Chattanooga-based law firm Miller & Martin has hired its first attorney in its Nashville office since 37 attorneys left the firm in June 2012 to join the Mississippi-based Butler Snow O’Mara Stevens and Cannada. Susan Steelman, a 1995 graduate of Vanderbilt School of Law, will head the firm’s health care practice. She previously served as director of loss prevention and regulatory matters for the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Virginia, and as associate general counsel for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, according to an excerpt from a press release republished in the Nashville Business Journal.

A growing number within Congress is looking to limit America’s authority to kill suspected terrorists through the drone program, Knoxnews reports. The program has been used to find and kill an unknown number of suspected terrorists, even U.S. citizens, and is expected to be a top topic of debate at a hearing Thursday in which the Senate Intelligence Committee will interview John Brennan, the White House’s pick for CIA chief. The White House defended its lethal drone program by citing the very laws some in Congress once believed were appropriate in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks. "It has to be in the agenda of this Congress to reconsider the scope of action of drones and use of deadly force by the United States around the world because the original authorization of use of force, I think, is being strained to its limits," Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, said in a recent interview.

The Tennessee Supreme Court heard arguments this morning about whether Memphis photo library cards can serve as government-issued identification under the state’s voter ID law, WBIR News 10 reports. In August, the Court of Appeals ruled that the library cards could be accepted at the polls since Memphis is a branch of the state, however Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Elections Coordinator Mark Goins appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. Attorney George Barrett argued to overturn the law, calling it a solution looking for a problem, and citing scant evidence of electoral fraud, WPLN reports. Although it could take months for an official ruling, Justice Sharon Lee told Barrett it was an argument for state lawmakers, not the court.

The Finance, Ways and Means Committee voted 9-1 Tuesday morning to send constitutional amendment Senate Joint Resolution 1 to the floor of the state Senate, permanently banning a tax on personal income or a payroll tax in Tennessee. Sen. Douglas Henry, D-Nashville, cast the only vote against the amendment, stating he is against income tax in principle but believes a payroll tax is different, the Tennessean reports.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today revised the rule for out-of-state lawyers appearing before administrative law judges. The new rule -- first proposed jointly by the Board of Professional Responsibility and the Judges of the Administrative Procedures Division in July -- requires lawyers residing and licensed in states other than Tennessee, who appear as counsel of record before an administrative law judge, or state entity authorized to resolve controversy, to be admitted pro hac vice. Today’s court order replaces the current Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 19 in its entirety. The Tennessee Bar Association filed the sole comment, which stated it “strongly supports” the adoption of the modified revision.

State Rep. Glen Casada and Sen. Jack Johnson, both Franklin Republicans, have filed HB 500 to create an Office of the Repealer. The repealer's job would be to identify potentially unnecessary rules and regulations, and make nonbinding recommendations to the secretary of state and the legislature every three months and to the governor once a year. “There are hundreds of thousands of rules that are on the books,” Johnson told the Tennessean. “Some for good reason, but some are in all likelihood antiquated and not relevant... We need to clean those up.”

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney and long-time Memphis attorney Kemper Durand died unexpectedly Saturday (Feb. 2). A partner at Thomason Hendrix Harvey Johnson & Mitchell PLLC, Durand earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee and was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1964. In addition to his work in criminal defense and litigation, Durand was extensively involved in The Innocence Project, where his efforts led to the freeing of an individual who had served over 22 years in prison for a crime which he did not commit. Durand also was a founding member of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and was often called on by judges of the U.S. district court in Memphis and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to sit on court committees. Arrangements for memorial services are still pending. The Commercial Appeal has more on his life.

Memphis attorney Alex Migliara died Thursday (Jan. 31) at the age of 81. A graduate of the University of Memphis, he practiced law for over 50 years. Services were held this morning at St. Louis Catholic Church followed by burial in Memorial Park Cemetery. The family requests donations be directed to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

In an effort to combat childhood obesity, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed new rules Friday that would limit the sale of candy, high-calorie drinks, and greasy food in school vending machines and lunchrooms. According to the Memphis Daily News, the proposal would set fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods and drinks. Elementary and middle schools could only sell 8-ounce portions of low-fat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, while high schools would be limited to 12 ounce portions of some sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas.

The Fairness in Ticketing Act was filed in the Senate Friday by sponsors Rep. Ryan Haynes, R-Knoxville, and Sen. Ken Yager, R-Harriman, the Nashville City Paper reports. The legislation aims to minimize illegal ticket scalping by requiring ticket brokers -- defined as anyone who resells more than 60 tickets in a year -- to register with the state and pay sales tax on transactions. The bill also requires brokers to disclose certain information about the tickets they are selling such as face value. Supporters of the bill believe requiring increased disclosure by the reseller would cut down on the deceptive practices rampant in the secondary market.