A court-appointed official recommended yesterday that the judge hearing a lawsuit to block the American Airlines and US Airways merger reject the airlines’ request to gain access to the names of people the government interviewed as well as what they said. The official said that the airlines were trying to learn what facts mattered to the government, which he said could give them insight into the thinking and legal strategy of Justice Department lawyers. He said that kind of information is protected as the work product of lawyers preparing for a lawsuit or trial. The Memphis Daily News has the story.

Catherine Cate White today announced her candidacy for judge on the Hamilton County Circuit Court, the Chattanoogan reports. Judge Jackie Bolton previously announced she will not seek re-election for this position, and will step down at the end of her term next year. White is a graduate of the Cumberland School of Law and has 25 years of legal experience.

Robyn Diaz has been named chief legal officer and senior vice president of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. With 10 years of health law experience and 15 years of experience in the health care industry, Diaz joined the hospital’s Office of General Counsel as associate general counsel in August 2010. She was promoted to deputy general counsel in May 2012. “Robyn’s expertise and experience provide a strong foundation upon which she will continue to excel as a member of our senior management team at St. Jude,” St. Jude Director and CEO Dr. William E. Evans said in a press release.

Former Tennessee governors Phil Bredesen, Don Sunquist and Winfield Dunn have joined the Governors Fiscal Leadership Council, a newly created arm of the Campaign to Fix the Debt. The organization is a nonpartisan group dedicated to shedding light on issues related to the national debt. The council includes 41 former governors—20 Republicans and 21 Democrats. The Memphis Business Journal has more.

Judges, law professors, practicing attorneys and student editors alike believe that the current law review model needs reform, according to a new article published by Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and covered by the National Law Journal. The authors (comprised of a mix of psychology professors and doctoral students from the University of North Dakota, as well as several law professors from the Appalachian School of Law) queried 1,325 law professors, 338 student editors, 215 attorneys and 156 judges. They found that respondents think that current law review articles are too long and do not meet the needs of attorneys and judges, and that student editors should receive additional training. The ABA Journal has more on the story.

Knoxville lawyer Terry Adams may be testing the water to run as a Democrat for U.S. Senate, the Tennessean's political blog reports. Adams sent an email yesterday to Democrats statewide introducing himself and stating he began considering a run after attending last months’ Jackson Day Dinner in Nashville and the Truman Day Dinner in Knoxville. He concludes the email by asking recipients to share their thoughts on whether he should run and promised to make a decision soon.

During an informational meeting hosted yesterday by the Clarksville's District Attorney’s Office and the Courthouse Dogs Foundation, canine companion Molly B was a big hit, the Leaf Chronicle reports. The black Labrador-Golden Retriever has been trained for two years to care for the physical and emotional needs of people who need assistance, and can follow orders to sit, stand, lay down, roll over and speak with precision. In November, the district attorney’s office will receive a facility dog that can be used in court, at the child advocacy center, or at other facilities throughout the 19th Judicial District where a victim may need therapeutic comfort or emotional support.

Vanderbilt law professor Ganesh Sitaraman was named the winner of the 2013 IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law/Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize for his book “The Counterinsurgent’s Constitution: Law in the Age of Small Wars.” The award was established in 2007 and honors an exemplary work of scholarship exploring the tension between civil liberties and national security in contemporary American society. Vanderbilt News has more.

Thomas Francis diLustro has been temporarily suspended for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding a complaint of misconduct. Download the BPR notice.

Although a federal budget impasse has not yet been resolved in Congress, federal courts will remain open through Oct. 17 and possibly Oct. 18, the Department of Justice announced today. "When no funding mechanism was in place on Oct. 1, 2013, the Judiciary projected that fee income and no-year appropriated funds would enable court operations to continue for 10 business days," the department says in a website update today. The ABA Journal has more.