George “Buck” Lewis, a shareholder in the Memphis office of Baker Donelson and a past TBA president, has been appointed by the American Bar Association to the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. The committee's mission is to ensure access to justice through the expansion and enhancement of the delivery of legal services to the underserved through volunteer efforts of legal professionals nationwide, the Memphis Business Journal reports.

Memphis lawyer William Clary Lunsford died Sunday (June 8). Born in 1939, Lunsford received his law degree from Vanderbilt University and worked at Pete Marrick in Little Rock, Arkansas, before practicing Tax and Estate Law in Memphis at the old Montidonico Firm. Later he was a partner at Laughlin Halle Law Firm. Funeral services were held Monday. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Grace-St. Luke's Church in Memphis, Grace Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 1791 in Anniston, Alabama, or to the charity of one's choice.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear five arguments in gay marriage fights in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee in a single session on Aug. 6, setting the stage for historic rulings in each state. Though the cases are unique, each deals with whether statewide gay marriage bans violate the Constitution. WKRN News 2 has more from the Associated Press.

Venus Michelle Stanek’s law license was transferred to disability inactive status on June 16. Stanek cannot practice law while on disability inactive status, and may return after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing of clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and she is fit to resume. View the BPR notice.

The law license of K. Karl Spalvins was transferred to disability inactive status on June 16. Spalvins cannot practice law while on disability inactive status, and may return after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing of clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and he is fit to resume. View the BPR notice.

A registered nurse sustained a compensable injury to her neck. The trial court found that she was permanently and totally disabled as a result of the injury. Her employer has appealed, contending that the trial court erred by failing to cap the award at one- and-one-half times the impairment rating pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-241(d)(1)(A). In the alternative, the employer asserts that the trial court erred by awarding permanent total disability benefits.

The petitioner, James Richard Blue, Jr., appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner pled guilty to sale of a Schedule II controlled substance over .5 grams and received an agreed-to sentence of twenty years in confinement as a Range III persistent offender. On appeal, he contends that his guilty plea was not entered knowingly and voluntarily due to the ineffective assistance of counsel.

A Davidson County jury convicted Harold D. Doss, Jr., of first degree felony murder, second degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, and especially aggravated kidnapping. The jury convicted Johnathan Lamar Hathaway of first degree felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, and especially aggravated kidnapping. The trial court merged Defendant Doss’s convictions for first degree felony murder and second degree murder and ordered Defendant Doss to serve an effective sentence of life plus thirty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction.

The petitioner, Mitchell Ford, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. At trial, the petitioner was convicted of arson and aggravated burglary, Class C felonies, and was sentenced to two fifteen-year terms to be served concurrently. On appeal, he argues that he was denied his right to effective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to challenge the identification of the petitioner by the State’s witnesses and failed to challenge a juror who knew the victim and the petitioner and his family.

The petitioner, Andre Kimbrough, was convicted of second degree murder, a Class A felony. He now appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, he argues that the statute of limitations for filing a petition for post-conviction relief should be tolled because trial counsel did not give the petitioner adequate notice that his direct appeal was denied or notice that trial counsel did not apply for permission to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. After reviewing the record, we affirm the denial of post- conviction relief.