The Metro Nashville Public Schools board voted yesterday to sue the state for a larger share of education funding, The Tennessean reports. The board claims Nashville is not receiving the adequate amount of funds for English language learners, despite reportedly having the highest ELL population in the state. Shelby County Schools and seven Hamilton County-area districts are already suing the state for education funding. 

Nine out of 10 lawyers recommend that Tennesseans vote to “retain” the three Tennessee Supreme Court Justices on the Aug. 4 ballot, according to a TBA Candidate Evaluation Poll conducted over the last four weeks. The TBA asked its members to indicate whether they highly recommended, recommended, did not recommend or had no informed opinion on the retention election of Justices Jeffrey S. Bivins, Holly Kirby and Roger A. Page. More information, including data tables of the results, is available on the TBA website. 

Avenue Financial Holdings and Pinnacle Financial Partners have signed a memorandum of understanding with plaintiffs in a class-action suit that claims Avenue’s board of directors put their personal interests ahead of Avenue shareholders in Pinnacle’s proposed acquisition of the bank. The Nashville Post reports the MOU requires the two companies to disclose more information about the strategies and talks leading up to their $200 million deal announcement. 

Federal Magistrate Judge Joe Brown is recommending that Baptist Healing Trust's suit against Pension Benefits Guaranty Corp. be dismissed, noting that 2,000 Baptist Healing pensioners will have have no recourse to recover their pensions if the case proceeds. Baptist Healing, which sold most of its assets to Ascension Health, claims the hospital is exempt from federal regulation because the Employment Retirement Income Security Act contains an exemption for "church plans.” Read more from the Nashville Post. 

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that the state has spent more than $200,000 on legal representation for the University of Tennessee in response to a federal Title IX lawsuit filed against the school earlier this year. The school’s lawyers have until Thursday to file a response to the suit. 

A live broadcast CLE Friday at several Baker Donelson offices will train non-immigration-law practitioners on how to aid eligible unaccompanied children with obtaining predicate state court orders for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Immigrant Children and Tennessee Family Courts: Challenges and Avenues for Relief is scheduled from noon - 2 p.m. EDT and approved for two hours of CLE credit. The course is free if you agree to take a case pro-bono. You may choose the location you want to attend through the online registration.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission today forwarded to Gov. Bill Haslam three nominees for the impending Chancery Court vacancy in the 20th Judicial District, which serves Davidson County: Paul Charles Ney Jr. of Nashville, Matthew J. Sweeney III of Nashville and William Edwin Young of Brentwood. The vacancy will be created by the retirement in September of Chancellor Carol McCoy. 

The TBA is starting the Legal Assistance Volunteers for Patent Applicants (LAVPA), a pro bono program that will match individual inventors and small businesses with patent attorneys to assist inventors in obtaining a patent for their inventions. There are several ways attorneys and law firms can assist with the program. Those interested in supporting the program may contact LAVPA Coordinator J. Scott “Skip” Rudsenske, (615) 277-3207, or seek him out at the TBA Convention beginning tomorrow in Nashville. 

University of Tennessee College of Law students and faculty successfully gained clemency for Emlera Quince, a man sentenced to 25 years in prison for cocaine charges. The 55-year-old was represented through the college’s Federal Clemency Clinic, which ultimately submitted a 147-page clemency petition on Quince’s behalf. President Obama made the decision to commute Quince’s sentence on June 3.  

Tony Parker, a 33-year veteran of the Tennessee Department of Correction, was today appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam to serve as TDOC commissioner. Parker will replace Derrick Schofield who announced his resignation earlier this month. Parker has served five administrations, beginning his career as a correctional officer and serving since 2012 as assistant commissioner of prisons, according to a news release from the governor’s office.