Baker Donelson has been ranked in the top 10 firms to work for in Vault Inc.’s 2014 edition of “Best Law Firms to Work For.” The firm also received a first place ranking in the category of transparency. The rankings are based on feedback from thousands of associates across the country who were asked to rate their law firms on a number of quality-of-life categories. Read more on the firm's website.

Steve Cates, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, will step down from his position effective Aug. 20 and return to the private sector, the Memphis Business Journal reports. Cates, who is responsible for managing the state’s assets and liabilities, has been with the Haslam administration since Jan. 2011. “Steve has put a lot of work into bringing state government into the 21st Century,” Gov. Haslam said in a statement. “We now have a reliable inventory of state properties; we have a plan to maintain those properties instead of deferring maintenance costs until there is a crisis; we’re creating more functional and cost-effective work spaces for our employees; and we’re leveraging the state’s buying power to save taxpayer dollars. These are significant changes that are making state government better, and I am grateful to Steve’s dedication to see these projects through.”

President Barack Obama has nominated University of Memphis general counsel Sheryl H. Lipman for a judgeship on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, the White House announced Thursday evening. If confirmed, Lipman would succeed Judge Jon P. McCalla, who is taking senior status later this month. Interim University of Memphis President R. Brad Martin praised the move saying, "Sheri Lipman is an outstanding choice to serve on the federal bench. She has served and continues to serve the University of Memphis and our community with great distinction, and I know she will do so as a federal judge as well. This is a wise choice and the entire University of Memphis community congratulates Sheri on her nomination." The Commercial Appeal has more.

Former TBA President and Memphis attorney George T. "Buck" Lewis will receive a Presidential Citation from ABA President Laurel Bellows at the ABA Pro Bono Publico Awards luncheon Aug. 12 in San Francisco. The presidential citation is a new award that allows the ABA president to recognize lawyers who have made "noteworthy contributions to the legal profession and the ABA," and who exhibit "outstanding leadership qualities." The luncheon is being held in conjunction with the ABA Annual Meeting. Representatives from the Tennessee legal community will be in attendance to celebrate Lewis' recognition.

"Our legislators are not actually hearing from very many members of our profession," TBA President Cindy Wyrick writes in her August TBJ column. "On the other hand, they are hearing from a large number of doctors, dentists and business owners. … Life is about relationships, and those who influence us the most are those with whom we have built relationships of trust and respect. Your legislators are no different from the rest of us. … The time is now for our 12,000 members to take the steps necessary to become a powerful voice for our profession."

As Ruth Bader Ginsburg completes her 20th year on the U.S. Supreme Court, she says she is not ready to retire or slow down anytime soon. In an interview with USA Today, the 80 year-old said she was still the hardest-working justice. "As long as I can do the job full-steam, I would like to stay here," she told the newspaper. "Last term was a good example. I didn't write any slower. I didn't think any slower. I have to take it year by year at my age, and who knows what could happen next year? Right now, I know I'm OK. Whether that will be true at the end of next term, I can't say." The ABA Journal has the story.

A group of veteran Nashville attorneys has launched a new firm that will handle estate planning, probate, litigation and personal injury cases from an office in Hillsboro Village. The Nashville Post reports that Sean Martin and David Heller, formerly of DHPM, and sole practitioners Matt Potempa and Jennifer Sheppard have formed Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard. Martin will focus on personal injury cases, while the others will handle probate and estate planning work. Family law and probate attorney Jamie Machamer also will join the firm. "We have put together an exceptional team of attorneys and legal professionals," partner Potempa wrote on Facebook Thursday. "Our goal is to provide the absolute highest quality of legal representation to our clients and we are excited about this new venture."

Nashville attorney Samuel Baron died Monday (July 29) at the age of 62. A graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Baron was licensed in 1977 and operated his own practice in the historic Music Row neighborhood. Visitation was held today, Thursday, at 5 p.m., followed by the life celebration service at 6 p.m. at West Harpeth Funeral Home.

The nonprofit organization Law School Transparency has unveiled a new “LST Certification Program” for law schools that are grappling with the ABA’s new rules governing the reporting of job-placement statistics. LST, which helped push the ABA into beefing up the consumer information law schools must report each year, said it would review a law school’s marketing materials to ensure that the job placement statistics provided comply with the ABA’s rules and adhere to LST’s own best practices. It promises “compelling graphics that appeal to today’s applicants” and to bestow an “LST Certified” mark for schools’ promotional materials—evidence to prospective students, alumni and others that they are “open, honest, and fair.” LST was founded in 2009 by a student at Vanderbilt University Law School. The National Law Journal has the story.

Tennessee will receive $768,890 as its share of a $409.9 million False Claims Act settlement reached between the federal government and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc., the Nashville Business Journal reports. The settlement resolves allegations of off-label marketing of Rapamune, an “immunosuppressive” drug that prevents the body’s immune system from rejecting a transplanted organ. According to the state Attorney General's office, Rapamune is FDA-approved for kidney transplants. Wyeth was named in civil and criminal proceedings for allegedly illegally promoting the sale and use of Rapamune for use in other organ transplant cases besides kidneys.