Don Ridgeway of Paris died March 2 at the age of 76. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Ridgeway worked in the insurance business and as a licensed funeral director. He was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1984 and served there for 18 years, holding the positions of Democratic caucus chair and chair of the Transportation and Conservation & Environment committees. After retiring from the House in 2002, Ridgeway joined the Northwest Tennessee Economic Development Council, where he served as director for 21 years. A celebration of life was held on March 7. Memorial donations may be made to Henry County Helping Hand, 2025 Auction, PO Box 22, Paris, TN 38242 or Todd Latta Junior Golf League, c/o Andy Collins, 204 W. Washington St, Paris, TN 38242.

The Tennessee Bar Association and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court are now accepting nominations for the 2024 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 West 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 Memphis June 12-15. The deadline for submitting nominations is April 8. See past recipients of the award.

Save the date for TBA's 28th Annual Labor & Employment Forum, set for May 3 in Nashville. The annual program brings together professionals, labor and employment attorneys and in-house counsel, and features top labor and employment professionals who will provide practical insight on emerging trends and critical issues. This year’s program features topics such as non-competition agreements, emerging labor trends, new pregnancy accommodation laws, case law updates and the use of artificial intelligence in discovery and beyond.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on March 4 suspended 60 attorneys who did not pay the annual professional privilege tax as required. The attorneys include those living in Tennessee as well as 16 other states. View the order or see the list with reinstatements noted.

The following attorneys were suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court on March 4, 2024, for failing to pay the state professional privilege tax pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 67-4-1702. Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 26, attorneys who are deemed noncompliant for 90 days or more are summarily suspended. Those who since have complied with the rule are noted as reinstated.

The Board of Judicial Conduct suspended Sullivan County Circuit Court Judge William K. Rogers for 30 days last Wednesday. The suspension will run from March 13-31 and April 20-30. The board took the action after Rogers was arrested for and plead guilty to driving under the influence. The board reports that Williams underwent an evaluation for substance abuse but the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program did not find that he required treatment for a substance abuse problem. After conducting a full investigation, the board determined that these actions violated Rules of Judicial Conduct 1.1, 1.2, 3.1(A) and 3.1(C).

The Tennessee Journal recaps the outcome of this week’s judicial races in its print publication out today. Races previously not included in TBA Today reporting include a four-way contest for the Republican nomination to fill an unexpired chancellorship in Anderson County. In that race, Daniel Forrester defeated Gov. Bill Lee’s appointee Jamie Brooks, 46% to 31%. Lee named Brooks to the position after Chancellor Nicki Cantrell stepped down. In addition, longtime Knox County Law Director David Buuck turned back a Republican primary challenge from former county party chair Daniel Herrera by a margin of 23 percentage points. The piece also takes an in-depth look at Andrée Blumstein’s tenure are the state solicitor general. Blumstein’s departure was announced on March 4 by the state attorney general.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommendation for discipline in the case of Shelby County lawyer Larry E. Fitzgerald. The court said it had concerns that the proposed punishment, particularly the period of active suspension, was too lenient. It rejected Fitzgerald’s conditional guilty plea and referred the matter to the board for further proceedings. Fitzgerald had entered a conditional guilty plea on Oct. 18, 2023, in response to a petition for discipline filed on Dec. 12, 2022.

Fayette County lawyer Lundy Lee Carpenter was reinstated to the practice of law on March 1, effective as of Jan. 31. Carpenter had been placed on inactive status on March 9, 2017. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory.