According to a recent Vanderbilt study, more than 99% of Nashville landlords have legal representation in civil cases, compared to less than 1% of renters. “And so, unless you get to Legal Aid … you have to navigate those waters alone,” Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands Executive Director Darkenya Waller says. The Nashville office of LAS currently has only two attorneys representing all of its housing cases, but a new pilot program is hoping to triple that number. Metro recently passed a $2.6 million grant to help fund LAS’ Right to Counsel program, which will allow the nonprofit to take on more cases and give more attention to the ones they already have. The two-year pilot program will also include an education program for tenants and landlords, as well as a partnership with Conexion Americas to better serve Nashville’s immigrant communities. WPLN has more on the story.  

Williamson County Juvenile Court Judge Sharon Guffee was recently honored by the Williamson County Republican Career Women with the group’s Charles M. Sargent Leadership Award. The award is named for the late District 61 state representative who served from 1997 until his death in 2018. The club recognizes a community leader each year who exemplifies Sargent’s contributions to the county. Guffee spoke of her friendship with Sargent when accepting the award, calling the recognition the “greatest honor that I’ve received because of who he was and the impact that he had.” Former Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson and Franklin Vice Mayor Brandy Blanton are former recipients of the award. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the story.

Longtime Paris attorney Bill Neese will be remembered later this week during visitation and memorial services. Visitation will take place Thursday from 4-7 p.m. CDT at McEvoy Funeral Home in Paris. Visitation will continue Friday at the First United Methodist Church in Paris from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and will be immediately followed by funeral services and burial at Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery. Read more from McEvoy Funeral Home. Memorial donations may be made to The Little Pantries of Henry County, C/O First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 25, Paris, TN 38242; Henry County No Fly Zone, Holly Fork Shooting Complex, Attn: Treasurer Mark Watkins, 6133 Hwy. 79 N., Paris, TN 38242; or Pastor’s Benevolent Fund, First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 25, Paris, TN 38242.

Visitation and memorial services will take place this week for Paris attorney Fred McLean who died on Saturday. Memorial visitation will take place tomorrow 4-7 p.m. CDT at Ridgeway Funeral Home. Visitation will continue Thursday from 11 to noon at Bridge of Hope Church, 1575 Highway 641 S, Paris, TN 38242 and will be immediately followed by a memorial service. Read more from Ridgeway Funeral Home.

Author and former TBA President Sam Elliott is set to be featured in the Southern Lit Alliance’s Chattanooga Author Showcase, the Hamilton County Herald reports. Elliott, who practices at Chattanooga’s Gearhiser, Peters, Lockaby, Cavett & Elliott, has written extensively about the Civil War in his works, which include “John C. Brown of Tennessee,” “Soldier of Tennessee” and “Isham G. Harris of Tennessee.” Elliott will be recognized alongside eight other local authors at the event on Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. EDT at Stove Works Museum, 1250 E. 13th Street, Chattanooga. A reception will provide opportunities to talk with Elliott, purchase his books and hear him read excerpts from his works.

Apply to join the Tennessee Department of Health as associate counsel in its Office of General Counsel. The position will represent the department in administrative law cases, provide legal advice to healthcare licensure boards, analyze proposed legislation and more. Successful candidates will have three or more years of continuous legal practice, preferably with litigation experience. To apply, email TDH.TalentManagement@tn.gov or complete the application process on www.tn.gov/careers. View this listing or browse all job listings on the TBA’s JobLink page.

The TBA’s BarBuzz podcast is celebrating three years of being on the air! Tune in to the first episode of Season 3 with special co-host David Aguilera, the policy and research advisor for the Tennessee Senate Minority Leader. Aguilera immigrated to the U.S. from Bolivia when he was 12 and realized a passion for advocacy while working construction in New York City to earn money for college. He recounts his 19-year-long journey to gaining U.S. citizenship and his path to becoming an attorney, plus your monthly dose of legal news and bar association events! BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and available wherever you listen to podcasts or on the TBA’s website!

Some bar exam test takers are scrambling to get older laptops after learning ExamSoft's Examplify software will not work on certain newer machines, Reuters reports. According to an email from the software company, laptops running Windows and using Intel’s newest chips are not compatible with the bar exam. Tennessee uses the Examplify software as part of its exam, however, Board of Law Examiners Executive Director Lisa Perlen says there have not been issues here. She said the board early on told applicants about the potential compatibility issue, and so far no one has encountered a problem. 

Twitter sued billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, asking Delaware’s Court of Chancery to order Musk to complete a $44 billion takeover deal, NPR reports. Musk entered into an agreement to buy Twitter in late April but has since launched a fight with the company over the prevalence of fake accounts, which he claims is higher than Twitter lets on. The lawsuit accuses Musk of hypocrisy and bad faith in breaching his contract with Twitter. It says that after Tesla shares declined in value Musk began to disparage the company and make public requests aimed at making Twitter appear negligent. Musk has 20 days to respond to the complaint, but lawyers for Twitter have proposed an expedited timetable, arguing a delay would hurt the company.

Attorney John Coke has been selected to serve as general counsel for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Coke has been assistant general counsel since 2016 and transitioned into the new role on July 1. The AOC general counsel heads the legal service and judicial development team, oversees administrative functions and judicial conferences, and supports trial and appellate judges across the state. Before joining the AOC, Coke clerked for 20th Judicial District Judge Joe Binkley Jr. and for Judge Hamilton Gayden, also of the 20th Judicial District. He replaces former General Counsel Rachel Harmon who was promoted to deputy director earlier this year. Read more from the AOC.