Teams from several Tennessee high schools recently competed in the Empire Windy City Classic Mock Trial Tournament in Chicago with Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) winning the championship round against Centennial High School from California. This was MBA’s fifth Empire championship, tying Trinity Pacific School of California for the most titles ever. Two other schools from Tennessee also competed. CSTHEA, a Chattanooga home school, finished in sixth place while St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis finished in 12th place. Three students from St. Mary’s also took home individual awards: Krithica Vaidyanathan won fifth place Best Witness, Caroline Hunt was named fifth place Best Attorney and tied co-student Zoe McMullen for seventh place Best Witness. MBA will return to Chicago in November to compete for the Empire World Championship. See photos from winning team.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) will hold a child support clinic on Oct. 19 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. EDT at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court. The in-person event will provide advice to those seeking to secure child support. Pre-registration for clients is encouraged. Attorney volunteers are needed. Those interested in helping should email Mary Frances Devoe at mdevoe@laet.org. View a flyer for the event.

The Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection met recently to consider claims from clients alleging financial loss due to the illegal actions of their lawyers. The fund approved three claims: $8,335 against Shelby County lawyer A. Sais Phillips Finney, $2,500 against Shelby County lawyer Robert Harris Golder and $11,975 against Sevier County lawyer James Ralph Hickman Jr. The Fund for Client Protection was established by the Tennessee Supreme Court to reimburse individuals for losses caused by dishonest conduct by attorneys. The fund is operated by a board, which meets quarterly to consider claims. In September 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court amended Rule 25 to require the fund to notify the Tennessee Bar Association of claims paid. News releases also are posted online.

Sumner County lawyer Ramsdale O’DeNeal Jr. received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 11. The court found that O’DeNeal, while representing a client in a criminal matter, accepted a flat fee for services but later requested the client pay an additional $1,000. O’DeNeal did not receive informed consent to change the fee. The client paid the fee, but during the disciplinary investigation, O’DeNeal refunded the $1,000 to the client. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5 and 1.8.

Shelby County lawyer Brian Chadwick Rickman received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 11. The court found that Rickman, while representing a client in a car wreck matter, agreed to a settlement offer from the defendant without his client’s knowledge or approval. Rickman also failed to respond to the disciplinary complaint. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.16 and 8.1.

TBA's Corporate Counsel Section will host two webcasts this fall. The first, "Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: Regulations, Cyber Threats, and AI" will take place this Friday at noon CDT. The webinar will focus on data privacy and cybersecurity issues and the complex challenges that lawyers must understand to effectively represent their clients. The second webcast, Ethical Issues for In-House Counsel, is scheduled for Dec. 7 at noon CST. Laura Chastain, ethics counsel for the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR), will discuss Formal Ethics Opinion 2022-F-168 regarding in-house counsel who reside and are licensed in other states.

The Tennessee Journal, a longtime state government news publication, and its bill tracking service has been acquired by State Affairs, a 2021 startup delivering political news in several states. The journal and Tennessee Legislation Service was owned by M. Lee Smith Publishers. Smith, onetime legal counsel to Gov. Winfield Dunn, founded the journal in 1975. Editor Erik Schelzig, a former Associated Press reporter, will continue to run the publication, the Nashville Post reports. In addition to Tennessee, State Affairs has reporters in Georgia, Indiana and Kansas.

West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) will receive a Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant of $56,717 to boost pro bono services, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) recently announced. WTLS plans to use the funds to assess its current pro bono program and plan transformative changes. According to LSC, WTLS will engage in a six-month assessment focused on client-centered internal pro bono processes. It also will look at staffing needs and strategies for volunteer recruitment, training and mentoring. WTLS is one of 17 organizations receiving a grant under the program.

The Board of Law Examiners has released statistics about the July 2023 bar exam. According to the board, 713 individuals — 574 first time test takers and 139 repeaters — took the July exam. They represent more than 90 different law schools and saw an overall pass rate of 67.18%. For first time test-takers at Tennessee law schools, Belmont University College of Law saw the highest pass rate at 93.4%, followed by Vanderbilt University Law School at 88.89%, University of Tennessee College of Law at 81.82%, Nashville School of Law at 78.37%, University of Memphis School of Law at 75% and Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law at 60.61%. See all statistical information from the July exam or from past exams on the board’s webpage. The list of those who passed the July exam was released Oct. 6.

The Memphis Bar Association will hold its Second Saturday Legal Clinic on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon CDT at the Benjamin Hooks Central Library, 3030 Poplar Ave., Memphis 38111.  Volunteers should arrive by 9:30 a.m. for instructions. Sign up here to volunteer.