Memphis lawyer and former TBA President Lucian Pera joins with six other veteran legal ethics professionals from across the country to call on the American Bar Association to launch a once-in-a-generation study and renewal of the nation's attorney discipline system. They say the mechanics, structure, reach and infrastructure of lawyer regulation need revamping for the 21st century. The group outlines its recommendations in this Bloomberg Law article. Pera is a partner at Adams and Reese. He served for five years on the ABA Ethics 2000 Commission, which rewrote the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. He also led the TBA committee that successfully proposed new legal ethics for the state based on the model rules.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division recently rolled out a new benefit for its members. The "Welcome to Tennessee Basket" —  a project led by YLD President Brittany Faith — offers a range of standard forms, helpful links, suggested reading and practice guides. The resource is available to all TBA members, but be sure to be logged into your TBA account to check it out. If you have a form you would like to share please upload it here. To recommend other resources, send details to YLD Coordinator Laura Labenberg. Thanks to Hendersonville lawyer John Murphy and Chattanooga lawyer Charlotte Mattingly for their work on this project.

The Tennessee Bar Association is reviewing candidates interested in coordinating the high-profile TBA Leadership Law Program (TBALL), as well as work with the TBA Communications Team. The Digital Media and Leadership Development Coordinator works with a committee to coordinate, plan and execute all TBALL programming and helps produce the TBA Today e-newsletter and other publications, coordinates TBA social media channels and produces TBA podcasts. See the full job description. To apply send cover letter, work samples and resume by email to Barry Kolar, interim executive director. The position will be vacant later this month when TBA staff member Kate Prince departs for a new opportunity in the Nashville office of international law firm K&L Gates.

Computer servers belonging to the Florida Supreme Court and several universities in the U.S. and Central Europe have been scrambled in a global ransomware outbreak, Reuters reports. Those organizations are among more than 3,800 victims of a fast-spreading digital extortion campaign that locked up thousands of servers in Europe over the weekend. Although this particular extortion campaign was not sophisticated, it drew warnings from national cyber watchdogs in part because of the speed of its spread. The extent of the disruption to the affected organizations, if any, was unclear.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is joining 23 state attorneys general in sending a letter to Yelp opposing the company’s practice of “discriminating against crisis pregnancy centers in online consumer notices.” According to the AG’s office, Yelp announced last year it would begin issuing notices to the profiles of crisis pregnancy centers informing customers that the centers “typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.” The coalition also took issue with Yelp recategorizing the services of crisis pregnancy centers as they “are in high demand.” Read the letter.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today disbarred Wilson County lawyer Jennifer M. Porth from the practice of law. Porth failed to file accountings for three different clients she was representing in conservatorships. Porth also represented three estates in probate matters and failed to file any accountings and failed to timely and diligently represent her clients. She misappropriated and converted funds from these estates to her own personal use, failed to abide by her clients’ wishes relative to various assets of the estates, failed to properly communicate with the clients, failed to obtain permission from the Court for attorney fees and failed to turn over client materials in a timely manner. Porth consented to disbarment because she could not successfully defend the alleged charges.

Six more Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers will be charged with violating department policies in the killing of Tyre Nichols, the Daily Memphian reports. MPD Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis told city council members today that the total of officers facing internal police charges now stands at 13. During a three-hour committee session today, Davis said the charges against the additional officers should be made formal this week with appeal hearings to come next week. The charges of violating MPD policies do not rule out, or guarantee, criminal charges against the officers.

The parents of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis man killed by police last month, will be in attendance during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address tonight in Washington, the Commercial Appeal reports. RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, Nichols’ mother and stepfather, have vowed to fight for police reform in the wake of their son’s death. In addition to discussing police brutality, NPR reports that Biden is expected to address expanding veteran benefits, investing in resources to aid in a national mental health crisis and working with international leaders to crush the opioid epidemic. You can watch the State of the Union tonight at 8 p.m. CDT.

Gov. Bill Lee proposed a $55.6 billion budget Monday night during his fifth State of the State address at the Tennessee Capitol, WPLN reports. Highlights from the budget include funding to help the in-crisis Department of Children’s Services and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, teacher raises, a promise to increase TennCare eligibility for postpartum coverage and pregnant patients and millions for state parks and recreation areas. The big-ticket item was a $3 billion proposal for state road projects. “I say with great pride that Tennessee is leading the nation,” said Lee in a nod to his speech’s theme. “The state of our beloved state is prosperous, hopeful and unrivaled.” Read more highlights from the Nashville Post.  

Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton yesterday announced his candidacy for another term in the role, the Commercial Appeal reports. “We need proven leadership,” Herenton said of the office. “This is not the time for on-the-job training." Herenton, 82, served as Memphis mayor from 1992 until 2009. He ran for an additional term in 2019, but ultimately conceded to Mayor Jim Strickland. Herenton joins 10 others in the race for mayor.