Shelby County resident Angela Gilmore spent time behind bars after failing to pay Guardian ad Litem Shari Myers – an attorney Judge Donna Fields appointed to Gilmore’s divorce case involving children. WREG reports Gilmore claims she was unable to pay the $3,300 owed to Myers, prompting the attorney to file a petition of contempt against Gilmore.

“An Evening with the Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society and the Tennessee Supreme Court” is planned for Nov. 18 from 6-8 p.m. EST at the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga. The event is hosted by the Chattanooga Bar Association, Chattanooga Bar Foundation and the Brock/Cooper American Inn of Court.  Please RSVP to CBA Executive Director Lynda Hood by e-mail or at 423-602-9429.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court transferred the law license of Knox County lawyer D'Artagnan Honre Perry to disability inactive status on Nov 6. Read the BPR release.

The court also transferred the law license of Williamson County lawyer Clyde Douglas Cluck to disability inactive status on Nov. 6. Read the BPR release.

Perry and Cluck cannot practice law while on disability inactive status.

In an effort to make warrant arrests safer, Davidson County General Sessions Court is flagging some arrest warrants to alert police if the person sought suffers from mental health issues, The Tennessean reports. Court officials also stamp warrants if the defendant is on the veterans treatment docket or the person has substance abuse issues. "It creates an alert in the computer system to let people out in the field know they may react differently ... display bizarre behavior because of their circumstance," Metro Police Lt. Jeff Bauer said.

CSX Transportation Inc. wants to transfer a class-action lawsuit from Blount County Circuit Court to federal court, The Daily Times reports. The class-action lawsuit was filed after a train derailment on July 2 that resulted in the evacuation of 5,000 Maryville residents. The suit seeks unspecified damages. CSX is facing three other lawsuits in the derailment.

A proposed plan to erase charges filed against about 128,000 people in Nashville that have been dismissed or never prosecuted could cost more than $14 million to carry out, according to estimates from the Tennessee Department of Correction and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. "People’s lives shouldn’t be used as leverage to expand a government budget," Daniel Horwitz, a Nashville attorney who filed the class action suit, said in The Tennessean. "It’s a shame that the TBI and the Department of Correction have focused their attention on shutting down a popular local effort to help thousands of innocent people clear their names.”

The legal sector added 700 jobs in October, building on the momentum of 3,800 jobs added in September, according to numbers released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, The American Lawyer reports that firms known for their work in the energy industry are among firms that have indicated layoffs to come before the end of the year. 

The National Bar Association requested the transcript of a grand jury proceeding in which Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich recommended that a grand jury charge a police officer with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 19-year-old Darrius Stewart. However, The Commercial Appeal reports no transcript is available because the proceedings are secret under the state rules of criminal procedure. “Transparency is imperative in cases involving police officers taking the lives of citizens,” Benjamin L. Crump, president of the National Bar Association, said.

Programs from this summer's annual General Practitioners CLE are now available online. Take a few or as many as you need. Topics range from DUI to Bankruptcy Basics. See a full listing of the sessions available.

Dickinson Wright PLLC partnered with two health care veterans to launch a new corporate health care venture in Nashville – DW Franklin Consulting Group – to serve health care clients around the country. The group will provide consulting services in governmental relations, turnaround consulting and risk analysis. “In partnering with Dickinson Wright, we bridge legal and regulatory compliance guidance with operational consultancy, which is very timely for today’s market — if not overdue,” Consulting Group leader Kerry Hart said.