Memphis City Court Clerk Thomas Long announced he will not seek re-election after 20 years of service, Memphis Daily News reports. Four prospective candidates had pulled petitions through Monday to challenge Long in the clerk’s race in October. They include Memphis City Council member Wanda Halbert; William Chism, who was the Democratic nominee for Probate Court clerk last year; Roderic Ford; and Antonio Harris, an employee in the clerk’s office who also ran in 2011.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed trial and appellate court findings that an arbitration agreement between a purchaser and homebuilder was unfair and unenforceable. The purchaser had argued that the agreement was unfairly one-sided in favor of the homebuilder because it required both parties to arbitrate disputes but allowed the homebuilder to file foreclosure proceedings in court. The Supreme Court disagreed, finding that the agreement applied equally to both parties and the exception for foreclosures was a narrow and reasonable one. The court also found there was a reasonable business justification for the exception, and the circumstances surrounding the contract were not overly one-sided or unfair. Read the full opinion on the AOC website.

Maury County Mayor Charlie Norman has asked for direction on constructing a new justice center in downtown Columbia, but commissioners have urged caution in spending the estimated $12 to $15 million needed for the project, Columbia Daily Herald reports. Norman presented a plan to the committee in February but said he received no feedback about how to proceed. According to Norman, about 8,000 people move through the courthouse a month, only 200 of which are inmates. He urged commissioners to visit the courthouse and see for themselves what a "circus" it is.

Three law firms have been selected as finalists for the Nashville Business Journal’s Healthiest Employers Award. Baker Donelson, Burr & Forman and Butler Snow are among 19 companies chosen by Indianapolis-based Healthiest Employers LLC. Winners will be announced during a health fair and luncheon on Aug. 18. See the full list of finalists.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by 10 former college football and basketball players who alleged their images were improperly used without their permission by broadcast networks and eight NCAA conferences, the Tennessean reports. Chief District Judge Kevin H. Sharp ruled in Nashville yesterday that the players' claims that they were entitled to monetary compensation because they played in televised games do not represent a sufficient case. The ruling, however, runs counter to the findings in a similar California case and likely sets the stage for consideration by multiple appeals courts according to observers.

The Hon. Suzanne Bailey’s portrait was unveiled in her former courtroom at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court last week. Although Judge Bailey could not be present, her friends, family members and colleagues gathered to honor the memory of her more than 30 years of service to the children, families and citizens of Hamilton County. Bailey’s successor, Judge Robert Philyaw, presided over the standing-room only proceeding. The Hamilton County Herald has more.

A federal judge's ruling has made Guam the first U.S. territory to recognize same sex marriages, the Associated Press reports. The decision has led the governor, who had opposed gay marriage, to declare that the island will accept marriage license applications from same-sex couples. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood issued the decision before a packed courtroom after a hearing Friday, saying the territory's ban violated a gay couple's constitutional rights to equal protection under the law. WMCA News 5 has the AP story.

Mayor Karl Dean is now promising additional community meetings before deciding whether to pursue a controversial relocation of the Metro police headquarters to Jefferson St., the Tennessean reports. North Nashville residents oppose the relocation, which many said would bring added police patrol and racial profiling to the predominantly black area. The headquarters — which includes only administrative offices — would relocate from the aging downtown Criminal Justice Center. The mayor and Sheriff Daron Hall also want to move the downtown jail to a new $110 million facility in southeast Nashville.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press today picked up the ongoing story regarding the TBA’s rebuttal of a Nashville Business Journal article penned by Nashville lawyer Keith Dennen. In the Business Journal piece, Dennen claims that recent amendments to the Business Corporation Act make "directors of a corporation personally liable for the debts of a business in the event it fails." "He's wrong," said TBA Executive Director Allan Ramsaur in an interview this week. "The bill only applies to dissolved corporations. We've been tracking this and been trying to get in touch" with Dennen. Ramsaur said the proposal came from the bar association as part of a multi-faceted update to state corporation laws and "came through a very careful process at TBA."

Diversity of professional experience is an element the U.S. Supreme Court is “sorely missing,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently told attendees at the ABA Section of International Law's spring meeting. Sotomayor suggested that when justices do not have experience with small or medium-sized firms or with a variety of practice areas it can “hurt the perception of the court.” Read more at Gavel Grab.