Gov. Bill Haslam will be the next leader of the Republican Governors Association, succeeding New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the group’s chairman, Nashville Public Radio reports. During Christie’s one-year stint as the RGA chair, he travelled around the country raising some $100 million for candidates. After the midterm elections, the number of GOP governors grew from 29 to 31, which is the highest number of Republican state leaders in decades. 

President Barack Obama last night announced a plan to allow up to 5 million of the country’s 11 million undocumented residents to obtain legal status in the U.S, the ABA Journal reports. As outlined in a press release, the president’s immigration reform plan calls for increased border enforcement, deporting felons rather than families and allowing parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents permission to stay here temporarily if they register, pass criminal and national security background checks and pay their fair share of taxes. In response to the announcement, Rep. Andy Holt (R- Dresden) and Sen. Mae Beavers (R- Mt. Juliet) are filing a joint resolution requesting Gov. Bill Haslam file a lawsuit against the Obama Administration, citing the commandeering of state resources, which they say would be required to execute the President's Executive Order, and the lack of enforcement of deportation statutes as warrant for legal recourse.

Visitation for longtime public defender Bethel Campbell Smoot, who died Tuesday (Nov. 21) at the age of 78, will be held Saturday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kilgore Funeral Home in Tullahoma. Services will be held Sunday in the funeral home chapel at 1:30 p.m. 

John Edward Herbison was suspended today for a period of 18 months based on three complaints of misconduct. Herbison failed to communicate with clients in two cases and failed to file a notice of appeal with the Court of Criminal Appeals and delayed seeking relief from the Court of Criminal Appeals in another. View the BPR notice.

The Shelby County Veterans Court will be able to double its enrollment thanks to a $1.5 million federal grant from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Service. Currently, the veterans court is able to treat 60 veterans at a time, but the grant money will allow the program to expand to a capacity of 117 veterans. Since its 2012 launch, the Veterans Court has offered mental health or drug treatment to certain offenders with military service backgrounds. The court also allows those who are enrolled in the program to secure a stable home, receive job assistance, and complete their GED or enroll in college-level classes. The Memphis Flyer has the story.

The former director of career services at Belmont University's College of Law has launched a consulting firm to help lawyers and law firms with recruitment, business development and career counseling services. “It’s a crowded marketplace, with more lawyers in the field, greater pricing pressures, and new technology constantly shaping the face of the industry,” Claudia Levy says.  “My objective is to make the practice of law more efficient, more effective, and flexible enough to successfully adapt to a continually changing world.” The Nashville Post has more.

The Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization has awarded more than $100,000 in grants to support Access to Justice initiatives in the state, the AOC announced Wednesday. The grants will extend by one year each the pro bono coordinator position and the aLEGALz project. The grants come from the CLE Commission’s reserves, funded from fees paid by attorneys who do not meet CLE requirements. “Encouraging lawyers to give back to their communities is a priority for the Court,” said Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee. “These programs play a significant role in identifying opportunities and aligning the appropriate resources, and we are grateful that the funding to continue them was possible.”

Stacey Smith has been selected to receive the annual Williamson County Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award by the Volunteer Lawyers Program of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest non-profit law firm. Smith, a computer programmer for Aspect in Brentwood and a licensed attorney, provides pro bono legal representation to domestic violence victims in Williamson County. The award was presented at a meeting of the Williamson County Bar Association. 

A new website unveiled yesterday uses crowdfunding to finance potentially high-value commercial lawsuits, the ABA Journal reports. LexShares connects accredited investors with plaintiffs in commercial lawsuits. LexShares’ staff of legal and securities professionals reviews the suits and only posts cases deemed to have strong merit. If the plaintiff wins a settlement or court judgment, the investors will recover an amount “proportionate to the investment,” the press release says. If the plaintiff loses, the investors lose their money.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block gay marriages in South Carolina, the Washington Post reports. The high court today denied a request by Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson to block the marriages while he challenges a federal judge’s recent order that went into effect at noon today and strikes down the state’s ban. Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented, although the court nor the dissenters gave any explanation, according to SCOTUSblog.