You’ve met our CLE crew, now it’s time to meet our Membership Team! Linda Murphy, our Receptionist and Membership Coordinator, is the friendly voice you hear when you call the TBA. A longtime member of TBA team, Linda is skilled in the ways of troubleshooting and getting our members where they need to go. In the movie about her life, Linda says her younger self would be played by Kristen Bell, while her older self would be played by Candace Bergen. The #TeamTBA series offers members a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the TBA and how each staff members makes the association run. Check back every Wednesday for a new staff profile in TBA Today and on the TBA's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The TBA’s annual Court Square Series, designed to provide attorneys with the latest developments in multiple areas of the law, is underway and will be making a stop in Chattanooga on June 3. The three-hour event will begin at noon EDT with a networking lunch with TBA President Sherie Edwards, followed by a session on preventing attorney burnout with Dr. Kristen Black, an ethics update from Board of Professional Responsibility Disciplinary Counsel Jim Milam, and a discussion on the latest in labor and employment law with Kathleen Siciliano. The program will be held at the law firm of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel. The Court Square Series also will be making stops in Cookeville on May 19, Kingsport on May 26 and Jackson on June 7. Read more about these programs on the TBA CLE website.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw has denied Robbie Starbuck’s request for an injunction that would stop his official removal from the Republican primary ballot for the 5th Congressional District, Tennessee Journal reports. The Tennessee Republican Party removed Starbucks and fellow candidates Morgan Ortagus and Baxter Lee after finding the three did not meet Republican “bona fides.” In his order, Crenshaw wrote that the “Court may never know” why exactly Starbuck was removed from the ballot, but that he was not entitled to a preliminary injunction.

Baker Donelson has promoted Meagan Nebel as its first director of lateral recruiting and integration, the Nashville Post reports. Based in the Nashville office, Nebel will look outside of the firm to recruit new employees, working directly with external recruiting firms and others. She joins a team that includes the firm’s first chief growth officer, Mark Carlson, who works with firm leaders to identify potential law firm mergers and small groups of partners from other firms to bring on. "Growth is imperative to our strategy and the continued success of Baker Donelson," Carlson said in the release.

The Tennessee Supreme Court in December amended Rule 8, RPC 7.6 and deleted Rule 44 regarding intermediary organizations. In April, the Knoxville Bar Association requested the court clarify that neither the amendment nor the deletion alters Rule 8, RPC 5.4(a)(6), which allows an attorney to pay a non-profit intermediary organization “a referral fee calculated by reference to a reasonable percentage of the fee paid to the lawyer by the client referred to the lawyer by the intermediary organization.” The court granted the KBA’s request and today issued another amendment to the rules. Read the order.

Nashville firefighter Joshua Lipscomb has been suspended from his job without pay one month after he sued the department for violating his freedom of speech, WPLN reports.  Lipscomb, a comedian, is better known for his stage name and Twitter handle Josh Black. He was suspended last month for tweeting that Metro’s use of new license plate readers would lead to over-policing of Black and brown communities and referring to members of Metro Council as “white supremacists.” Lipscomb’s lawsuit says the department’s internal policies are “vague and overbroad” and that the three-person disciplinary panel receives no training or supervision. He was again suspended last week for taking sick leave without a doctor’s note and filed an amended complaint calling the latest suspension retaliation for his lawsuit. He is seeking compensation for nearly a month of lost pay and a declaration that these policies are unconstitutional.

The first of six forums from the USA TODAY Network Tennessee, the University of Tennessee and Lipscomb University begins tonight at 6 p.m. EDT on UT’s campus in Knoxville. Each forum will focus on gubernatorial and congressional candidates and will be held in-person as well as live-streamed on the Tennessean’s website. Tonight’s guests will feature a one-on-one conversation between Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessean editor Michael Anastasi, a discussion between Democratic gubernatorial candidates Carnita Atwater, Jason Martin and JB Smiley, moderated by UT President Randy Boyd, and a conversation with Democratic candidates Cameron Parsons and Mark Harmon, running for congressional seats in Districts 1 and 2, respectively. The live events are free but require tickets. The next forum will be held at Lipscomb on May 19 at 7 p.m. CDT. Read the full forum schedule.  

Melydia Clewell, wife of Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston, has resigned her position as chief of staff in the DA’s office, Chattanooga’s News Channel 9 reports. Clewell had recently been placed on administrative leave from the office following a report from the Tennessee Comptroller that Pinkston had violated the state’s nepotism policy by employing Clewell and her brother, Kerry Clewell. According to the Chattanoogan, Clewell has accepted a research position with a Hollywood production company. An email between two county officials late last month reveals Kerry Clewell is set to be terminated on May 17. Pinkston lost his bid for reelection to Coty Wamp during the county’s Republican primary.

The TBA’s BarBuzz podcast recently released its May episode, featuring special co-host Tasha Blakney of the Knoxville law firm Eldridge & Blakney. Currently serving as TBA president-elect, Blakney details plans for her upcoming year as president and what she hopes to accomplish. Tune in for that discussion and stick around to hear Blakney deliver the latest legal news and bar association events and updates. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.  

The Tennessee Department of Health has appointed attorney Elizabeth Foy as its assistant commissioner for legislative affairs, the Williamson Source reports. In that role, Foy will help develop the department’s annual legislative package and work with key members of the Tennessee General Assembly to ensure the passage of key initiatives. Foy worked in civil private practice and as an assistant district attorney for the 20th Judicial District before joining the Department of Health as a legislative liaison. Foy is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and a member of the TBA Leadership Law Class of 2017.