Former Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate was recently honored with the 2022 Friend of the Conference Award from the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference. Hamilton County Judge Alex McVeagh presented Tate with the award, commending her “passion and care” for the work she has done to help those with mental illness and substance abuse issues in the state. Tate expressed how much the award meant to her and turned praise back on the event’s attendees for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The AOC has more on the story.  

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on Tuesday at 9 a.m. CDT to discuss out-of-state companies and nexus in Tennessee. Participants will learn about sales tax, business tax and Tennessee’s franchise and excise taxes. Register for the program here.

In a first step to remove Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert, State Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, says he will soon file a bill that would make it easier to trigger a recall election, the Commercial Appeal reports. Halbert, who was elected in August with 49% of the vote, has recently been criticized for a months-long backlog in the mailing of license plates, which she now says has been resolved. To deal with that backlog, Halbert closed the clerk’s office for two weeks. She faced further backlash after making a trip to Jamiaca during the first week’s closure. “Citizens of all community deserve the best from their elected officials,” White said in a news release. “The issues that have plagued the Shelby County Clerk’s Office are simply unacceptable. The bill would reduce the number of signatures needed for a recall election and would require a county legislative body to pass a resolution of no confidence of the officer at center of the recall election. According to the Daily Memphian, Halbert says she shouldn’t be subject to a modified state recall election bill because she is a whistleblower.

YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee will host a Stand Against Injustice Lunch and Learn on Sept. 29 from noon until 1 p.m. CDT. The free webinar will focus on the school to prison pipeline and will feature a group of panelists who are working for social change in our communities. The panel includes YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee President and CEO Sharon K. Roberson, Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway, Disability Rights Tennessee Child & Youth Advocate Johnnie Hatten and The Education Trust in Tennessee's Reginald Nash. Register here.  

The law license of Richard Hovey Dinkins was yesterday transferred to disability inactive status by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Dinkins cannot practice law while on disability inactive status and shall comply with the requirements of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Sections 28 regarding the obligations and responsibilities of attorneys transferred to disability inactive status. To be reinstated, he must show the court his disability has been removed.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bill requiring legislative approval for regulatory sandbox spending, the ABA Journal reports. The legislation will limit proposals from the State Bar of California to explore law firm ownership by nonlawyers and allow paralegals to perform certain legal services. The new law also requires the bar to report how much it spent on a 2018 study on online legal services and delivery. Following the study, a bar-appointed task force released a report that recommended allowing qualified non-legal professionals to provide legal services under certain conditions and eliminating prohibitions against fee splitting and non-lawyer ownership of law firms. Chairs of California’s Senate and Assembly Judiciary committees criticized the proposals and raised concern about corporate interests and loosening prohibitions on non-lawyers owning law firms. California is one of the few states exploring attorney regulation changes.

A woman who police now believe was raped last year by the man accused of killing Eliza Fletcher has filed suit against the Memphis Police Department for failing to properly investigate her case, the Daily Memphian reports. Alicia Franklin says in the lawsuit that if her September 2021 assault had been taken more seriously, Fletcher’s abduction and murder could have been prevented. The suit names the City of Memphis as the sole defendant and seeks an unspecified amount of compensation for pain and suffering and other damages. “I was just an average Black girl in the city of Memphis, you know,” said Franklin, who allowed her identity to be published. “I just think it wasn’t a priority.”

Tennessee Freedom Circle, a newly formed nonprofit, held its first training last week to connect attorneys from a variety of practice areas and educate them on how to defend doctors on criminal abortion charges, WPLN reports. “The health care lawyers, with the expertise and regulatory compliance, will need to join with the criminal defense lawyers, who’ve been litigating in state court, who will need to join with the constitutional law experts who’ve been fighting the fights for many years in federal court,” says Nashville attorney and Freedom Circle President Tyler Yarbro. The training aims to educate attorneys on navigating affirmative defense and on how to show the doctor’s actions were justified.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today temporarily suspended Elliott James Schuchardt from the practice of law after finding that he poses a threat of substantial harm to the public. Effective immediately, Schuchardt may not accept any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by Oct. 21.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered that Violaine Panasci, a Canadian attorney who passed the Uniform Bar Exam and is licensed to practice in New York, should not be precluded from the practice of law in Tennessee. Panasci, who moved to Nashville in in 2021, petitioned the court for admission after the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners (TBLE) denied her application, concluding that she did not meet the requirements for foreign-educated applicants. The high court ruled that “based on Ms. Panasci’s legal education and UBE score, the requirements of section 7.01(a) should not preclude her admission to practice law in Tennessee by transferred UBE score.” Costs of the appeal will be assessed to the BLE. Read the order here.