Legislation amending Tennessee’s adoption law will be heard Tuesday in the House Civil Justice Committee. Proponents of the amendment (HB1389) that would amend 24 code sections say it represents technical changes. The measure is sponsored by Rep. John Mark Windle, D-Livingston. TBA members may comment on the bill via TBAImpact under the Famiily Law section of state bills. Read a summary of the bill provided by proponents.

The Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women will hold its 2016 Empowerment Conference: Great Expectations! on April 8, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP, 511 Union Street in Nashville. Speakers include Gwen K. Young, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Global Women’s Leadership Initiative, and Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee. The cost is $100 for TLAW members and $150 for non-members. The event will kick off with a cocktail reception April 7 at the Nashville City Club.

Attorneys Gena Lewis and Michael Bernard this week filed a civil-rights lawsuit against the Blount County Sheriff's Office and former Investigator Scott Carpenter. The suit is on behalf of Douglas F. Jordan Jr., who was convicted of second-degree murder in 2002 in a 1998 killing. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals later ruled that Carpenter withheld evidence in the case, which resulted in the court overturning the conviction. A jury last year acquitted Jordan during his retrial in Blount Country Criminal Court. Read more from the Knoxville News Sentinel.

The Associated Press reports that a federal appeals court will decide whether to overturn a Federal Communications Commission ruling allowing city-owned broadband services to expand. The FCC last year voted to override a Tennessee law that prevented the expansion of broadband service in Chattanooga. Joshua Turner, a private attorney representing Tennessee, argued Thursday that Congress hasn't given the FCC any special authority to promulgate broadband.

In all law-related jobs, median pay for female workers in 2014 was 51.6 percent of the pay received by male workers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The data also revealed median pay for full-time female lawyers was 77.4 percent of the pay earned by their male counterparts, and female judges, magistrates and other judicial workers earned 71.8 percent of men’s pay in those occupations. “…Women are often labeled as greedy and aggressive and not team driven when asking for a well-deserved raise and bonus,” said ABA President Laurel Bellows. Read more from the ABA Journal.

Knoxville attorney Jack W. Piper Jr. died Wednesday (March 16), according to the Knoxville Bar Association. Piper, who graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1984, practiced with Piper, Ramsey & Hill. He also practiced with O'Connor, Petty, Child and Piper. The family will receive friends from 4-7 p.m. tomorrow at Grace Baptist Church, 7171 Oak Ridge Highway in Knoxville. A service will follow at 7 p.m.

Registration is still available for the Tennessee Faith and Justice Alliance Attorney Training on March 31, 10 a.m. – 4:15 p.m., at the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville. The training will focus on debt collection, expungements, landlord/tenant law, family law and civil general session issues in an effort to help attorneys offer free legal support to low income Tennesseans. Lunch will be provided.

An administrative judge ruled this week in favor of a Chipotle employee who was fired last year after criticizing the fast-food chain on Twitter. The ruling said the company’s social media rules violated labor laws and ordered the restaurant to post signs acknowledging some of its employee policies were illegal. Chipotle is also required to rehire the Philadelphia-based employee and pay him for lost wages, the Associated Press reports.

This appeal arises from a contract to purchase real estate. Appellee contracted to sell Appellant the property at issue, subject to the property appraising at a certain value and the Appellant obtaining financing. Upon discovering that the property was subject to an easement held by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Appellant refused to purchase the property, contending that Appellee could not convey good and marketable title. Appellee filed suit for specific performance and also sought injunctive relief to prevent Appellant from purchasing other real property.

This is an age discrimination case. The 50-year-old plaintiff worked for the defendant company as a manager. In 2007, an internal investigation revealed that the plaintiff had violated two of the company’s policies. The plaintiff was ultimately terminated for violating the policies. The plaintiff filed this lawsuit alleging age discrimination. The company filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the plaintiff could not establish a prima facie claim for discrimination or that the company’s explanation for terminating him was a pretext for discrimination.