A 2013 state law preventing cities and counties from requiring employers to pay an hourly wage above the the established minimum may prevent Chattanooga Councilman Moses Freeman from introducing a citywide minimum wage. Nooga reports Freeman says the current $7.25 per hour federal rate is not enough "to get workers out of poverty." Tennessee House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick is not keen on the idea. "For them to have their own minimum wage laws out of step with the rest of the state would distort the market and kill jobs," McCormick said. "I strongly suspect that the state would step in and prohibit the city from doing that."

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP appointed Nashville partners Emily Hatch Bowman and Ty E. Howard as new practice group chairs within the firm. Bowman represents financial institutions and corporate clients in a variety of commercial and real estate lending matters. Howard represents organizations and individuals in government and internal investigations, compliance matters and related civil or criminal litigation. “Bradley Arant’s practice leaders hold a crucial and respected role, as they work to guide their colleagues in a trajectory that benefits our clients and the firm as a whole,” firm chairman Beau Grenier said.

Sept. 10 is the last day to register for the upcoming Tennessee CASA Annual Meeting, planned for Sept. 22, 10 – 11:30 a.m. at the Nashville Public Library. Brunch will be provided. Tickets may be purchased online.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider three applicants -- Walter B. Johnson II of Lenoir City, Porsche Lyn Shantz of Lenoir City and Jeffery H. Wicks of Rockwood -- to fill the criminal court vacancy in the Ninth Judicial District. The district includes Loudon, Meigs, Morgan and Roane counties. The vacancy is being created by Judge E. Eugene Eblen's Dec. 31 retirement. The council will conduct a public interview with the applicants Sept. 25 in the Raider Room at Roane State Community College. The meeting will include a public hearing starting at 9:30 a.m. EDT.

Memphis attorney and TBA vice president Lucian T. Pera of Adams and Reese was appointed to chair the Coordinating Council with the American Bar Association's Center for Professional Responsibility. The Center’s Coordinating Council oversees and directs legal and judicial ethical issues that come before the ABA’s policymaking body, the ABA House of Delegates and other national initiatives. Pera, a Vanderbilt University Law School graduate, is the immediate past treasurer of the ABA and a former member of its Board of Governors and Executive Committee.

Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis was released from jail after being behind bars since Thursday for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses based on religious objections, CNN reports. U.S. District Judge David Banning ordered that Davis be released from jail, but also ordered the clerk not to interfere with her deputies issuing marriage licenses to all eligible couples. Upon her release, Davis stood with presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and addressed a large crowd. Davis’ attorney, Mat Staver, would not answer questions about whether Davis would stop same-sex couples from receiving marriage licenses when she returns to work. 

University of Tennessee Knoxville's new accelerated degree program, UT 3+3, allows students to earn both a bachelor’s degree and law degree in six years. In the program, students complete three years of approved undergraduate coursework in the College of Arts and Sciences, then participating students are admitted to the College of Law and become full-time, first-year law students. “UT Law offers an excellent legal education at a great value, and our 3+3 program will make law school an even more affordable option for UT students by saving them a full year of tuition,” said Melanie D. Wilson, dean of the College of Law.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will deliver the annual Constitution Day Lecture at Rhodes College, Sept. 22, 6 p.m. in the McCallum Ballroom. Justice Scalia’s lecture, “Constitution Interpretation," is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Rhodes College Communications Department at 901-843-3874.

Oak Ridge attorney and altenate judge William Lawrence Tunnell died Sept. 5, The Oak Ridger reports. He was 94. Tunnell attended the University of Tennessee Knoxville for his undergraduate degree and for law school. He was a U.S. Army sergeant major during World War II and received the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom in 2004. Weatherford Mortuary in Oak Ridge is in charge of the arrangements.

Humphrey on the Hill reports a schedule of nine public meetings on Tennessee’s roads and transportation needs was released by Senate Transportation and Safety Commitment Chairman Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville. “These hearings are to discuss solutions to fund the long-term needs of Tennessee’s transportation system,” Tracy said. “Our needs are multi-faceted and there are several options which have been offered.”