The only countywide race on the Shelby County Aug. 1 ballot will one between Lisa Arnold and Tami Sawyer, who are seeking to be the next General Sessions Court clerk. Early voting in the race will begin July 12. Arnold, who is running as a Republican, is making her first bid for public office. She has been a bail bondsman and bounty hunter for Liberty Bail Bonding since retiring as a supervisor in the clerk’s office in 2014. Democratic nominee Tami Sawyer is a former Shelby County Commissioner who, before being elected to the commission in 2018, ran unsuccessfully for the state House. She also finished third in the 2019 Memphis mayor’s race. Read more about their races in the Daily Memphian or their responses to questions from the paper.

The Tennessee Supreme Court, in an order issued yesterday, directed the Board of Professional Responsibility to respond to a filing from Hamilton County lawyer Shaheen Iltaf Imami that reciprocal discipline should not be imposed, after the state of Michigan imposed a public reprimand with conditions on April 24. On June 7, Imami filed a response with the court relying on Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 25.4 to argue that identical discipline should not be imposed in Tennessee. The board is directed to file its response to that argument no later than Aug. 1.

Civil rights activists have decided not to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court's ruling that would sharply curtail lawsuits in parts of the country seeking to enforce a landmark voting rights law's protections against racial discrimination. The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas State Conference NAACP had faced a Friday deadline to ask the justices to hear an appeal of a lower-court's decision holding that only the government and not private plaintiffs can pursue cases enforcing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The groups — which are challenging a redistricting plan for the Arkansas State House of Representatives — said they instead will use “an alternative mechanism” to pursue their goals, namely an 1871 law enacted in the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. Reuters has more about the decision.

KMW Legal and Swan Law have merged to form Keller Swan Injury Attorneys. The Florida-based firm, with offices in Memphis and Nashville, provides personal injury, property damage, personal injury protection, worker's compensation, wrongful death and criminal defense representation. Other offices are located in Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia and Mississippi. The new firm is headed by managing partners Christopher Keller, founder of KMW Legal, and Blake Swan, founder of Swan Law. Read more about the merger from Business Wire.

Davidson County General Sessions Judge Rachel L. Bell recently was recognized by three organizations for her leadership. Over the summer, Bell completed a three-week program at the Harvard Kennedy School for Executive Education for Senior Executives in State & Local Government. In addition, the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute named her its 2024 David Bohnett Leaders Fellow. And the National Bar Association’s (NBA) LGBTQ+ Division has named her one of two recipients of the group’s first-ever Judge Deborah A. Batts Vanguard Award. The award, which recognizes contributions to the LGBTQ+ community, will be presented at the NBA’s National Convention and Awards Gala. Read more about these honors.

Memphis lawyer William “Lytle” Nichol IV died June 24 at the age of 87 years. A native of Memphis, Nichol attended the University of Virginia and completed his undergraduate degree in three years. He then completed his first year of law school there before serving three years in the U.S. Navy as a communications officer. After graduating from law school in 1964, Nichol joined the Memphis law firm of Evans, Petree, Cobb and Edwards, now known as Evans Petree. He practiced in the areas of corporate law, estate planning and probate. His nephew Richard E.M. Nichol Jr. and son William L. Nichol V later joined him at the firm. A memorial service will be held July 11 at 11 a.m. CDT at St. John's Episcopal Church, 3245 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38111. Memorial donations may be made to the church.

Knox County lawyer Gary Lee Anderson has been suspended from the practice of law for five years, followed by a period of indefinite suspension until $1,370 in restitution is paid to a former client. The court also directed Anderson to meet all CLE requirements, pay all costs incurred in the disciplinary matter within 90 days, and remit all outstanding registration fees and professional privilege taxes. The court took the action after finding that Anderson failed to communicate with clients, act in a diligent manner, expedite clients’ litigation, obtain informed consent from a client, respond to requests for information from disciplinary counsel, delineate and/or specify limits on the scope of representation, and take reasonable steps to protect clients’ interest after terminating representation. He also was found to have charged an unreasonable fee and a non-refundable fee without the client’s written agreement, and accepted client referrals from a non-registered intermediary organization. These actions violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 8.1(b) and 8.4 (a), (c), and (d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court has amended Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13, sections 2 and 3, to reflect a $10 increase in the hourly reimbursement rate for indigent representation, along with a proportionate increase in the caps on the total amount a court-appointed attorney may earn per case. The changes are effective as of July 1 and are based on the Tennessee General Assembly’s recent approval of an additional $8.6 million in recurring funding for the indigent representation program, increasing the hourly rate to $60. Read the new language. 

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) had requested $26.145 million from the state legislature, which would have raised the hourly rate to $80. The TBA supported that request and remains committed to working with stakeholders to secure additional resources to fairly compensate lawyers who do this important work. To learn more about this issue and advocacy efforts on behalf of Tennessee lawyers, read the TBA's statement about the funding or visit the TBA’s Indigent Representation Resources webpage.

A petition to remove Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office was dismissed on June 18, but the effort to oust her has been revived, the Daily Memphian reports. According to the paper, the Shelby County Attorney’s Office has hired outside counsel — Robert Meyers of Glanker Brown — to continue the ouster proceedings. The previous effort, spearheaded by Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp, was unsuccessful after a court ruled that Wamp did not have legal standing to sue. Shelby County Attorney Marlinee Iverson cannot bring the case because she has recused herself from the matter. Meyers has been involved in county matters in the past, serving as former chair of the Shelby County Election Commission and producing a legal opinion on the city charter’s residency requirement for mayoral candidates.

Nashville Conflict Resolution Center CEO Shannon Wagner recently sat down with the Nashville Post to talk about her transition to the top spot at the organization. Wagner, who previously served as the center’s assistant director, took the helm in April following the retirement of Sara Figal. Wagner explains the mission of the center (offering free community mediation for a myriad of conflicts), the types of cases it accepts and her goals for increasing unrestricted giving. She also talks about her desire to see the center take more juvenile cases and expand capacity in its parenting program. Volunteer mediators need not be lawyers but must complete about 40 hours of Rule 31 training. Read more from the interview.