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.

Join the TBA for a free administrative law webinar on Sept. 26 from noon until 1 p.m. CDT. “An Administrative Law Primer for the Uninitiated” will cover administrative law basics and best practices and will be led by Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law Associate Professor Akram Faizer. The event is free and open to all TBA members, however, there is a filing fee of $50 to receive CLE credit. Learn more and register here.

Adnan Syed, a Baltimore man convicted of the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, was yesterday released to home detention after a judge vacated his conviction, the ABA Journal reports. Syed, whose case was covered in the hit podcast Serial, was ordered to be released by Judge Melissa M. Phinn of Baltimore after prosecutors said the defense was never given information about two “alternative suspects.” Prosecutors said in the motion they wanted to vacate Syed’s conviction, but they would decide later whether they will move to drop the case. Their decision will depend on the results of their ongoing investigation, they said.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined Montana’s attorney general in heading up a coalition of 24 states in alerting three major credit card companies that a new “merchant category code” created to process firearms purchases from gun stores potentially violates consumer protection and antitrust laws. A letter from the coalition to American Express, Mastercard and Visa states that the monitoring and tracking of firearms purchases establishes a “list of gun buyers” and creates a risk that consumer information might be obtained and misused. “Giant financial companies must not use their combined market power to circumvent our representative democracy,” Skrmetti said in a release. Read more from the AG’s office.  

The TBA’s Court Square Series is headed for Clarksville on Nov. 2. This three-hour program will provide attorneys with the latest developments in multiple areas of the law. Kick off the afternoon with a lunch and learn networking session with TBA leadership. Other substantive CLE topics will be announced soon. Programming will run from 11:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. CDT at Clarksville’s Customs House Museum. Learn more and register here.

Members from across the state made their way to the Tennessee Bar Association today to tour the organization’s new office space and talk with staff and fellow members. The TBA moved to the new office, located at 3310 West End Ave., Ste. 590 in Nashville, earlier this summer after 20 years at its downtown location. 

The TBA Young Lawyers Division is partnering with the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Initiative, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Belmont Law and others to offer a virtual debt relief clinic to Tennessee citizens. In celebration of Celebrate Pro Bono Month in October, the next clinic will be held on Oct. 8 from 9 to 11 a.m. CDT. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Charles Walker will begin the clinic with an overview about bankruptcy. Clinic clients then will be paired with volunteer attorneys in break-out Zoom rooms for counsel and advice about debt relief options, with referral for pro bono representation for those who qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you are able to serve on October 8 from 9 to 11 CDT, please sign up here. For questions, please contact Alix Rogers at Alexandra.rogers@belmont.edu.

Dickson County Chancery Court Clerk and Master Nancy Miller is set to retire this week after 50 years of service, the Tennessean reports. Miller was hired in 1972 and spent nearly five years as chief deputy to former Clerk and Master Jesse Miller. She was sworn in by Chancellor Alex Darnell in 1977 at the age of 26, becoming one of, if not the youngest clerk and master in the state. The 23rd Judicial Circuit Judges David Wolfe, Larry Wallace and Lockert-Mash have announced the appointment of Miller’s Chief Deputy Lynn Collins as the next clerk and master for Dickson County.