The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday cleared U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to be the next attorney general, the Washington Times reports. Lynch won widespread praise for her work as a prosecutor, but suffered from comparisons to current Attorney General Eric Holder and because she has declined to distance herself from President Obama’s claims of unilateral executive powers, which have angered Republican lawmakers, the paper reports.

Three same-sex Tennessee couples today filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the state’s same-sex marriage ban, Knoxnews reports. The brief argues that the Supreme Court “should not permit any state to deprive another generation of lesbian and gay persons of the opportunity to participate fully in marriage.” Supreme Court justices last month agreed to hear gay marriage appeals from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. 

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says that he will soon call on Congress to lower the standard of proof in federal civil rights cases, to allow federal prosecution where local authorities are unable or unwilling to get a conviction. The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it found insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager in Florida. In a written statement, government lawyers said their decision in the case was "limited strictly to the department's inability to meet the high legal standard" in the civil rights statutes. WRCB has more from NBC News.

Seven attorneys have applied for the Hamilton County Criminal Court judge position in the 11th Judicial District. Johnny D. Houston Jr., D. Marty Lasley, Mike A. Little, Leslie Anne Longshore, John Gary McDougal, Boyd M. Patterson Jr. and Samuel Francis Robinson III are vying to succeed Judge Rebecca Stern, who is retiring effective June 1. The AOC website has more. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear two health care liability disputes among four cases scheduled for oral arguments March 4 in Jackson. The court also granted review to four new cases this week. Criminal issues include indictments and relief from execution for the intellectually disabled. Civil issues include the Health Care Liability Act and marital dissolution agreements. The Raybin-Perky Hotlist reviews the four cases and offers a prediction as to how each may be decided.

Nine applicants will be considered for the circuit court judgeship in the 22nd Judicial District, which serves Giles, Lawrence, Maury, and Wayne counties. The vacancy has been created by the announcement that the Hon. Jim T. Hamilton will retire effective June 1. Applicants include David L. Allen of Lawrenceburg, Thomas J. Dancison Jr. of Lawrenceburg, J. Thomas DuBois of Columbia, Patrick A. Flynn of Columbia, William M. Harris of Lawrenceburg, Thomas Fay Mink II of Lawrenceburg, N. Houston Parks of Columbia, Leland Bruce Peden of Columbia, and Stanley Kurt Pierchoski of Pulaski. The AOC wesbite has more.

Drew Taylor has been elected the new president of the Carter County Bar Association. Taylor succeeds past president Jason Holly.

Stephen L. Shields of Memphis will be honored for his contributions to the field of mediation as part of a Mediation Day celebration proclaimed by Gov. Bill Haslam. The Coalition for Mediation Awareness in Tennessee will present the eighth annual Grayfred Gray Public Service in Mediation Award to Shields at Lipscomb University on March 6.

Four law firms are finalists in the Nashville Business Journal’s 2015 list of the Best Places to Work. Employees of nominated companies were asked to complete an online survey measuring 10 key engagement categories, including team effectiveness, trust in senior leaders and manager effectiveness. Baker Donelson, Littler Mendelson, Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, Thompson Burton and all honorees will be recognized during an awards luncheon April 17 at Hutton Hotel.

The Federal Communications Commission today voted to regulate broadband Internet service as a public utility, a milestone in regulating high-speed Internet service into American homes, the New York Times reports. The regulation, reclassifying high-speed Internet service as a telecommunications service, instead of an information service, under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, is intended to ensure that no content is blocked and that the Internet is not divided into pay-to-play fast lanes for Internet and media companies that can afford it and slow lanes for everyone else.