The Lawyers’ Association for Women Marion Griffin Chapter will hold its annual New Admittees’ Breakfast on Nov. 3 at the Nashville Music City Center, Meeting Room 101, 201 Fifth Ave. S. Melanie D. Wilson, dean of the University of Tennessee College of Law, will be the keynote speaker. The program is scheduled for 8 – 9 a.m. The Tennessee Bar Association will also hold an open house and luncheon for the new attorneys. It will take place at the Tennessee Bar Center between the morning and afternoon ceremonies.

After an investigation revealed more than a dozen bail bonding companies owed the state of Tennessee $141,000, the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office has collected roughly $78,500 from agencies in its region, WBIR reports. The clerk’s office said the debts have accrued over the last few years due to the agencies’ Knox County defendants failing to show up for court. 

A four-part webcast series will begin Nov. 4 at noon for lawyers and mediators regarding employee dispute resolution. Courses include Creating and Managing an Employee Dispute Plan, Dispute Resolution in Health Care Settings, Proposed Collaborative Law Rule for Family Law Mediators and Interaction Between Mediators and Lawyers. The series is worth 4.5 credits of CLE.

The Nashville School of Law is offering a limited number of partial scholarships to second, third and fourth year students based on need and scholarship. A scholarship request must be in the form of a letter to Dean William C. Koch Jr. and submitted by Nov. 1.

The American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging is seeking emergency pro bono representation in a possible risk benefit suspension for Kentucky and West Virginia citizens. Many local attorneys have been working to protect these individuals’ rights and benefits, but need additional representation to assist them in obtaining evidence and to represent them before the Appeals Council. To date, 75 attorneys have volunteered to help. For more information, contact Mary Going, Appalachian Research and Defense Fund pro bono coordinator, 800-678-8525, ext.1315.

Several Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) events are planned in Nashville during October’s Celebrate Pro Bono Month. U Visa Training for Pro Bono Volunteers will be held Oct. 13, 1 – 4 p.m. at Casa Azafran, 2195 Nolensville Pike. Later that same day, the JFON Volunteer Appreciation Happy Hour will be held at 4:30 p.m. at a location to be determined. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Training for Pro Bono Volunteers will be held Oct. 15, 1 – 2 p.m. at Casa Azafran. The DACA Legal Clinic is scheduled for 2 – 6 p.m. that same day at Hillcrest United Methodist Church, 5112 Raywood Lane. The U Visa Legal Clinic will be held Oct. 17, 9 a.m. – noon at Hillcrest United Methodist Church. Contact Wade Munday for more information regarding JFON events. See a full list of Celebrate Pro Bono Month events. 

The Lawyer and Statesman reports that human rights is growing in popularity among law students despite the job market remaining flat. “There are so many ways to practice, not all of which are well-charted, and really takes some innovation on the part of the lawyer,” Jessica Peake, Director of UCLA School of Law’s International & Comparitive Law Program, said. “And some of the most interesting jobs are in countries you never thought you’d live in.” 

Former Erlanger interim chief executive officer Charlesetta Woodard-Thompson will receive $600,000 to settle a wrongful-termination lawsuit she filed against the Chattanooga hospital more than two years ago, the Times Free Press reports. Woodard-Thompson claimed that she was the target of racial remarks and e-mail hacks when she filed a $25 million lawsuit after being terminated while on medical leave. “This settlement is comparable to what Erlanger had agreed to pay Woodard-Thompson more than two years ago, but was refused by her at that time,” Pat Charles, an Erlanger spokeswoman, said.

The Tennessean reports that currently there are no plans to take away incentives or grants from Volkswagen following the company’s admission to cheating in order to pass emissions tests. "Any discussion of clawbacks is hypothetical. We have assurances directly from company executives that Volkswagen's expansion remains on track," said Clint Brewer, a spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

University of Tennessee students, faculty and staff joined members of United Campus Workers in speaking against Gov. Bill Haslam’s privatization proposal yesterday during a campus visit from Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, and Sen. Lee Harris, D-Memphis, WBIR reports. The privatization proposal is predicted to cut 1,000 campus jobs, according to The Daily Beacon. "Sen. Harris and I are traveling the state of Tennessee to see if there are any ways to make the state run more efficiently," Clemmons said. "But what we heard today is that, in fact, no, it is being run efficiently. It is being run effectively, and that's what we want to maintain."