Microsoft 365 offerings combine an always up-to-date install of Microsoft Office with email hosting, mobile apps and web-based apps. Compare Microsoft’s 365 options with this link. Find this and more in the Opening a Firm section of TBA’s Law Practice Management Center.

The Immigration Law Section will present its annual forum this Friday at Casa Azafran in Nashville. This is one CLE you want to attend in person! The agenda is packed with speakers from government agencies, but their session will not be recorded or made available later due to government agency policy. Don't miss hearing from representatives from the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Nashville, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement & Removal Operations, ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), and the USCIS Asylum Office. Other speakers will provide updates on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and F-1 and J-1 programs.

The TBA’s Court Square Series will be in Cookeville on the afternoon of May 30. The program will include an ethics update with Beverly Sharpe with the Board of Professional Responsibility; a legislative update with Nathan Ridley; and a judicial panel with Circuit Court Judge William Ridley from Crossville and Circuit Court Judge Caroline Knight and Chancellor Ronald Thurman from Cookeville.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected a request for a hearing on a motion to dissolve a temporary suspension. The court said that Knox County lawyer Mark Steven Graham had failed to establish “good cause” warranting a hearing. Graham was reinstated to the practice of law in January 2022 with the condition that he comply with a Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) monitoring agreement. In May 2022, the court temporarily suspend Graham for noncompliance with his agreement. Graham filed a petition to dissolve the suspension and seek a hearing on the motion arguing that the agreement “terminated by its own terms” with the court’s action in January 2022. The court rejected that argument saying it is “belied by the plain language” of its January 2022 order.

The Tennessee Bar Association will be closed Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. The office will reopen at 8 a.m. CDT on Tuesday. Access staff email addresses and direct lines here.

Virginia lawyer Atina Rizk Stavropoulos has been reinstated to active practice of law in Tennessee. The Tennessee Supreme Court notes that the Board of Professional Responsibility found the petition for reinstatement to be satisfactory. Stavropoulos was placed on inactive status more than five years ago on Sept. 13, 2013.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has announced that his office will be looking into Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC, the little-known entity that attempted to put Graceland up for a foreclosure auction. "My office has fought fraud against homeowners for decades, and there is no home in Tennessee more beloved than Graceland. I have asked my lawyers to look into this matter, determine the full extent of any misconduct that may have occurred, and identify what we can do to protect both Elvis Presley’s heirs and anyone else who may be similarly threatened.” Naussany said it would drop the foreclosure action after Elvis’ granddaughter filed suit alleging the company was basing its actions on forged documents. A Memphis judge halted the auction this week to investigate the claims.

Garfield Scott has announced his bid to run for Tennessee House of Representatives District 68. The seat, which represents east and south Clarksville’s rural and suburban areas, is currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Curtis Johnson. Scott is a retired truck driver and former cattle farmer, who also raised grain and tobacco on the family farm in the once rural area of St. Bethlehem. According to Clarksville Now, Scott says his campaign will focus on issues affecting all county residents, including supporting public education, building infrastructure for future growth and holding corporations accountable for public investments. Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Smith also is seeking to replace Johnson.

A man detained in pretrial custody at the Shelby County Jail is suing the county and a number of jail personnel for a minimum of $500,000 in damages for an alleged assaulted by corrections officers. The lawsuit, filed in federal court Monday night, comes about six months after Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner and District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced that two deputies had been indicted in the alleged beating. The Commercial Appeal has more on the story.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on May 28 on the basics of the state sales tax. Revenue administrative staff will discuss who and what is subject to the tax, rates, exemptions and more. Learn more or register here. The webinar is one in a series of educational sessions held by the department each month.