The law license of Michael D. Kellum was reinstated after suspension for 33 months with credit for 22 months served. Download the BPR notice.

On Feb. 13, Elizabeth Catherine Cox received a public censure for failing to communicate with her client about the status of a post-trial motion for consideration in a divorce matter and later alleged to her client and the Board that she had timely filed the motion but that the judge had denied the motion without a hearing. After an investigation, it was determined that Cox had never filed the motion. Download the BPR notice.

Christopher J. Wnuk received a public censure on Feb. 13. Wnuk is principally licensed to practice law in the State of Missouri but also holds an active law license in the State of Kansas. He practiced law in Tennessee after his pro hac vice registration status had expired by filing pleadings, attending mediation, and appearing in court in Tennessee. Additionally, Wnuk’s firm letterhead listed his admission to the State of Louisiana although his license to practice law in Louisiana had been on inactive status since 2002. Download the BPR notice.

Several Republican, Democratic and Independent candidates have pulled qualifying papers to run in the Franklin County primary and general elections. All candidates have until Thursday at noon to turn their qualifying papers in to the Franklin County Election Office. Positions available include mayor, circuit court judge, chancellor, district attorney, general sessions judge and more. Several state representative seats are also open. Visit the Herald Chronicle to read the full list.

The civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice says that asking would-be lawyers standard questions about their mental health, including their history of diagnosis and treatment, could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In a letter to the Louisiana Supreme Court, the division says some, but not all, of the questions asked in a standard National Conference of Bar Examiners questionnaire are unduly broad and violate the ADA. The letter suggests  civil rights questions in character and fitness applications should focus on conduct rather than status of the applicant. The ABA Journal has more.

After several years and as many false starts, an ABA committee has given up for now trying to improve upon the existing bar exam requirements in the law school accreditation standards, the ABA Journal reports. The Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s standards review committee, which met in conjunction with the ABA Midyear Meeting in Chicago last week, voted instead to recommend turning the current interpretation on bar passage rates into a standard. Under the current interpretation – and proposed new standard – a law school can meet the bar pass requirement either by showing that 75 percent of its graduates who took the bar exam in at least three of the previous five years passed or by showing that its graduates’ first-time bar pass rate was no more than 15 points below the average bar pass rate for ABA-approved schools in states where its graduates took the bar.

Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, has pulled his sponsorship of a bill designed to protect persons or religious organizations (both for-profit and non-profit) that choose to deny services or goods in conjunction with a civil union, domestic partnership, or gay marriage less than a week after filing it. SB 2566, dubbed "Turn the Gays Away" Bill by equality advocates, is moving forward with a new Senate sponsor, Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville. On the House side, the bill is sponsored by Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville. The bill has been placed on the Judiciary Committee calendar, which Kelsey chairs. The Memphis Flyer has more.

The law firm of Rogers, Berry, Chesney & Cannon PLLC recently sold its office building on Kirby Parkway in Memphis and is relocating to the iBank building on Poplar Avenue In East Memphis. RBCC is a litigation firm that practices primarily in the area of family law, and the new location allows the firm to move closer to the Shelby County Courthouse, the Memphis Daily News reports.

Russell Gray, managing shareholder of Baker Donelson’s Chattanooga office, has been elected to a three-year term on the firm’s board of directors, the Hamilton County Herald reports. Gray is a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Department and concentrates his practice in litigation and labor and employment issues. A graduate of the American University Washington College of Law, Gray is also an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

William “Bill” Killian, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, will be the guest speaker at the next Community Think Tank hosted by the Hamilton County Coalition and the U.S. Department of JusticeThursday at 5 p.m. on Thursday at the Coalition office in Chattanooga. Topics will include arrest, prosecution and sentencing at the federal level; prescription drug abuse and designer drugs; victims’ rights; and being proactive citizens in the community. Killian will identify community problems that lead to criminal and drug activity, and provide strategies to reduce drug activity and availability. Seating is limited, RSVP by calling (423) 305-1449 or emailing Hugh Reece. The Hamilton County Herald has more.