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Bass Berry & Sims Launches Higher Education Practice Group

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 2, 2019
Bass, Berry & Sims has announced the formation of a Higher Education Practice Group with the addition of former Vanderbilt University General Counsel Audrey Anderson. As chair of the group, Anderson will lead a multidisciplinary team of attorneys in a range of legal matters for academic institutions. Anderson will practice in the firm’s Nashville and Washington, D.C. offices. Prior to joining the firm, she served as Vice Chancellor, General Counsel and University Secretary for Vanderbilt for more than five years.

Shelby County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 2, 2019
Shelby County lawyer Summer M. Rhoden on Monday received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Rhoden’s son was charged with first-degree murder on July 6, 2017. He appeared at her home that afternoon, and she failed to contact law enforcement or facilitate his surrender until the following morning. Rhoden was charged as an accessory after the fact as a result of this delay. Rhoden pled guilty on March 8 to a reduced misdemeanor charge of criminal attempt.

Rutherford County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 2, 2019
Rutherford County lawyer James Radford Smith on Monday received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Smith agreed to represent a client in a pending petition for post-conviction relief. Smith failed to obtain consent from his client before accepting fees from a third party and did not maintain good communication with his client throughout the representation. After entering appearance in the action, Smith failed to file an amended petition by the deadline prescribed by the court and filed an untimely appeal after the petition was denied. After completing the representation but still in possession of the client file, Smith decided to close his law office. The client file was inadvertently destroyed by the moving company hired by Smith in connection with the closure of his law office due to his failure to specify the client files and other office documents that needed to be preserved.

AG Slatery Asks SCOTUS to Defend Tennessee Laws Struck Down in Federal Court

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 2, 2019
Attorney General Herbert S. Slatery III filed a petition late last week with the U.S. Supreme Court in his ongoing effort to defend a package of Tennessee legislation that places caps on damages awarded by juries in civil lawsuits, the Tennessean reports. In December, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down the state’s cap on punitive damages, calling it a violation of the Tennessee Constitution. The federal court ruled the state legislature has no right under the state’s constitution to usurp the authority of juries to award punitive damages. Slatery is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to step in, saying states’ rights to decide their own constitutional issues is at stake.

Memphis Law Names Schaffzin New Law Dean

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 2, 2019
The University of Memphis has named Katharine Traylor Schaffzin as the new Dean of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Schaffzin is the first woman in the history of the law school to serve as dean. She has been with the University of Memphis since 2009, most recently serving as Interim Dean of Memphis Law over the past year.

Tennessee Hospital Sues Own Employees for Nonpayment of Medical Bills

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 1, 2019
Methodist Le Bonheur Hospital in Memphis is garnering national attention for a reputation of suing its own employees when they can’t pay their medical bills, NPR reports. The report details that just this year, more than a dozen employees faced suits brought by the hospital over their debts. The health insurance benefits for Methodist employees only allow them to seek medical care at Methodist facilities, even if a competitor has better financial assistance policies.

2 Tennessee Attorneys Named ABA On the Rise Award Winners

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 1, 2019
Brittany Faith, an attorney with Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison PC’s Immigration Practice Group in Chattanooga, and Bailey Schiermeyer, an attorney at Elder Law of East Tennessee in Knoxville, were named to the American Bar Association's 40 under 40 list, called On the Rise. The On The Rise Award program provides national recognition for ABA young lawyer members who exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership and legal and community service.

Eldridge Becomes New Tennessee Bar Foundation Chair

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 1, 2019
David M. Eldridge of Knoxville was recently installed as the 38th chair of the Tennessee Bar Foundation at its annual membership meeting in Nashville. Eldridge was first elected to the Board of Trustees in 2012, as an East Tennessee Trustee. He previously served as a member and later as chair of the organization’s Grant Review Committee and membership selection committee. He will serve until June 2020.

Running for Office? TBA Public Service Academy May Be For You

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 1, 2019
Ready to run? The TBA's Public Service Academy (PSA) will begin accepting applications from potential political candidates on Monday. The PSA is a bipartisan training program that provides Tennessee attorneys with the tools to run for local public offices. It takes place over the course of two weekends in the fall, during which fellows will learn strategy, campaign finance, work-life balance and more. In 2018, the TBA launched the program and trained its inaugural class of 29 attorneys. Several are running for office now.

2 Judges Reportedly Disciplined for Involvement with Moreland Costa Rica Trips

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 1, 2019
Two Nashville judges were disciplined after investigations into trips they took to Costa Rica the same time as disgraced former Judge Casey Moreland, the Tennessean reports. Moreland, who is in prison on federal corruption charges, told prosecutors other judges and attorneys went with him on trips to Costa Rica, and that attendees regularly paid for prostitutes and used marijuana, court records show. A response to a complaint about two judges who were accused of joining the trips stated that "appropriate disciplinary action has been taken," but did not describe what the discipline was.
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