Three payments industry veterans have launched BlackLine Payments Advisors, a new Nashville-based consulting firm for electronic payments and processing companies, the Nashville Business Journal reports. BlackLine, an affiliate of the Frost Brown Todd law firm, will span the gamut of the growing electronic payments space, says President Howard Herndon. The idea, Herndon said, is to go beyond mere legal counsel for companies providing electronic payments and processing services (from retailers to banks to e-commerce companies).

Defense lawyers and prisoner advocates are pushing for eased penalties for white-collar criminals from the federal panel that sets sentencing policy, the Memphis Daily News reports from the Associated Press. Defense lawyers are calling for a sentencing structure that considers the broad continuum of economic crime and that better differentiates between, for example, thieves who steal a dollar each from a million people versus $1 million from one person. The commission, which meets today to vote on priorities for the coming year, already has expressed interest in examining punishments for white-collar crime. The Justice Department, though not advocating wholesale changes, has said it welcomes a review.

The Claiborne County Bar Association presented Cheryl White with a plaque honoring her late husband, Chancellor Billy Joe White, for his distinguished service as judge for the 8th judicial district from 1977-2012. The plaque will be permanently displayed in the Claiborne County Courthouse, the Claiborne Progress reports.

John Stephen Anderson of Rogersville was temporarily suspended from the practice of law for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility concerning a complaint of misconduct. View the BPR notice.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Tuesday set an execution date for a man convicted in the 1991 burning death of his ex-girlfriend. Lee Hall, formerly known as Leroy Hall Jr., is scheduled to die Jan. 12, 2016. He becomes at least the 11th death row inmate currently scheduled to die in Tennessee. The Tennessean has the story.

Senior Judge Don R. Ash of Murfreesboro has been appointed to hear the ouster suit filed against Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager by a group of 22 residents. Hearing dates will be discussed with attorneys in the case during an Aug. 19 telephone conference, officials said. Oak Ridge Today has more.

The University of Tennessee College of Law will host a Law School Admission Workshop and Recruitment Fair on Sept. 3 for potential applicants. The workshop is free and no pre-registration is necessary. “Anyone considering law as a career who wants to know more about the law school admissions process should attend,” said Karen R. Britton, director of admissions and financial aid at the Bettye B. Lewis Career Center in the College of Law.

The official misconduct case against former Knox County Trustee John Duncan III was dismissed today, Knoxnews reports. Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz dismissed the case and also signed an order expunging all records of the case. Duncan, the son of U.S. Rep. John J. “Jimmy” Duncan Jr. and nephew of state Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, admitted improperly paying bonuses that were tied to a professional development program offered by County Technical Assistance Service. He pleaded guilty in July 2013 to the felony charge, and resigned from office.

The Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments is accepting applications for the chancellor vacancy in the 30th Judicial District Chancery Court in Shelby County. The vacancy has been created by the appointment of Chancellor Kenny Armstrong to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, effective Sept. 1. Applicants must complete the designated application and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts by 3 p.m. on Aug. 25. 

The largest private prison company in America paid $260,000 to a group of shift supervisors in Kentucky to settle claims that they were denied overtime, according to an agreement unsealed today. Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America paid the money in November to end a lawsuit brought by 25 employees of the now-shuttered Marion Adjustment Center in St. Mary's, Kentucky. The group claimed in a 2012 lawsuit that CCA denied them overtime after forcing them to work extra hours. CCA has denied the allegations. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has more.