John E. Nicoll has been named public defender for Coffee County by Gov. Bill Haslam, the Manchester Times reports. Nicoll fills the vacancy left by the death of Campbell Smoot Jr., who died  Nov. 8. Judge L. Craig Johnson will administer the oath of office tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Coffee County Justice Center.

The University of Tennessee College of Law is inviting students to visit Feb. 27 for Vol Visit Day 2015. Vol Visit is designed for students considering UT Law and admitted candidates to get to know the law school community. The event will take place from 9 a.m. until noon in room 136 of the College of Law. RSVP to lawadmit@utk.edu or (865) 974-4131 by Feb. 20.

The Regional Mock Trial Competition for Districts 11 and 12 has been postponed until Feb. 28 due to inclement weather conditions. The districts cover Carter, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties. For more information, or to volunteer, contact Erin McArdle, (423) 534-3308.

DarKenya Waller of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands has been elected chair of the board of directors for the Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). Waller has been a visible advocate for domestic violence victims in the community through her work at the Legal Aid Society since moving to Nashville in 2008. As board chair, Waller will further execute the NCADV’s three-fold mission of raising awareness, strengthening services and addressing systemic problems with a cohesive voice.

Lipscomb University will host a legal advice clinic on Tuesday at St. James Missionary Baptist Church from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. To volunteer, contact Academic Director Randy Spivey at (615) 966-2503.

The problem with current financing models for law firms is the focus on revenues, or “short-termism,” Georgetown law professor Jonathan Molot writes in an article in the Southern California Law Review. Firms are funded by partners who withdraw their equity when they retire or leave for higher pay at a new firm so there is no incentive to create long-term value. With outside funding, Molot argues, firms would have incentives to build long-term value by investing in younger lawyers and trying alternative billing. The ABA Journal has more.

Union County General Sessions Judge Darryl W. Edmondson has been designated to hear an aggravated assault case filed against 94-year-old former acting Oak Ridge city judge Lawrence Tunnell after both Anderson County General Sessions Court judges recused themselves from the case. Tunnell — who is reported to be Tennessee's oldest practicing attorney — is accused of striking Charles Smallwood with his vehicle in November. His next court appearance will be on April 24, when a hearing for plea negotiations is scheduled. Knoxnews has more.

Medical and technical jobs topped the list, but a  website where users can post reviews on companies and salary information, puts lawyer in their top 10 high paying jobs with high demand. Glassdoor says lawyers have an average base salary of $120,424, and there are an estimated 5,520 openings. The Nashville Business Journal has more.

Attorney General Eric Holder called Tuesday for a national moratorium on the death penalty until the Supreme Court weighs in on the issue later this year. Late last month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from death row inmates in Oklahoma who are challenging the state’s procedures for lethal injections. Holder went on to say he disagrees with Justice Antonin Scalia, who has said the U.S. has never executed an innocent person. “There is no ability to correct a mistake where somebody has, in fact, been executed,” Holder stated. “And that is from my perspective the ultimate nightmare.” The Hill has more.

The city of Ferguson, Missouri, and its police force could face legal action from the U.S. Department of Justice for tactics that discriminate against minorities. This comes after a federal investigation into the shooting death of Michael Brown and a broader look at the police department as a whole. The findings are expected to outline an alleged pattern of discriminatory tactics used by the Ferguson Police. WSMV has the story.