The government shutdown has left many law students in limbo, wondering how they will be able to complete their externships with federal agencies and fulfill course credit, the National Law Journal reports.  Of the 140 externs at American University Washington College of Law, more than 30 are either unable to work or will be unable to complete required hours if the shutdown continues. At Georgetown University, 44 student externs are out of work.

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC will host the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program — a training opportunity for pro bono attorneys interested in handling veterans’ claims. The event will take place 9 a.m. to 5 p.m on Oct. 18 at the firm's Nashville office, located at 211 Commerce St. Live webinar locations are also available.

Chattanooga attorney Scott Maucere has developed PUSHTOSTART, a new product that aims to provide legal services to entrepreneurs in a way that fits their business style and financial needs. Since entrepreneurs don’t usually have enormous legal budgets and traditional billing methods aren’t ideal for small business owners, PUSHTOSTART allow each client to get a customized quote and pay upfront for a year of unlimited service. Nooga has the story.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected the Justice Department’s request to dismiss a lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. brought by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the National Law Journal reports. Holder has refused to produce certain documents related to the Operation Fast and Furious gun-running controversy despite the committee's subpoena. House lawyers, however, also suffered a setback, when Jackson rejected their request to keep the case moving amidst the shutdown, finding "no exigent circumstances in this case that would justify an order of the Court forcing furloughed attorneys to return to their desks."

The Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee is grappling with the effects of the government shutdown, the Tennessean reports. The office has a reserve fund set aside to cover operations during the shutdown until Oct. 14, but things could get worse if Congress does not pass a budget soon. Already hit by sequestration earlier this year, the 53-person staff has dealt with upaid time off, which led to some delays in trials and prosecution. Many employees voluntarily worked for free to keep cases from lagging, Federal Public Defender Henry Martin says, and he expects that to continue if the shutdown lasts longer than the office’s money holds out.

U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell issued a temporary restraining order today blocking Tennessee from enforcing part of the controversial emergency rules regulating the actions of people seeking to sign up the uninsured for coverage under the federal health law. The judge found issue with one of the definitions for a health law navigator and issued an injunction against it effective until Oct. 21, saying the rule was not “narrowed or tailored.” That language spelled out a navigator as anyone who “facilitates enrollment of individuals or employers in health plans or public insurance programs offered through the exchange.” The Tennessean has more.

After 35 years of service, U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Wiseman is leaving the bench, the Tennessean reports. Wiseman, 82, was appointed in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, and helped Middle Tennessee navigate the long legal journal to progress on race, health care for the poor and the war on drugs. He tentatively plans to leave office this Friday. He leaves a legacy as a “very careful, humane and wise judge, a model for other judges to follow,” said Gilbert Merritt, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals senior judge.

Metro Clerk Ana Escobar is resigning effective Nov. 15 to become deputy director of the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Escobar, who was the first Hispanic woman to lead a Metro department, said she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with Bill Young and help support the work of more than 180 judges. “I am very sad to leave the mayor and the council,” Escobar said in a phone interview with the Tennessean Friday. “But this is going to be a big challenge.”

The Justice Department issued a directive saying U.S. attorneys will continue to handle criminal cases without interruption during the government shutdown, but most civil prosecutions and immigration courts are to be “curtailed or postponed.” According to the Commercial Appeal, U.S attorney’s offices are operating at 63 percent of their normal staffing levels, counting lawyers and non-lawyers.

U.S Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan told law students at the University of Alabama Friday that the confirmation process is “sort of broken,” and she isn’t sure how to fix a system that amounts to little more than theatrics at times. During the speech, Kagan said senators want to know how nominees will rule on cases, yet the would-be justices are limited in what they can say because of both judicial rules and the fear of providing critics with ammunition. WRCBTV has the story.