The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in six cases at the Supreme Court Building in Knoxville on Sept. 9-10. Cases include a legal malpractice lawsuit and determining if a traffic stop involving a Knoxville attorney who pled guilty to driving under the influence was proper. Docket details are available. 

The University of Tennessee College of Law is among the 10 top schools for graduating students with the least debt, U.S. News and World Report says. “This report only confirms what we already know: that UT Law offers a superb legal education at a great value, with practical training against a theoretical background,” Melanie D. Wilson, dean of the College of Law, said in a university press release. The report, published Sept. 1., said UT’s class of 2014 completed law school with an average debt load of $66,201, compared to the national average of $111,899.

Mathews Volkswagen/Kia of Clarksville was fined $30,000 by the state after sending misleading advertising scratch-off mailers to consumers in 2013-14, The Leaf-Chronicle reports. General Manager Terry Corbin Yarbrough said the mailers originated out of an Oklahoma company and he did not realize they were misleading upon approving their distribution. According to the office of Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery, the state accepted a negotiated settlement following an investigation by the Division of Consumer Affairs.

“American lawyers lean to the left of the ideological spectrum," according to a new study by professors from Harvard, Stanford and the University of Chicago Law School. Charlotte School of Law, Northern Illinois University and Howard University topped the authors’ list of most liberal law schools, and the study found the most liberal practice area is entertainment law. Authors also note that although many lawyers are more liberal than the entire population of political donors, few lawyers are at extreme ends of the ideological spectrum or in the middle of the distribution.

Joseph James Doherty was disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court today following four complaints of misconduct, including failing to comply with continuing legal education requirements and failing to advise a client that the case had been dismissed. Doherty also abandoned his practice. Read the BPR release.

Some Tennesssee lawmakers disagree with the the University of Tennessee’s request in a recent Office of Diversity newsletter that encourages students to use gender-neutral pronouns such as “ze." According to the Times Free Press, Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, said the request is "the clearest example of political correctness run amok that I have seen in quite some time." Ramsey said UT officials should resolve the issue or the legislature will weigh in when it returns in January. University spokeswoman Karen Ann Simsen said there is no mandate or official policy to use the language intended to make the campus more inclusive for gays, lesbians and transgender students.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Edythe Paschall Christie from the practice of law Sept. 2 until further orders. Christie was suspended based upon her criminal convition for tampering with evidence in the matter of State of Tennessee v. Edythe Christie in the circuit court of Madison County. Read the BPR release.

Learn about the new Transportation Network Company Service Act and its effects upon Uber, Lyft and other transportation network companies (TNC) in Tennessee. The Sept. 30 webcast will also cover the new law’s effects upon insurance coverage in auto tort cases where a TNC driver is involved. The course is worth one hour of CLE credit.

The American Bar Association launched the organization’s first social media campaign to protect the Federal Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) from possible elimination by Congress. Under the program, recent law school graduates and other professionals may qualify for loan forgiveness upon entering and working full-time in public service jobs in the government and non-profit sector. “Using social media for advocacy is a young person’s sport, but since our constituency on this issue is in large part students and young lawyers, they are an ideal audience for this approach,” said Thomas M. Susman, director of the ABA’s Governmental Affairs Office in Washington, D.C., which is conducting the campaign.

TBA Members can show support for the campaign by sharing #Loan4Giveness on social media. The TBA is also requesting lawyers share their experience with the PSLF program.

March for Life, an anti-abortion group, will not be required to provide insurance coverage for contraception based on ethical objections, not religious objections, according to a ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon. March for Life sued the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies last year, calling the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate unconstitutional because it granted an exemption for churches, but did not provide an ethical exemption. According to The New York Times, Judge Leon agreed, saying the contraceptive requirement violated the Constitution by treating religious and nonreligious groups differently.