Kevin Gene Steiling of Franklin died May 25 at the age of 69. A 1983 graduate of the Boston College Law School, Steiling moved to Nashville and began his lengthy career at the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. From 1983 to 2016, he served as an assistant attorney general and then a deputy attorney general working on civil rights, employment discrimination and contract and construction litigation with jury and non-jury trials in federal and all state courts and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Steiling also spent three years working in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office as an assistant attorney general in the Trial Division/Real Estate Section, handling eminent domain cases. A memorial gathering will be held on June 8 from 1-4 p.m. at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home, 3009 Columbia Ave., Franklin 37064.

Richard Randolph Ruth Jr. of Walden died May 25 at the age of 86. Originally from Pennsylvania, Ruth earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1965. He practiced in Chattanooga from 1965 until 2002, including time with the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office; Luther, Anderson, Ruth & Cleary; Ruth & Foster; and Ruth & McCarthy. After retiring, Ruth volunteered with the Legal Aid of East Tennessee and was instrumental in advocating for the Tennessee Supreme Court’s adoption of the “Pro Bono Emeritus Rule” in 2010, which provides special status to retired attorneys who volunteer to assist indigent clients. Ruth also was honored with the Jac Chambliss Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chattanooga Bar Association in 2010. A private memorial service will be held for the family. Memorial contributions may be made to Legal Aid of East Tennessee, National Kidney Foundation or Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

The upcoming TBA Convention offers eight hours of CLE programming, including Friday’s session on “Preventing Attorney Burnout.” Sponsored by the TBA's Attorney Well Being Committee, the program will feature retired Judge Robert "Butch" Childers, now with Childers Mediation and Arbitration Services, and Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program Executive Director Buddy Stockwell — two seasoned lawyers with extensive experience and knowledge in the field of attorney well-being. The discussion will be moderated by Chase Pittman with the Kardia Collective, a Memphis-based counseling company. Learn more about this program or other CLEs being offered at this year's convention.

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.