settlements between major U.S. universities and a proposed class of students, who accused the schools of favoring wealthy applicants for admission, reports Reuters. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago said the students’ previously disclosed agreements with Brown, Columbia, Yale and other schools were reasonable and could move forward. The students’ case is continuing against 10 other schools. The lawsuit, brought in 2022, seeks billions of dollars in damages on behalf of a proposed class of hundreds of thousands of current and former students who accuse the schools of unlawfully considering applicants' financial backgrounds in admission decisions.

A sheriff in Washington County intends to use the department's share of settlement funds from recent opioid lawsuits to address recidivism through social services, the Johnson City Press reports. Sheriff Keith Sexton told the county’s Health, Education and Welfare Committee earlier this month his department intends to provide treatment to inmates dealing with mental health and substance abuse problems following incarceration. “The jails have become the dumping ground for those who are mentally ill, and I would say 90% of the people are addicted to something over in the Detention Center,” Sexton said. “People would come to the jail, and that’s the only time you’re going to see that person when they’re clean and sober.” Tennessee has set up an opioid abatement council to decide how to best spend dollars received from lawsuits related to the opioid crisis. Washington County is set to receive $530,000 in the first round of payments. Shelby County topped the list and is set to receive about $3.6 million in funding.

Kevin G. Ritz, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, recently issued a video message in honor of Black History Month saying this “is a time to reflect on the people who have taken a stand for civil rights in our nation." One of those people, he continues, is “Ida B. Wells … the daughter of formerly enslaved parents, [who] became a leader for racial justice and gender equality here in Memphis. Her contributions help to shape the work my team and I do every day. Please join me in celebrating Black History Month and the countless achievements of Black Americans.”

Join us March 27 at 10:15 a.m. CDT for a one-hour webcast featuring the CLE Performer Stuart Teicher, who will make comparisons between air travel and lawyering. There are ways to behave on an airplane, and there are ways not to behave on an airplane, and it’s the same in the practice of law! Learn more about what airplane etiquette can teach us about attorney ethics in this unique course with topics such as the airport and the tribunal (they are both sacred spaces), treating flight attendants with respect, and what to do when your seat mate is a pig. Get details and register here.

The Thomson Reuters Law Firm Financial Index reports that law firms ended 2023 on strong financial footing after a sluggish start. According to Reuters, the index tracks key financial metrics across 173 large and midsize law firms. Fueled largely by rate growth and increased demand for countercyclical work, profits rose year-over-year among both large and midsize law firms in the fourth quarter. Profits-per-equity partner jumped 6% among Am Law 100 firms, 2.5% among Am Law 200 firms and 0.3% for midsize firms. Overall, law firm demand was up nearly 2% year-over-year, but varies significantly by practice area. Lawyer productivity, however, continued its recent slide, with lawyers billing an average 115 hours per month in the fourth quarter of 2023. That is the lowest figure since at least 2005, according to the index.

Jackson attorney Angela Joy Hopson was permanently disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Feb. 9 and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $35,234 to eight individuals as well as the costs of the disciplinary proceeding. The court took the action after Hopson was found to have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for misappropriating client money, failing to appear, misleading clients, failing to notify clients of the status of cases, failing to communicate with clients, failing to prosecute cases diligently, charging an unreasonable fee, failing to refund unearned fees, engaging in the unauthorized practice of law while suspended, and failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility. Hopson previously had been temporarily suspended for failing to respond to the board regarding an unrelated complaint. The court dissolved that suspension.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue has released its FY 2023 Annual Report & Informal Conference Summaries. The department's Administrative Hearing Office conducts informal conferences with taxpayers to resolve disputes about tax assessments. The annual reports provide a high-level overview of selected topics of interest and summaries of related informal conference decisions.