The Board of Law Examiners has released the passage rates for the July Tennessee bar exam. Of the 810 test takers, 66.3 percent passed the exam. Vanderbilt University topped the list of Tennessee law schools, with a first-time passage rate of 86 percent followed by University of Tennessee Knoxville (82.76 percent), University of Memphis (73.33 percent), Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (77.14 percent), Belmont University (70.75 percent) and Nashville School of Law (45.16 percent).

The Nashville woman who was arrested while nine-months-pregnant during a routine traffic stop in 2008 then shackled to a hospital bed during labor and after giving birth has been granted a U-visa. The visa allows victims of violent crime to live and work in the country. Juana Villegas’ case drew national attention to the issue of how pregnant women are treated while incarcerated and to Nashville’s 287(g) program. Now repealed, the divisive program let local police enforce federal immigration law. The city now leaves immigration status checks to federal agents, Nashville Public Radio reports.

Tennessee's first five days of early voting was down by 32.8 percent compared to the 2010 midterm election, state figures show. According to Secretary of State Tre Hargett's website, 136,880 registered voters took advantage of early voting from its start last Wednesday through Monday, compared to the 203,793 people who voted during the first five days of early voting in the 2010 midterm election. Voter interest in this year's midterm has been described as low in many parts of the country, especially among Democrats. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has more.

Knoxville attorney Bruce Poston died Tuesday afternoon when his car ran off the road and struck a tree. He was 66. According to the Poston Law Firm website, Poston has done over 150 jury trials, with more than 35 being first degree murder cases. Many of these cases were high profile covered extensively by both local and national news outlets. Services pending. WBIR has more.

Waller law firm has launched a comprehensive online resource to help healthcare leadership navigate diverse issues pertaining to the arrival of the Ebola virus in the United States. The site serves as a go-to source of information for executives and board members who are asking what Ebola means for their organization, employees and patients.

On Oct. 20, Kenneth Scott Williamson was suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court for two years retroactive to Sept. 6, 2013. Williamson shared fees with a non-lawyer, facilitated the unauthorized practice of law by a non-lawyer, failed to properly terminate his relationship with clients and failed to communicate with clients in a reasonable manner. View the BPR notice.

Crystal Michelle Goan was publicly censured on Oct. 17 for improperly using methods of obtaining evidence and attempting to gain an advantage against her husband for their divorce proceeding. View the BPR notice.

In an editorial, the Commercial Appeal on Monday looked at a local case of two teenage boys accused of participating in a mob attack, and whether some youths can be rehabilitated within the juvenile system or if the severity and nature of their crimes warrant transfer into the adult system. A decision by Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael is pending on whether they should remain within the juvenile justice system, where they may have a better chance to be rehabilitated, or have their cases transferred to Criminal Court, where they would be handled as adults.

Hamilton County Public Defender Steve Smith tells the Chattanooga Times Free Press he wants the office to run like a private law practice by adopting vertical representation. "I want a client to know who their lawyer is from the moment they're arrested until the moment that case is resolved, rather than just the office is assigned to that client," Smith said. In reality, the public defender’s office has until now used a horizontal model. Vertical representation is the standard recommended by the American Bar Association, and it's being slowly adopted in large metropolitan counties around the state, Knox County Public Defender Mark Stephens said.

The new wave of legal and law-related services has added to the complexity of practicing law. Explore the many angles of fee-sharing with nonlawyers, work product protection and new challenges to confidentiality during "The New Business of Law: Attorney Outsourcing, Legal Service Companies & Commercial Litigation Funding" on Nov. 12. Visit TBA CLE for more information.