Nashville lawyer and former TBA President Harris Abram Gilbert died Wednesday at the age of 91. Born and raised in Nashville, Gilbert headed north to Yale University for undergraduate work and then on to the University of Chicago Law School. Following graduation, he returned to Nashville and served as an assistant district attorney. He then entered private practice focusing on probate and estate planning, business and real estate law. As managing partner of Gilbert and Milom he co-led the firm’s transition to Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs. Gilbert was a board member of the Nashville Bar Association and served as TBA president from 1994-1995. He was a founder of the Legal Aid Society and in 1996, the TBA created an award in his name to recognize those committed to pro bono work. Funeral services will be held at The Temple Ohabai Sholom, 5015 Harding Pike, Nashville 37205, on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CST. A Zoom link will be available. Visitation and a reception will follow the service. Burial will be private.

State Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, and former Nashville school board member Fran Bush announced today they are joining the race for Nashville’s next mayor. Yarbro, a lawyer, earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his law degree from the University of Virginia. He has served in the legislature since 2014 and is an attorney at Bass, Berry & Sims in the Government/Politics Sector. Bush served from 2018-2022 as the District 6 board member for the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education. A Nashville native and graduate of Tennessee State University, Bush lost her reelection bid this past August. The Tennessean looks at each of the candidates.

Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally is asking a federal judge to consider the life circumstances and young family of former state Sen. Brian Kelsey when determining the former lawmaker’s sentence in a federal campaign finance conspiracy, Mainstreet Nashville reports. Kelsey, 45, pleaded guilty to two campaign finance conspiracy charges last November, admitting he illegally shifted "soft money" from his state campaign to his federal campaign account during his unsuccessful 2016 bid for Congress. McNally is one of several people to submit letters in support of Kelsey to Judge Waverly Crenshaw for consideration ahead of sentencing.

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance has filed suit against former state senator Katrina Robinson to collect financial penalties stemming from failure to timely file financial disclosures, Tennessee Lookout reports. Court filings show the registry first assessed Robinson a $7,500 fine in August 2021 for failing to file the required early year-end supplemental campaign disclosure for 2020. In November 2021, the registry added a $10,000 fine after Robinson failed to submit a 2021 mid-year campaign finance disclosure. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office is prosecuting the case, which will be heard in Davidson County Chancery Court.

Lt. Governor Randy McNally returned to work yesterday after having heart surgery last week, NewsChannel 5 reports. McNally talked with the station, saying, "I'm doing great. I am just glad Sen. [Richard] Briggs told me to get to the hospital right away. He's a cardiovascular surgeon in addition to being one of our senate chairmen. I had the procedure done, woke up and felt 100% better." McNally had a pacemaker installed last week after experiencing an irregular heartbeat.

A Shelby County inmate died after a “physical altercation” with correctional officers exacerbated his heart condition, according to the Commercial Appeal. The newly released autopsy report showed that Gershun Freeman, 33, died Oct. 5, 2022, at the jail after collapsing. He had contusions on his scalp, neck, forehead and lower and upper lip, and hemorrhaging in his head, neck and back. Freeman was arrested after being accused of attacking, threatening and kidnapping his girlfriend. The paper requested video of the altercation but the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office declined to release the footage saying the investigation is still active or open. Today, Freeman's family called on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate his death. The Daily Memphian has more on that development.

Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Alex McVeagh has been elected the new TBA Young Lawyers vice president. He will take office this June at the TBA Convention and then will automatically advance to president-elect in June 2024 and president for the 2025-2026 bar year. There are no contested elections for the division this year, but there are several vacancies that will need to be filled. These include Middle and West Tennessee young lawyer delegates to the TBA House of Delegates and district representatives in District 1, 3,  7, 11 and 13. See the counties served by these districts. Those interested in being considered for any of these positions should contact YLD President-elect Quinton Thompson. 

Knoxville attorney Heidi Barcus, a shareholder at Lewis Thomason, will serve as president of the Tennessee Bar Association in 2025-2026. No other candidate filed for the vice president position by the Feb. 15 deadline. Barcus will take office as vice president this summer at the TBA Convention and then automatically advance to president-elect in June 2024 and then president in June 2025. In addition to Barcus, several other key positions for the 2023-2024 bar year were certified yesterday via uncontested election results. Contested elections include two positions on the Board of Governors (second district governor and East Tennessee Grand Division governor) and three positions in the House of Delegates (District 4, District 16 and District 30). Electronic voting will begin March 1 for contested races. There are also several vacancies that will need to be filled after no candidate qualified. Vacancies on the TBA Board of Governors include a second West Tennessee Grand Division governor and a second Middle Tennessee Grand Division governor. Contested seats in the House of Delegates include District 4, District 16 and District 30. For complete election information visit the TBA’s election webpage.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today denied a motion from Knox County lawyer Keri Elizabeth Rule for a show cause hearing. The court took the action after the Board of Professional Responsibility opposed it.

Baker Donelson President and Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Keller tells the Memphis Business Journal that the law firm is reassessing its office needs companywide. Keller, who works out of the firm’s Tri-Cities office in Johnson City, is the former chair of the firm's Labor & Employment Department. Read more of her comments and how the evaluation process may impact the firm’s two-office approach in Memphis.