The Nashville Business Journal has awarded its 2023 Lifetime Achievement distinction to Nashville lawyer Charles W. Bone, a founding partner of Bone McAllester Norton, which merged with Spencer Fane in 2021. According to the Journal, Bone was selected as this year’s honoree for the critical role he has played in Middle Tennessee’s growth, noting that he has provided counsel to more than 100 financial institutions and was responsible for forming the first community bank holding company in Tennessee. He also was a leader in the campaign that defeated the 2009 “English only” referendum in Nashville, an adviser for Al Gore and instrumental in the release of Cyntoia Brown, a juvenile convicted of murder. The Journal sat down with Bone for an interview about the state of the legal profession, what law schools should be teaching and some of his most memorable cases.

A new report from the Tennessee Department of Health finds that the leading external cause of death in Tennessee children is firearms, Tennessee Lookout reports. The annual report on the causes of death in children age 17 and younger shows that Tennessee children are killed by guns at a rate 36% higher than the national average. In 2021, the latest year analyzed, 67 children died by homicide; 53 of whom were Black, a rate four times as high as white children. The data, collected between 2017 and 2021, also shows that overall deaths from all causes — accidents, suicides, premature births, medical conditions and murder — is nearly twice the national average. Read more in the 2023 Child Fatality Annual Report.

Hundreds of would-be lawyers faced significant delays while trying to take the first-ever hybrid LSAT remotely last week, Reuters reports. The Law School Admission Council, which administers the exam, said the problems stemmed from its online proctoring system. Frustrated test takers flooded social media sites with complaints about absent proctors and unexpected delays. The council apologized to test takers in an email Sunday, saying the exams “involved unacceptable delays and other problems” and that it was working with the vendor, Prometric, to correct the issues. It also said it will offer free retakes on Aug. 19 and 20 either remotely or in person. Examinees may also reschedule for another free test through June 2024. The council previously said 61% of test takers had opted to complete the exam remotely, There were no reported issues at in-person test centers.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s travel, paid for by wealthy friends, is more extensive than previously reported, according to a new ProPublica report. The additional trips include a yachting excursion around the Bahamas, travel to premium sports events and transportation to events aboard private aircraft. The group of benefactors also has expanded from initial reporting and now includes David Sokol, a former top executive at Berkshire Hathaway, H. Wayne Huizenga, a billionaire who turned Blockbuster and Waste Management into national businesses, and oil executive Paul “Tony” Novelly. Pro Publica now reports that since he was appointed in 1991, Thomas has received at least 38 destination vacations and 34 flights by private jet or helicopter.

This year's Disability Law Forum is returning as a live and in-person program on Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT at the Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club in Hendersonville. Sessions will cover ways to prepare a successful GRID case, best practices from a vocational expert, a DDS/OHO update and an ethics course designed to help "unstick" stuck cases. A happy hour will immediately follow the program.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has issued a proclamation calling for a special legislative session beginning on Aug. 21 to address public safety. In addition to his previously unveiled proposal to provide authority for courts to issue mental health orders of protection — which would temporarily remove guns from those deemed dangerous to themselves or others — Lee identified 17 other areas for legislative action focusing on the safe storage of firearms, mental health services and school safety policies. House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, has said he would like to see the legislature use the special session to focus on juvenile crime, mentioning bills that would raise the age at which youth can have their records expunged and lowering the age at which they can be tried as adults. WPLN has more on his comments. House Minority Leader Karen Camper, D-Memphis, said she was disappointed with the scope of the special session, saying she was hoping for a "serious discussion about gun reform in Tennessee." The Tennessean has more on reaction from the capitol.

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Williamson County lawyer Tiffany Marcilynne Johns was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday. The court found that Johns, while representing a client in an uncontested divorce, failed to send a draft marital dissolution agreement to the spouse for five months. After the agreement was executed, Johns appeared in court to enter the final decree, but she did not provide the court with the original decree. The final decree of divorce was not entered until June 2023. The court found that Johns failed to respond to requests for information from her client and determined that she violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 and 1.4.

Washington, D.C., lawyer Jay Arthur Rosenberg was permanently disbarred from practicing law in Tennessee today. The Supreme Court of Tennessee took the action based on an order of disbarment from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on April 20. On June 8, the Tennessee court asked Rosenberg to respond as to why disbarment should not be imposed. The court reports that Rosenberg did not file a response with the court as ordered.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a bipartisan coalition of 34 attorneys general in sending a letter to congressional leaders expressing support for legislative proposals included in the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (G.U.A.R.D.) Veterans Affairs Benefits Act. The legislation would hold unaccredited and unregulated actors accountable for preying upon veterans who apply for federal VA benefits.