Hundreds of lawyers around the country are at the ready to fight legal battles over which ballots can be counted and how the process should unfold, the ABA Journal reports. According to a New York Times article, the deployments, which involve hundreds of lawyers from each side, "go well beyond what has become normal since the disputed outcome in 2000, and are the result of the open efforts of President Trump and the Republicans to disqualify votes on technicalities." Some lawyers believe that unclear postmarks could be the 2020 equivalent of the “dimpled chads” from the 2000 Florida recount that ended up at the U.S. Supreme Court.  

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., today ordered the U.S. Postal Service to sweep its facilities for remaining mail ballots and rush their delivery, The Hill reports. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan gave postal workers until 3 p.m. EST to "ensure that no ballots have been held up" in regions that have been slow to process mail ballots. The order applies to areas within battleground states Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Texas, Florida and Arizona. With the exception of Pennsylvania and Texas, each of those states requires that mail ballots be received by the close of polls on Election Day, meaning late-arriving ballots would not be counted. Sullivan gave the order after data from the Postal Service showed continued delays in various regions of the country.

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle on Tuesday ruled that a petition to repeal Nashville’s property tax increase may not go on the ballot before voters, the Tennessean reports. The proposed ballot measure calls for rolling back the city’s recent property tax increase, capping future increases to 2% without voter approval and requiring certain bonds to go before voters. Lyle ruled that the petition is invalid and said the provisions went beyond referendum authority, attempted to repeal the already enacted tax levy ordinance and would impair the city's obligations with existing contracts. Lyle's order Tuesday is not final, as there are some complaints that still need to be litigated. It is not yet clear if the author of the petition, Nashville attorney Jim Roberts, will appeal the decision.

The presidents of Lincoln Memorial University and Austin Peay State University last month signed an agreement that will allow APSU students to earn their bachelor’s and law degrees within six years. Through the “three plus three” program, APSU students could apply to LMU’s Duncan School of Law following their third year of undergraduate studies. After completing their first year at LMU Law, those hours can be transferred toward completion of APSU’s Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Public Management degree. LMU Law Vice President and Dean Matt Lyon said he was “thrilled” with the partnership, adding, “our universities’ missions are very similar, and we believe that APSU undergraduates will feel very much at home at LMU Law.” Read more from LMU Law’s website.

The Department of Justice on Monday announced it has awarded the city of Chattanooga $700,000 to help combat and prevent violent crime in the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Chattanoogan reports. The funding is part of the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs’ $458 million effort to help state and local law enforcement combat violent crime in jurisdictions across the country. “This grant will certainly enhance the Chattanooga Police Department’s efforts as we move forward in this battle,” said U. S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey. A full list of grant recipients can be found here.

Baker Donelson shareholder and former TBA President Buck Lewis has been chosen to receive the American Bar Association’s Frances Perkins Public Service Award for his commitment to providing pro bono legal services, primarily in the areas of labor and employment law, to people of limited means. Lewis helped create what is now ABA Free Legal Answers, an interactive pro bono website that acts as a virtual legal advice clinic. Lewis is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee College of Law, the co-founder of its Institute of Professional Leadership and the College of Law’s Larry Wilks Distinguished Practitioner in Residence. Read more from the UT College of Law website.

The TBA’s Young Lawyers Division will continue its virtual law school visits tomorrow with a call to students at the University of Tennessee College of Law. This year's program will focus on the “Road to Success” with YLD members sharing their experiences on how they chose their practice area, bar exam study tips and habits, how to network, mental health wellness and more. For more information, contact YLD Coordinator Stephanie Vonhamme.

TBA CLE’s annual Bankruptcy Case Law Update will take place live on Zoom Webinar on Nov. 18 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. CST. Programming will include discussion on certain recent bankruptcy case developments in the 6th Circuit and around the country, as well as discussion on certain amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and local rules. And remember: all 2020 CLE hours can be taken online and TBA members get discounted pricing on all CLE programs.

Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal has been added to the Tennessee Business Court Docket Pilot Project as an alternate judge. Chancellor Anne C. Martin currently oversees the project, which is a specialized docket with litigants ranging from large national companies to small businesses. It has developed a body of corporate and commercial jurisprudence covering business topics ranging from shareholder derivative suits to business dissolutions to trade secrets to intellectual property disputes. The Supreme Court also appointed three new members to the Business Court Docket Advisory Commission, one from each grand division. Dwight Tarwater of Knoxville’s Paine Tarwater Bickers, Brigid Carpenter of Baker Donelson in Nashville and Shea Wellford with Martin Tate in Memphis have been added to the project. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts website.

By the close of polls on Wednesday, the Secretary of State’s office reported that 2.1 million Tennesseans had voted, the Tennessean reports. That number is 38% higher than the number of early and absentee votes from the 2016 election, with each county reporting an increase in voter turnout. Tennessee’s early voting period ends today, five days ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.