The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has created a new tool kit for employers to increase awareness about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, the ABA Journal reports. The program forgives unpaid balances on federal direct student loans after 10 years of work for the government or nonprofits. In an interview with the New York Times, attorney Raha Wala, who works for an international human rights organization and has $200,000 in law school debt, said the program is “enabling me to do the work that I love.”

The Walker County Courthouse (Ga.) will be closed next Monday because of a countywide furlough day. The courthouse will also be closed on Oct. 14, Nov. 27, Dec. 6 and Dec. 31 for furlough. The Chattanoogan advises the public to make plans to work around this schedule change.

The newly merged law firm Hagler Bruce Turner Law PLC has signed a six-year lease for a 4,500 square-foot space at Thousand Oaks Business Park in Memphis. The firm is comprised of attorneys Monice Hagler, a former city attorney and operator of the Law Office of Monice Hagler; Kevin Bruce, previously with Farris Bobango and the Bruce-Turner Law Firm; and Van Turner, formerly a Butler Snow attorney. The Memphis Business Journal has more.

Tennessee is missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because the state law banning texting while driving is not strong enough, the Tennessean reports. Tennessee’s law falls short because of its narrow definition of texting while driving and because its penalty for violating the law does not escalate if someone does it repeatedly. State Rep. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, who spearheaded the passage of the original law, said he planned to introduce legislation next year to beef up the fines.

The Hamilton County Commission is taking applications for two magistrate (judicial commissioner) positions that will be open on Oct. 31 when the terms of Larry Ables and Jeffrey Davis expire, the Chattanoogan reports. The deadline to apply is Sept. 23 and appointments will be made on Oct. 16. The magistrates set bonds and sign warrants from an office at the County Jail. They provide coverage on nights and weekends when judges are not at the courthouse.

The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved legislation designed to protect reporters and the news media from having to reveal their confidential sources after narrowing the definition of a journalist while establishing which formats -- traditional and online -- provide news to people. The vote cleared the way for the full Senate to consider the media shield measure, WTCBTV reports. The vote came just months after the disclosure that the Justice Department had secretly subpoenaed almost two months' worth of telephone records for 21 phone lines used by reporters and editors for The Associated Press and secretly used a search warrant to obtain some emails of a Fox News journalist.

Belmont College of Law Legal Aid Society will host a free legal clinic Sept. 26 at 6:00 p.m. for residents of Sophia’s Heart, a transitional shelter for families in crisis that helps them get back on their feet, secure housing and resolve personal, financial, and employment impediments. The clinic will offer free legal advice to assist families in resolving various civil and criminal issues. It will be held at 1034 Eastland Ave. in Nashville. To learn how you can help, contact director Katie Blankenship at (615) 796-9027.

Circuit Court Judge Rex Henry Ogle told a Newport civic club that his fellow Republicans are to blame for the politicization of Tennessee’s independent judicial branch of government, to the detriment of its citizens. Speaking at a Kiwanis Club luncheon Tuesday, Ogle criticized the Republican-led General Assembly’s decision to pass workers’ compensation legislation that “entirely” removes the court system from looking at cases, adding that he disagreed with the governor's assessment that the previous plan was keeping business from coming to Tennessee, the Newport Plain Talk reports.

Nashville mediator Marnie Huff was appointed by the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution to a national ethics position. She will serve as Section representative on the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility/Section Officers Conference Joint Committee on Ethics and Professionalism. Huff is also an elected member of the Section of Dispute Resolution Council and co-chair of the Section’s Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute.

James A. H. Bell received the Joseph B. Jones Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor awarded by the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL) at the association's annual meeting. The Jones Award is periodically awarded to the one criminal defense attorney who best exemplifies the criminal defense lawyer in the state of Tennessee, who possesses the passion for, the devotion to and mastery of the skill of defending the accused, along with a career long commitment to TACDL. Bell is a senior practicing attorney at the Law Offices of James A.H Bell in Knoxville and Sevier County. Download the press release for more information.