Nashville’s oldest and largest law firm, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, has added 17 new attorneys to its corporate, finance and restructuring, healthcare, real estate, and trial and appellate practice groups. The Wall Street Journal Market Watch profiles each new member.

Judge Tim Dwyer started the Shelby County Drug Court in 1997 to offer intensive treatment for nonviolent drug offenders with criminal cases. After his teenage cousin had been killed by a drunk driver, Dwyer said he learned the lesson that people with substance abuse issues need justice tempered with mercy. “I’m a judge. I’m sworn to uphold the law,” Dwyer said. “But all of us in the system have a responsibility to try to help people who want and need it. We’re not just trying to lock people up. We’re trying to save lives” he told the Commercial Appeal.

The Shelby County Public Defender's office has been chosen to receive a 2013 Training & Technical Assistance Grant supported by the Department of Justice and Bureau of Justice Assistance. The office's website reports that Shelby was one of six public defender offices chosen to receive eight months of training in client-centered advocacy techniques from the Bronx Defenders in partnership with the Center for Court Innovation.

Probate Judge David Randy Kennedy assigned Nashville resident Shannon Hill a new conservator and increased her monthly allowance, the Tennessean reports. Despite Hill’s battle to win release dating back to 2009, Kennedy declined to dissolve the conservatorship due to concerns expressed by one of her doctors. Kennedy replaced Hill’s cousin as conservator with the nonprofit Guardianship and Trust Co., which regularly handles conservatorships in his court.

District Court Judge John T. Nixon granted three former Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) bus drivers a summary judgment, agreeing with the drivers’ assertion that MNPS breached their contracts. According to the Nashville City Paper, the drivers claim their year-to-year contracts were not renewed but no reason was given for their job termination, which violated their due process rights. The court case is proceeding to determine the damages that will be awarded.

The Tennessee General Assembly's decision not to extend the life of the state Judicial Nominating Commission is drawing national attention. The Gavel Grab website reports on the situation noting that the state will soon enter a period without a mechanism to replace judges who quit or retire. The website quotes Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade saying that no appellate judges plan to retire before the next retention judicial elections set for August 2014. With help from senior judges and other trial judges, Wade said, “[W]e should be able to cover any illnesses or unexpected deaths throughout the remainder of the term without any undue delay to the litigants and their attorneys” at the trial level.

State Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lacasses, has officially announced he is running in the 4th congressional district GOP primary next year, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Carr joins Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, as a challenger to embattled incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarais. “I am running for Congress because our country is in crisis and Tennesseans are hungry for strong, principled leadership,” Carr said. “The only way to change the culture in Washington is to change the men. And women we send there.”

More than a dozen constitutional amendments were introduced by lawmakers during this year’s state legislative session. Only two passed both houses and now go before voters: one proposes a prohibition of a state income tax, and the second would establish a new way of naming judges to the state Supreme Court and appellate courts. The Nashville Ledger reports that the Tennessee Constitution is designed to be difficult to change, although that did not stop legislators from trying.

On April 30, attorneys Charlotte Prather Milton and William Leon Hendricks Jr. of Shelby County were summarily and temporarily suspended. Milton failed to respond to the Board regarding a complaint of misconduct. Download the BPR notice. Hendricks was suspended upon a finding that he poses a threat of substantial harm to the public. Download the BPR notice.

Washington County lawyer Bryan Bradley Martin was summarily and temporarily suspended upon finding he failed to respond to the Board regarding a complaint of misconduct. Download the BPR notice.