Davidson County Probate Judge David Randy Kennedy has instituted new review procedures for fee requests from attorneys and others involved in conservator cases. Kennedy will no longer approve fee requests on the same day they are submitted. Instead, unopposed fee requests will be held for at least three days to “allow the court a greater period of time to examine and scrutinize all such unopposed motions.” According to the Tennessean, judges in Memphis and Chattanooga have instituted similar new procedures.

Stites & Harbison attorney Gregory Young has been elected to the board of Cumberland Region Tomorrow, a regional organization that helps promote long-term planning for livability and economic growth in the 10-county Nashville region. Young is part of Stites’ environmental, natural resources and energy service group and represents clients on environmental compliance issues and in permitting, rulemaking and contested case proceedings before agencies and in state and federal courts. The Nashville Post has the story.

Newly assigned U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar decided to keep the scheduled trial date of May 7 for the three Plowshares protestors allegedly involved in last year’s break-in at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Knoxnews reports. Thapar, who serves in the Eastern District of Kentucky, was assigned to the high-profile case because of the impending retirement of U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips.

Federal prosecutors are asking U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Greer to disregard probation requests and lock up former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner for “at least two years,” according to Knoxnews. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Bolitho and David Lewen said in a filing Monday that Baumgartner’s misdeeds “significantly disrupted” the Knox County criminal justice system. The pair point to the half dozen new trials granted to defendants as a result of the fall-out of the pill scandal, most notably within the high-profile case regarding the Christian-Newsom torture-slayings. Baumgartner’s defense attorneys Donald Bosch and Ann Short argued the former judge gave up the bench when the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe became public in 2011 and that damage to the justice system has not been as bad as anticipated.

The Access to Justice Commission will hold a free legal clinic this Saturday at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in Memphis from 10 a.m. to noon. The clinic is part of a program to provide free legal services every second Saturday of the month. The Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Area Legal Services, the Community Legal Center and other nonprofit organizations are jointly sponsoring the events, the Memphis Daily News reports.

Associate attorneys rank at the top of the list ... the list of "unhappiest jobs" in America, that is. The ABA Journal reports that CareerBliss complied the list on reviews completed by more than 65,000 employees last year, rating key factors that affect happiness on the job, including work-life balance, relationships with bosses and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks and control over daily work. Improving health and happiness will be part of a program at this year’s Tennessee Bar Association Annual Convention in Nashville. The session “Keep on the Sunny Side: Better Next Year” offers a range of opportunities to explore a healthier life, build better relationships, manage stress, and use relaxation techniques to find the balance needed at home and at the office. The program will be a part of the CLE lineup during the June 12-15 event.

The Tennessean and other media groups asked Chancellor Carol McCoy to require the Department of Children’s Services to release at no cost information about the deaths of children who had come in contact with the state agencies. After the successful lawsuit to require the state to release the documents, officials said it would cost more than $34,000, which the groups are calling “grossly excessive” and impeding upon the fundamental right of access to government records. Knoxnews has the story.

Gov. Bill Haslam said he would likely veto a Republican bill to remove voting power for Tennessee’s two U.S. senators from the voters in open statewide primaries to the state legislators, the Commercial Appeal reports. A few hours after Haslam’s announcement, the House version of the bill was deferred to 2014. The Senate version was delayed by sponsor Sen. Frank Nicely, R-Strawberry Plans, to the last day of the 2013 legislative season.

Legislation to change the way workers’ compensation claims are considered in Tennessee on Monday overwhelmingly passed the Senate 28-2, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The companion bill was set for consideration by the House Finance Committee today. Opponents to the bill say it would reduce benefits and remove impartiality from the judgment process.

Rep. Jim Cooper said yesterday that he has long favored recognition of gay marriage although he recognizes some churches might not want to do the same.  A report in The Hill, a Washington publication that focuses on Congress, implied that Cooper changed his position. In response, he said in a statement that his view does not represent a change in position and that he has said for years that “people who are willing to enter into a committed, life-long relationship should be able to do so.” The Tennessean has the story.