Legal Aid of East Tennessee named Charlie McDaniel as director of operations for its nine offices across the Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Johnson City areas, the Hamilton County Herald reports. The areas include two Family Justice Centers and a Medical-Legal Partnership with Erlanger Health System. McDaniel serves on the Pro Bono Committee of the Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission, as well as the TBA’s Access to Justice Committee. He is also an associate member of the Justices Ray L. Brock Jr. and Robert E. Cooper American Inn of Court. 

An Alabama circuit court judge today denied a request by Jimmy Haslam, Pilot Flying J CEO, to throw out a deposition request. Attorneys for Halsam argue he should not be deposed, calling the deposition a “thinly-disguised effort to obtain discovery from him to be used in the litigation against him, wherever it ends up.” The deposition, scheduled for May 11 in Knoxville, is part of lawsuit claiming the company was involved in a fuel rebate scheme. Read more from The Tennessean. 

Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman told The Tennessean today that a delay of the May 20 sentencing of Cory Batey is likely. Batey, a former Vanderbilt University football player, was convicted earlier this month for aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery. His conviction for aggravated rape alone carries 15 to 26 years in prison. Prosecutors in Batey’s case and defense attorneys for Brandon Vandenburg – another former Vanderbilt player previously convicted in the 2013 rape – met for a status hearing this morning with Judge Monte Watkins. Vandenburg’s retrial is scheduled for June 13. 

Attorney Andrew ‘Andy’ Clark Rambo, founder and senior partner at Rambo, Trott and Burris in Shelbyville, died Monday (April 25). He was 68, The Tennessean reports. Rambo, a graduate of Memphis State Law School, was chairman of the board of First Community Bank and board member of First Community Mortgage. He served as Shelbyville mayor from 1979-1983, and was city attorney from 1983-1989. A memorial service is planned for Sunday, 3 p.m., at the Blue Ribbon Circle in Shelbyville. The family will receive visitors prior to the memorial beginning at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Geographic Society. 

Did litigation kill the Beatles? The cover story of the May 2016 ABA Journal explores in-depth the band's legal problems that emerged from the start of their career. Lawsuits stemmed from missteps in merchandising agreements, control of creative assets and management issues, which eventually resulted in the demise of the Fab Four. The article also includes a former band manager’s court battle for George Harrison’s solo compositions and Harrison's unsuccessful attempt at fending off a copyright infringement suit. 

Former lawmaker and Murfreesboro attorney W. Kent Coleman died today (April 28). He was 61, the Daily News Journal reports. A graduate of Nashville School of Law, Coleman practiced mostly family law in Rutherford County for more than 30 years. He served the 49th district in the General Assembly from 2002 to 2010. He also served on the Tennessee Judicial Council from 2007-2010. A visitation is planned for tomorrow, 4-8 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church, 210 North Spring St. in Murfreesboro. A memorial service will be held Saturday at the church at 3 p.m. 

“It is all but certain the seat will remain vacant until after U.S. elections in November,” Bloomberg predicts as the outlet reports television ad spending to support Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland has plummeted in the last two weeks. Fourteen Republican Senators have met with Garland, but just two support a public hearing on his nomination. 

The retrial of Michael Rimmer, who was sentenced to death 17 years ago for killing his girlfriend, began today in Shelby County Criminal Court. The Commercial Appeal reports Rimmer’s new trial was ordered in 2012 after a judge found Rimmer’s counsel failed to effectively investigate the case. A judge also found Shelby County attorney Thomas Henderson, who prosecuted Rimmer, "purposefully misled" Rimmer’s defense counsel about evidence. 

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP will now be known as Bradley. The firm is the third largest in Nashville by local attorneys, according to the Nashville Business Journal. The firm operates with around 500 attorneys in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. “Our Nashville office was founded in 1910 as Boult Cummings Conners & Berry and is proud to continue growing as Bradley," Nashville Managing Partner Lela Hollabaugh said in a press release announcing the change.

WATE reports the trial date for Allison Burchett, the ex-wife of Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, is set for Jan. 17. Allison Burchett is accused of stalking and cyber attacks against her boyfriend’s estranged wife.