After nearly 15 hours of deliberation, jurors in the Carrie Gasaway and Fletcher Long extortion trial returned a verdict of guilty. Clarksville attorneys Gasaway and Long were accused of trying to extort $50,000 from a client. Prosecutors said that the former law partners pressured a client to pay them $50,000 because they had wrongfully taken money from another client’s account to buy a building. The Leaf Chronicle has more.

The family of Lloyd Kirkland Jr., including daughter Magistrate Judge Diane Vescovo, honored him by purchasing the naming rights to Memphis Area Legal Services’ small conference room. The new name of the conference room is now the Kirkland Conference Room. Family and friends of Kirkland enjoyed a brief birthday celebration and an unveiling of the plaque renaming the conference room on April 30.

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee challenged the legal profession to set the standard for all professions and make gender equality a top priority during remarks at the East Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women (ETLAW) annual Supreme Court luncheon. In her speech, Chief Justice Lee cited statistics from the July 2014 American Bar Association publication, A Current Glance at Women in the Law, noting that although women make up 47 percent of law students and 45 percent of private practice associates, only 17 percent of equity partners are women. Most concerning, she said, is that female attorneys make only 79 percent of what their male counterparts pull in. The AOC has more.

Need a few CLE hours fast? Stop by the Tennessee Bar Center May 28 for the Spring CLE Blast. Registration will be open from 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., so you can come and go at a time that is convenient for you and just take the hours you need. This year’s Blast offers 11 hours of dual credit. Visit TBA CLE for more information.

Domestic violence arrests spiked in Chattanooga over the weekend, WDEF reports. According to Family Justice Center director Dr. Valerie Radu new statistics show that more than 50 percent of all crimes in Tennessee are domestic violence. Radu anticipates the number of reported cases will increase in July when the Family Justice Center officially opens — an increase is considered good by experts because it means more victims are choosing to not stay silent about the abuse they encounter.

Walker & Walker Law Offices on 16th Ave. South might be they only law office in town that shows its heart — literally. Father and son law team Mike and Johnny Walker recently moved their practice into the old Music Row Wedding Chapel and decided to keep the red, heart-shaped entrance. “Originally, I thought we’re lawyers; maybe that's not the professional thing to do,” Johnny said. “But after a while it grew on me.” Fox 17 has the story.

Dr. Michael Murphy, the national medical director for HCA's Behavioral Health Services division, has been named as a defendant in a multi-million dollar medical malpractice suit along with two members of his former practice, the Nashville Post reports. Murphy’s former patient killed his father in the middle of a nervous breakdown. The suit alleges that Murphy failed to adequately transition the patient to two members of Murphy’s practice when he left for his current position with HCA and inappropriately accessed his medical records after he was no longer Murphy’s patient.

A reception honoring Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau Jr. will be held Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at the Gatlinburg Overlook, 553 Greystone Heights Rd. The event is sponsored by BDY Natural Sciences Consultants, Richard C, Young and the TBA Environmental Law Section. View the invitation. 

Stephen H. Price has been named as Burr & Forman’s Nashville office managing partner, the firm announced yesterday. Price, who served as the executive member of Stites & Harbison’s Nashville office before joining Burr & Forman in January, will oversee the continued expansion in the firm’s Nashville office, which has more than doubled in the first quarter this year. The Nashville Business Journal has more.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean today proposed a new $110 million Davidson County Sheriff's Office complex at 5115 Harding Place that would consolidate all sheriff operations, including the 800-inmate downtown detention center. The new complex would be located on 163 Metro-owned acres where the current South Precinct operates alongside three other detention facilities. The undertaking would be the most expensive public safety investment in Metro's history. Dean is also seeking to relocate the Metro Nashville Police Department headquarters from the 33-year-old Criminal Justice Center to a new $23 million facility on Jefferson Street in North Nashville at the corner of 14th Avenue North near Interstate 40. The Tennessean has more.