Dyersburg lawyer Charles “Bubba” Maurice Agee Jr., age 76, died March 25 at his home at Clover Creek Ranch in Hornbeak. A graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Agee launched his legal practice in 1976 in Dyersburg and spent his career in the courtroom as a plaintiff’s lawyer. He also held several elected offices, including alderman at large and city judge for the city of Dyersburg. A memorial service will be held April 12 at 4 p.m. CDT at Dyersburg Funeral Home, 420 US-51, Dyersburg 38024. The family will receive friends from 2-4 p.m. Memorial donations may be directed to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Protect Democracy or National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The next legal clinic for veterans in Knoxville will take place April 9 from 12-2 p.m. EST at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919. This is a general advice clinic sponsored by the Knoxville Bar Association, KBA Barristers, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, the University of Tennessee College of Law, the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office and the local Veterans Affairs office. Attorneys and law students are needed. Sign up to volunteer here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on March 26 directed the Board of Board of Professional Responsibility to respond to a filing by California lawyer Dale Gerard Nowicki that discipline imposed against him by the California Supreme Court should not be imposed in Tennessee. The court directed Nowicki to explain why reciprocal discipline should not imposed. He responded on March 10, arguing that identical discipline should not be imposed in Tennessee. The court directed the BPR to file its response by April 23.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court are accepting nominations for the 2025 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award. The annual award is presented to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the highest standards of the legal profession in Tennessee. This year's award will be presented to a lawyer or judge residing in the Middle Grand Division. Nominees must be alive when nominations are submitted but they need not be an active member of an American Inn of Court or the TBA. The award will be presented at the TBA's Annual Convention, which will be held in Franklin June 11-14. The deadline for submitting nominations is April 7. Read about past recipients of the award.

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Make plans now to join colleagues from across the state at the TBA’s 2025 Annual Convention, set for June 11-14, in the Nashville suburb of Franklin. The Franklin Marriott Cool Springs will serve as the host hotel. Perennial favorites such as the Bench Bar program and lunch, Lawyers Lunch, and joint event with the Tennessee Judicial Conference return to the agenda. For the second year, the Public Service Breakfast will take place during the convention to honor legal aid, private practice and law student pro bono work. CLE programming will include sessions on famous Tennessee trials, the role lawyers played in the Gov. Ray Blanton pardon scandal, an indigent defense and legislative update, AI, wellness, and the future of DEI. For the first time, the TBA also will present a session on the future of legal tech with vendor panelists. Again this year, the Tennessee Lawyers' Association for Women (TLAW) and Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers (TABL) will hold meetings and events in conjunction with the convention. Don’t miss this annual gathering of Tennessee lawyers! Access registration, hotel reservation information and more on the event website.

Utah is scaling back a four-year-old program that loosened rules for delivering legal services in the state, leading to the exit or elimination of nearly 30 businesses and law firms, according to Reuters. The move comes as reforms to law firm ownership rules in Arizona have sparked an influx of legal businesses there.

A federal judge has approved a settlement between Tennessee and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) over a lawsuit that sought to overturn name, image and likeness (NIL) recruiting rules, WBIR reports. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti had announced the deal on March 17. According to Skrmetti, student-athletes now will be able to negotiate NIL compensation before committing to a specific school. Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, along with the Florida, District of Columbia and New York attorneys general, filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA in January 2024, alleging that the NIL recruiting ban created anticompetitive restrictions that violate federal antitrust law and harm current and future student-athletes.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and 17 other state attorneys general announced today they have concluded their investigation into Wells Fargo & Company following the company's decision to abandon certain environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. The coalition has been investigating whether Wells Fargo and five other American banks — Bank of America Corporation, Citigroup Inc., The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley — violated antitrust or consumer protection laws by implementing net-zero emissions policies and restricting financing. In a release, Skrmetti said, “I commend Wells Fargo’s pro-consumer decision to step away from utopian policymaking, and I look forward to the rest of America’s major financial institutions following its lead.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that Tennessee law does not prohibit a private employer from firing an employee for exercising the right to petition the government. In 2021, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee directed all employees to receive the COVID vaccine. One employee, Heather Smith, chose not to receive the vaccine. When Smith wrote to members of the state legislature to express her concern with the mandate, the company warned that the communication violated policy. When she sent a second email, the company terminated her. Smith then filed suit alleging that the company violated her right to petition the government under the Tennessee Constitution. The trial court dismissed the suit, but the Court of Appeals reversed. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that the state constitution’s protection of the right is enforceable only against the government, not private actors. Justice Sarah Campbell concurred but wrote a separate opinion. Read more in a press release or read the opinions.