Pay inequality comes into a sharp focus today, the day now three months and nine days into 2013 when a woman will have earned as much as a man did in 2012. Writing about Equal Pay Day for the National Law Journal, ABA President Laurel Bellows says that women lawyers are not immune. Women equity partners in the nation’s top 200 largest firms earn 89 percent of what is earned by their male peers, and pay inequity is often a contributing factor to the disproportionately high rate of attrition of women from law firms.

Davidson County Circuit Judge Joe P. Binkley Jr. has ordered that three pending and any similar future local cases involving the fungal meningitis outbreak to be assigned to him only. In a one-paragraph order, Binkly granted a request from lawyers for the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgical Center that all pending and future meningitis suits against their clients be assigned to a single judge. The Tennessean has the story.

Tennessee is the only U.S. state that currently provides for its attorney general to be appointed by the state’s supreme court, a practice the state has had in place since its 1870 constitution was adopted. The provision has been the source of legislative interest during the last two decades, according to Gavel to Gavel, which analyzed the results of various provisions since 1997.

The ABA Techshow Saturday closed with the always-crowd pleasing section “60 Sites in 60 Minutes,” a session about the top websites for lawyers. The ABA Journal did a wrap-up, highlighting several favorite sites such as Vilvo, The Wirecutter, Meeting Wizard and more. Click here to view the list.

A left-leaning clergy group delivered baskets of loaves and paper fish to each Tennessee legislator on Monday in order to show support for expanding the state’s Medicaid program, NPR reports. Religious advocates gathered to deliver the baskets in an attempted biblical parallel to the miracle of feeding the 5,000. Gov. Bill Haslam has not yet said yes or no the expansion. “That’s a pretty clear command to have concern for the ‘least of these,’” Haslam said. “But we also have a responsibility to make sure that’s something that’s affordable for the state, not just now but 10 years from now.”

Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, has sponsored a bill to repeal the “jock tax,” a 2009 tax on professional athletes that is one of the highest in the country. The National Hockey League Players Association is behind the legislation. The union called out Tennessee’s privilege tax in the most recent contract and committed to getting the levy repealed. The tax generates roughly $3.5million a year and affects NHL and NBA players. Nashville Public Radio has the story.

Chancellor Frank Brown has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Hamilton County Election Commission by Councilman Peter Murphy contesting the district nine election results, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Murphy filed the lawsuit after losing the March 5 city election to Yusef Hakeem, however Brown noted that the lawsuit was filed after the five-day statute of limitations required by state law for election issues.

The state House unanimously approved a proposal to cut sales tax on groceries. The Memphis Business Journal reports that the proposal, put forth by Gov. Bill Haslam, will decrease sales tax from 7 percent to 5 percent and cost state coffers about $23 million.

The fast pace of this year’s legislative session has sparked bipartisan criticism that some proposed laws are not getting properly vetted, while debate on others is at times short-lived. Lawmakers are set to adjourn by April 18, the earliest date for concluding business since 1990, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Among others, Transportation Committee chairman Vince Dean, R-East Ridge, and Calendar and Rules Chair Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, have raised concerns as GOP leaders drive lawmakers to complete business quickly.

The Shelby County and Montgomery County Veterans Courts each will receive a $20,000 donation from the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. The Veterans Courts are devoted solely to helping former service members deal with legal problems.