Nashville TV station WSMV has settled a lawsuit with former star anchor Demetria Kalodimos, the Tennessean reports. Kalodimos sued the station more than a year ago alleging age and gender discrimination after she was abruptly let go in 2017 after spending 33 years on-air. Details of the settlement were not made public, but WSMV owner Meredith Local Media Group and Kalodimos issued a joint statement today in which the news station apologized for Kalodimos’ dismissal, but did not directly address the accusations of discrimination. Former WSMV personalities Dennis Ferrier, Jennifer Johnson and Nancy Van Camp also filed a discrimination lawsuit against the station. That suit was settled in early 2019.

The TBA’s Criminal Law Forum is an annual staple for Tennessee lawyers. The 2020 CLE, the first TBA offering of the New Year on Jan. 8, will feature instruction on preserving error and tips for appeals, a post-conviction relief Q&A panel, wellness for criminal law practitioners and more. Do not miss this chance to learn from seasoned experts while cultivating relationships among colleagues with a similar focus.

Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will host a Veteran’s Project Legal Help Clinic every Wednesday this month. The clinics are available to all veterans and their family members and offer help with a range of legal issues. The events run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S., Nashville 37203. Call Kendra Cheek at 615-780-7131 for more information.

The Tennessee Bar Association will close at 2:30 p.m. today and all day tomorrow for the New Year’s holiday. There will be no TBA Today issue published tomorrow. We will reopen on Thursday at 8 a.m.

The majority of consumers and orthodontists who filed a class action lawsuit against the SmileDirectClub in September have withdrawn their claims, the Nashville Post reports. SmileDirect, a Nashville-based company that offers dental aligners, will now face only one plaintiff in court and another in arbitration. In the years since its 2014 launch, SmileDirect has been criticized for its business model, which many orthodontists and trade groups say skirts federal law and misleads consumers. More than 20 people were named as plaintiffs in the September class action, but 18 of them withdrew their claims after the court sent the original consumer plaintiff to arbitration.

The newly-announced TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) Class of 2020 will kick off its class year with a three-day Opening Retreat next week at Henry Horton State Park in Chapel Hill. The 2020 class will be the 17th group of attorneys to come through the TBALL program and will meet monthly, learning about leadership in the legal profession, issues in the courts, policymaking in state government and the importance of community service. The class will graduate in June 2020 during the TBA Annual Convention in Knoxville.

Former Nashville attorney Fred P. Graham died on Dec. 28 at his home in Washington, D.C. at the age of 88. Born in Little Rock, Graham attended high school in Nashville and earned his undergraduate degree from Yale. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea and Japan, he attended Vanderbilt University Law School where he also worked as a reporter for the Tennessean until receiving his law degree in 1959. Graham practiced law in Nashville before moving to Washington to serve as chief counsel of a Judiciary subcommittee under Sen. Estes Kefauver, D-Tennessee, and as an aide to Labor Secretary W. Willard Wirtz. In 1965, he became the first lawyer covering the Supreme Court for the New York Times, covering the 1971 Pentagon Papers case. Additionally, Graham served as a legal correspondent for the CBS network, as a local news anchor for Nashville’s ABC affiliate, WKRN, and in 1991 joined Court TV where he covered the trial of O.J. Simpson. Graham is survived by his wife, Skila Harris, and three children from his first marriage.

“The Art of Arbitration: From A to Z” is the theme of the TBA’s Construction Law Forum 2020. During this full-day program, participants will hear speakers from across the state cover all aspects of arbitration. The program will provide a total of 6.25 CLE hours, including one hour of ethics credit. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. CST at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville with programming running from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Find out more and register now.

U.S. District Judge Mark Norris recently ruled that a lawsuit against the University of Memphis over its handling of two off-campus sexual assaults can proceed, the Commercial Appeal reports. An anonymous former student brought the suit after claiming she’d been sexually assaulted in two different incidents in two off-campus locations in 2017. The lawsuit says the university allowed one of the attackers to stay on campus, even after he was indicted by a grand jury. The university asked Norris to dismiss the suit, arguing it can’t be held responsible for attacks off-campus. Norris sided with the student, agreeing that the lawsuit wasn’t about the assaults, but the university’s response to those attacks. A scheduling conference for the case has been set for Jan. 10, 2020.

The Beacon Center of Tennessee and Williamson County parent Karrie Marren have lodged a complaint against the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA), the Tennessean reports. The lawsuit was filed over the release of professional development credits obtained by members of the Williamson County Board of Education. Marren and the Beacon Center claim the TSBA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, acted against the state’s Public Information Act by denying Marren’s request to view those professional development hours. Though a Williamson County Schools representative said all board members are up-to-date on their hours, the Beacon Center argued that transparency by TSBA is warranted in Marren’s request.