Vanderbilt Law School’s Program on Law and Innovation is launching a “legal residency” program with UnitedLex, a global consulting and legal services firm, the university announced. The program is similar to a medical residency in that it provides both full-time employment and hands-on training. Vanderbilt Law graduates who participate in the two-year program will work directly with UnitedLex clients to deliver legal services in such practice areas as litigation services, e-discovery solutions, cyber security and more. The graduates will also receive rigorous training in the technologies and processes of 21st century legal practices in classes taught by senior attorneys.

“Survivor” contestant and Knoxville native Hali Ford is back home in Tennessee interning with the Federal Defenders Services of Eastern Tennessee at its downtown Knoxville office. Ford, who is a third year law student at the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, said she was inspired to go into a law career after meeting a homeless woman who had been abused and couldn’t get justice from the legal system. Knoxnews has more.

Federal officials have indicted former House Speaker Dennis Hastert for lying to the FBI about $3.5 million he agreed to pay to an undisclosed subject to "cover up past misconduct." The indictment does not explain precisely what the "past misconduct" is, but instead details at length various withdrawals and financial transactions he made with the unidentified subject. The payments totaling about $1.7 million occurred over a period of years beginning in 2010 and ending in 2014. WCYB has more from CNN.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that, in health care liability lawsuits, the obligation to disclose the number of violations of the certificate of good faith requirement does not compel any disclosure if there are no previous violations. In Timothy Davis v. Michael Ibach, the plaintiff provided the certificate, but failed to state how many times he had been in violation of the requirement. The plaintiff had in fact never violated the law. In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins, the Supreme Court determined that the law does not require any disclosure of the number of prior violations of the certificate of good faith requirement if the disclosure would be that there were none. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more.

The three finalists for 11th Judicial District Criminal Court judge, Division II, are set to be interviewed by Governor Bill Haslam on Monday, the Chattanoogan reports. The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments submitted the names of Mike Little, Leslie Longshore and Boyd Patterson. The vacancy was created when Judge Rebecca Stern announced that she was retiring prior to the end of her term.

John Lyndon Lowery was temporarily suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday (May 28) upon finding he had misappropriated funds and posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. Jamie Ellen Machamer has been temporarily suspended from the practice of law for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding a complaint of misconduct.

The law license of Ashley Denise Preston was transferred to disability inactive status on Tuesday (May 26). Preston 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 practice. View the BPR notice.

A black former teacher has filed a federal racial discrimination lawsuit against the Knox County public school system, Knoxnews reports. The suit alleges white teachers were tipped off when they would be observed by school administrators so they might prepare and earn higher scores. Additionally, the teacher says he was disciplined and effectively terminated for “using improper restraint” on a student who was being or threatening to be violent, while white and female teachers used similar techniques and were not disciplined.

The future of subsidies through the Affordable Care Act likely will be decided next month when the Supreme Court rules in King v. Burwell, the case arguing that the act does not give the government authority to offer subsidies in federal insurance exchanges, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who is in Nashville today for a precision medicine summit at Vanderbilt, said GOP legislators will be prepared — should the court rule for the plaintiffs — to help keep those subsidies in place, at least in the short term.

Bradley County's Campus Court is the only one of its kind in Tennessee. The  Cleveland Banner takes a look at the program, and how it helps keep families out of Family and Juvenile Court when problems crop up. Juvenile Court Director Terry Gallaher and Kim Goins, special programs coordinator and Campus Court mediator, tell the story.