Attorneys general from 10 additional states have joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s suit against Live Nation, arguing that the concert promoter and Ticketmaster illegally inflated concert ticket prices and hurt artists. The filing also added claims for triple damages on behalf of state residents. About two dozen states, including Tennessee, and a number of other plaintiffs allege that the companies monopolized markets across the live concert industry. In a statement issued today, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti welcomed the new states to the suit. “I am grateful for our ongoing partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division in this great bipartisan effort, coming on the heels of our historic win against Google’s search monopoly,” he said.

An investiture ceremony for David H. Veile will be held Aug. 30 at 3 p.m. CDT in the Justice Cornelia A. Clark Courtroom at the Williamson County Historic Courthouse, 305 Public Square, Franklin 37064. Veile will take office as a circuit court judge for the 21st Judicial District, which serves Williamson County. Veile, a Franklin trial attorney and former police officer, won the Republican primary for the seat in March. He ran unopposed in the general election earlier this month. Veile serves on the TBA Board Governors as a middle Tennessee governor. View the invitation.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has directed Florida lawyer Grace Ingrid Gardiner to respond within 30 days why discipline imposed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota should not also be imposed in Tennessee. On June 20, the Minnesota court imposed an indefinite suspension on Gardiner.

Kentucky lawyer Joy Jaye Minner was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Aug. 14. She had been on inactive status for more than five years, since May 21, 2010. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and the court approved the petition.

Georgia lawyer Timothy Minthorn Klob was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Aug. 14. He had been on inactive status for more than five years, since Sept. 12, 2012. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and the court approved the petition.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommended discipline for White County lawyer John Edward Hutson. The court stated that based on its review of the entire record, it had concerns that the proposed sanction was too lenient. “One of the mitigating circumstances listed in the protocol memorandum — absence of a dishonest or selfish motive — clearly does not apply to the facts that are admitted by the plea,” the court wrote in its order. Hutson agreed to a conditional guilty plea on April 18. The court rejected that plea and referred the matter back to the board for “further proceedings consistent with” the order.

Hamilton County lawyer Arthur C. Grisham has been reinstated to the practice of law. He had been temporarily suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 29 for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility about a misconduct complaint. The court noted that after Grisham provided a response, the board recommended reinstatement of his license.

Personal information of hundreds of former Shelby County District Attorney’s Office employees was inadvertently distributed via email this past Monday to current employees of the office. The Daily Memphian reports that an emailed spreadsheet contained the names, birthdays and full Social Security numbers of nearly 300 former employees dating back to December 2013. It also included whether the employee was terminated and the cause for termination. The email allegedly came from someone outside of the human relations office. District Attorney General Steve Mulroy said in a statement that the technology department acted quickly to address the issue by recalling the email, identifying those who opened it and retrieving the spreadsheet. The office also is reaching out to former employees to alert them of the incident.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended Shelby County lawyer Larry E. Fitzgerald from the practice of law for four years, with the first two years to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The court took the action based on 12 separate complaints filed by clients. It found that Fitzgerald failed to communicate reasonably with clients, diligently perform work necessary for representation, properly maintain client funds in an IOLTA trust account, keep accurate accounting of funds kept in trust, return unearned client fees, properly conclude representation of clients, and respond to requests for information from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Fitzgerald agreed to a conditional guilty plea acknowledging his conduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.15, 1.16 and 8.1(b).

Tune in Aug. 23 to catch ethics guru Brian Faughnan discuss what the ethics rules say about Artificial Intelligence (AI). The program, being offered as a webcast replay, will run from 1-4 p.m. CDT. Earn three dual credits and fulfill your ethics requirement before Dec. 31. Find out more and register.