Elon University School of Law has announced the creation of a new curriculum that will be the nation’s first standard JD program lasting less than three years. The North Carolina program will operate on a seven-trimester (or 2½-year) schedule, which will allow students to graduate in December, take the bar exam in February and begin practicing in the spring. The school will also lower its tuition, which now totals about $114,000 over three years, by about $14,000 for the entire program of study. The ABA Journal has more.

The television advertisement war is quickly heating up in U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander's race against Democrat Gordon Ball, with both candidates going negative in consecutive days. A new statewide Alexander ad released Tuesday seeks to paint Ball, a political unknown to most Tennesseans, as a liberal who would carry out President Barack Obama's agenda. Ball, a wealthy Knoxville attorney, went on the attack against Alexander in an ad that says the two-term senator is "out of tune with the voters of Tennessee." The ad shows Alexander playing the piano, with a soundtrack that is wildly out of tune. The Tennessean has more.

U.S. Attorney Edward Stanton III spoke in Memphis Thursday about youth violence, WREG reports. Stanton says it’s time for a change in the justice system because Memphis, and the rest of Shelby County can’t arrest their way out of violence. He argued mass incarceration has never made our streets safer. Stanton brushed off suggestions the Department of Justice mandate that gives most kids court summons instead of jail time is leading to more violent crime, stating this mandate protects kids from a potentially racially biased system.

The U.S. Trademark Office granted TM Registration to the University of Arkansas for its “hog call.” Fans of the SEC are familiar with the wooooo-pig-sooie call. According to the Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs blog “Finding IP Value,” sensory marks are registerable just like word marks and logos when used in connection with the sale of goods or the rendering of services. 

The Hon. Brandon Gibson was sworn in yesterday as the newest judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Western Section. Gibson was appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam in December to replace Judge David R. Farmer, who retired in August. Gibson’s husband held the Bible as Gov. Haslam administered the oath of office during ceremonies at the Madison County Courthouse Chancery Courtroom. The Tennessee has more.

Shelves built and donated by local carpentry students will adorn the newly expanded McMinn County Justice Center, the Daily Post Athenian reports. Students from the McMinn County Career Technical Education Center put the finishing touches on the shelves Tuesday. They will be transported to the new offices of Circuit Court Clerk Rhonda Cooley in the Judicial Complex.

Božo Cerar, Slovenian ambassador to the United States, will speak at Univerity of Tennessee College of Law at noon on Oct. 20 in room 136. Cerar’s talk, “The International Criminal Court from Nuremberg to Kampala and Beyond,” will trace and discuss the evolution of international criminal law and the mechanisms for its enforcement on the international level, from the post-World War II period to today.

The Tennessee Supreme Court transferred the law license of Marshall Scott Smith to disability inactive status after Smith filed a notice with the Court saying that he suffers from a disability that renders him incapable of practicing law and prevents him from defending himself against a disciplinary complaint. Smith may return to the practice of law upon showing of clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and he is fit to resume. View the BPR notice.

Carl Robert Ogle was disbarred from the practice of law on Thursday. While representing the executrix of an estate, Ogle’s non-lawyer assistant misappropriated the funds. The estate was closed in August 2013, and Ogle represented to the court that the assets of the estate had been distributed to the beneficiaries, which was false. View the BPR notice.

Four constitutional amendments— the first two in particular— will bring Tennessee voters to the polls this November, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey told a Greater Kingsport Republican Women's luncheon on Monday. Ramsey stated his support for Amendment 1 and 2, and predicted 3 and 4 will pass easily. The Times News Net has more.