When Melanie D. Williams takes over as the new dean of the University of Tennessee College of Law this fall, she will be joining the ranks of the 59 women who run American Bar Association-accredited law schools, The National Law Journal reports. Women comprise 30 percent of all law deans, up from under 21 percent in 2008, according to a survey of law faculty by the Association of American Law Schools. And the numbers are growing: 40 percent of deans slated to take office this summer are female.

Jean Crowe died today (June 22). Considered by many to be the Mother of the Domestic Violence Movement in Nashville, Crowe founded the Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence while an employee of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. The Jean Crowe Advocacy Center was named in her honor. In 2013, she was named the TBA Public Service Attorney of the Year. Information on funeral services is pending.

The Supreme Court is considering an emergency appeal from abortion providers in Texas, who want the justices to block two provisions of a state law that already has forced the closure of roughly half the licensed abortion clinics in the state. Ten of the remaining 19 clinics will have to shut their doors by July 1, without an order from the Supreme Court. The justices could signal by the end of June whether they are likely to take up the biggest case on the hot-button subject in nearly a quarter-century. WATE has more from the Associated Press.

The president of the American Bar Association told Tennessee lawyers that the traditional method of providing pro bono legal services in civil matters isn’t working, the Memphis Daily News reports. “People are migrating en masse to these online services,” William C. Hubbard told a group of 200 attorneys and judges Thursday at the Tennessee Bar Association’s annual meeting in Memphis. “We need to make sure we don’t have perhaps two justice systems that operate independently – one totally online and totally unregulated and one highly regulated but not innovative enough. We need to synthesize those two systems.”

As the city of Chattanooga readies for the official launch of the Family Justice Center on July 1, Police Chief Fred Fletcher and others told the Chattanooga Times Free Press they expect the number of domestic violence incidents in Chattanooga and Hamilton County to spike by 20 or 30 percent because more people will report the crime. The center is designed to cater to victims of domestic violence by offering a variety of services — from legal advice to health care — under one roof near the Eastgate Town Center.

With a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage expected any day, gay couples in states with bans are making wedding plans, courthouse officials are getting ready for different scenarios and steadfast foes are working on their strategies to keep up the opposition. Marriage license bureaus are bracing for a rush of applicants if the court overturns bans. Meanwhile, there’s been a series of planning sessions by groups that intend to explore religious objection responses to protect “traditional marriage” limited to heterosexuals. WKRN has more from the AP.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC is the only law office in the state to have earned LEED® Gold certification for its commercial interiors, according to a public directory of projects. The LEED rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council totes a holistic approach to building design, prioritizing long-term energy-efficiency as well as worker health and productivity. Its offices are located within Chattanooga's Liberty Tower, which recently became the largest LEED® v2009 Gold certified core and shell project in Tennessee.

Jamie Ellen Machamer has been reinstated to the practice of law effective June 16. Machamer is also ordered to pay the Board of Professional Responsibility's costs in this matter. She was temporarily suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court on May 28. View the BPR notice. 

Montgomery County Democrats did not request a local primary accompanying the 2016 presidential preference primary, meaning that only Republicans will choose nominees for local county races on the ballot next year, the Leaf Chronicle reports. This could include the race for 19th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Part 4, which covers both Montgomery and Robertson counties. The state GOP would have to request the primary and even then it would also require the formal participation of the Robertson County Republican Party for it to be on the ballot in both counties.

Knox County Commissioners gave the initial OK to a $5 litigation fee that would be imposed by the county's Clerk of Criminal Court, Knoxnews reports. The fee is expected to generate $120,000 annually and will help run the Fourth Circuit Court, which hears domestic cases. The fee needs two-thirds approval from Commission to become part of court costs in Knox County.