Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the Tennessee Bar Association have concluded a multi-city panel discussion series on the issue of Civil Right to Counsel. This year is  the 50th anniversary of Gideon v Wainwright, which established the right to counsel in criminal cases. A great deal of discussion has been going on nationally about the lack of a right to counsel in critical civil cases where the risk of harm is greater than that in many criminal cases, including domestic violence, custody and foreclosure. Each of the sessions began with videos featuring Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade and Tennessee Bar Association President Cindy Wyrick. The Knoxville event on Nov. 15 was held at Lincoln Memorial University's Duncan School of Law. The second was Nov. 18 at Memorial Park Community Center in Johnson City and the third presentation was today on the University of Tennessee Chattanooga campus. Read more from LAET or see photos from the events.

The lack of diversity in race, gender and background poses a “huge danger” to the judiciary, both federal and state, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Tuesday during a speech at American University Washington College of Law. She also slammed the legal profession for perpetuating the glass ceiling, asserting that the number of minority partners in law firms is "dismally small,” the Blog of the Legal Times reports. Law school faculties are also lacking in diversity, according to Vanderbilt University Law School professor Tracey E. George and Toronto law professor Albert H. Yoon, who co-authored a forthcoming article for the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. They found that law school faculties aren’t nearly as diverse as their student bodies, due to the small field from which professors are hired. Seventy-five percent of all applicants hired by law schools attended a top 50, Tier 1 school, and the majority of those hires came from just three schools: Harvard, Yale or Stanford. The Wall Street Journal law blog has more.

Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles announced today that he is running for re-election, the Chattanoogan reports. Knowles is known for pioneering Tennessee’s first tag renewal option by Internet. He has received three County Clerk of the Year awards and was named Statewide Official of the Year by the County Officials Association in 2006.

Long-delayed plans for a retail and student housing complex on Highland near the University of Memphis are on hold again after Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper said in an advisory opinion released Wednesday that neither the university nor the Tennessee Board of Regents is empowered by state law to enter into a “student housing affiliation agreement” with the developer that would have put the university’s name on the privately owned and operated apartment building for students, faculty and staff. The Commercial Appeal has the story.

Acting swiftly on a request from lawyers for Pilot Flying J, U.S. District Judge James M. Moody granted a motion to seal the list of trucking companies that have opted out of a proposed $72 million settlement of diesel fuel rebate charges with the Knoxville company accused of cheating them. The Tennessean reports that both the motion and approval were dated Thursday but did not appear on the federal docket system until today. Moody’s action comes just before a hearing on the proposed settlement, scheduled for Monday in his Little Rock courtroom. The senior judge already has given preliminary approval to the settlement plan.

The Dempsey Law Office, a Carroll County firm that has operated for several years in Paris and Henry County, recently opened a new location near the Henry County court square, the Post-Intelligencer reports. Benjamin Dempsey, the firm’s principal partner, offers legal representation for Social Security disability, criminal justice, financial counseling, bankruptcy, wills and estate planning.

Rutherford County Republican Party Chairman Jeff Peach resigned Wednesday to run for Circuit Court Judge. “I’m still past chairman, but I will not be in any type of leadership role on that board,” Peach told the Daily News Journal. “The reason for that is judicial rules, not the party’s rules. As long as I am a candidate or fortunate enough to be elected. I can’t be in a leadership role with political organizations.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Anderson County is not liable for damages beyond medical costs for Kenneth E. King, an inmate who sustained injuries from an attack by cellmates, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. “There is no evidence that Anderson County Detention Facility officials knew or should have known that Mr. King would become the victim of an attack by his cellmates after he was returned to his cell to await pretrial release,” Justice Cornelia A. Clark wrote in the opinion. In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Gary R. Wade disagreed, deferring to the trial court’s finding that Anderson County was liable for King’s injuries, which were sustained after officials failed to timely release him from jail.

Circuit Court Judge John J. Maddux Jr. has announced he is retiring and will not seek re-election in 2014. He has served 30 years after first being elected in 1984. He was re-elected without opposition in 1990, 1998 and 2006. The 13th Judicial District is composed of Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Overton, Pickett, Putnam and White counties.

The Tennessee Supreme Court filed an order today soliciting comments regarding proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 21, which governs the requirements of continuing legal education for lawyers licensed to practice in Tennessee. The comment period ends March 20, 2014.