Chattanooga-based Miller & Martin PLLC recently celebrated its 145th anniversary with a reception that also celebrated the philanthropy of one of its partners. Founded in 1867 by T.M Burkett, Miller & Martin has served many of Chattanooga’s leading companies, and expanded to Atlanta and Nashville. The reception also honored Miller & Martin partner Burkett Miller’s philanthropic contributions to education, The Chattanoogan reports. Miller established the Tonya Foundation and founded Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia; The Tonya Public Affairs & Economics Internship programs at The University of the South; and The Burkett Miller Distinguished Lecture Series at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 

A federal judge in Nashville has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Christopher Johnson and Nathaniel Claybrooks against the ABC television show The Bachelor for racial discrimination, NPR reports. The African American plaintiffs alleged that the show discriminates against people of color in casting the bachelor, bachelorette and other contestants. The court ruled that under the First Amendment, the show’s producers and casting directors were free to cast or reject whomever they please. Read the full court decision here.

Much like lawyers in Tennessee, attorneys across the country are honoring their responsibility to the legal profession and local communities by participating in annual pro bono celebrations. Nationally, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is sponsoring National Pro Bono Celebration, Oct.21-27,  as part of Celebrate Pro Bono Month.

The Sumner County Board of Education and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will head to mediation to work out a compromise in legal fees after settling a lawsuit over prayer in the county's public schools. In the settlement, the school board admitted no wrongdoing, but agreed that teachers would not be allowed to pray with students or lead Bible study on school grounds, and youth ministers would not be able to visit schools unless they are visiting their own family members. Both parties agreed to mediation to determine attorneys fees. The ACLU is asking for $284,321 to cover fees and litigation expenses. A mediation date has not been set. The Tennessean has the story

Former Germantown deputy court clerk Janet Donnell was placed on diversion after pleading guilty to felony theft for stealing $3,500 from the court, the Commercial Appeal reports. Donnell was facing a two-year prison sentence, but received diversion after numerous sources testified that the theft was out of character. The terms of Donnell’s probation allow her conviction to be erased after 10 years if she makes full restitution and abides by the law.

The East Ridge City Council deadlocked on a vote to change the judge-appointed city court clerk position to an elected, termed position, the Times Free Press reports. The vote now has been rescheduled for Oct. 25. Supporters of the move argue the change is necessary to comply with a 2008 attorney general opinion that cities should have an elected -- not appointed -- court clerk. If the ordinance passes, the city will hold a special election to choose a new court clerk, who will serve until regular elections in August 2013.

Memphis' juvenile jail needs to take both immediate and long-term steps to better prevent detained youths from harming or killing themselves, according to a new national assessment. The report, authored by jail suicide prevention consultant Lindsay Hayes, is part of an ongoing overhaul of the Shelby County Juvenile Court and its detention center following the U.S. Justice Department's finding of due-process and safety violations. The jail has not had a suicide in almost 40 years, but the evaluation states that the court needs to improve suicide prevent training for staff and in-jail school teachers. The Commercial Appeal has more

Four Chattanooga attorneys were inducted into the Legal Aid of East Tennessee’s (LAET) Pro Bono Hall of Fame yesterday during the group's second annual event. Honorees are Dick Critteau, Sam Elliot, Joe Simpson and Glenn Stophel, each of whom were honored for their work on behalf of indigent applicants in civil court cases. In announcing the awards LAET pro bono director Charlie McDaniel praised the example set by the four saying, "Not only do these lawyers accomplish a tremendous amount of good, they serve as an inspiration and as role models to younger attorneys who see that, at least in Chattanooga, the very best lawyers in the city do pro bono." Read the full article at the Times Free Press.

The ABA Journal reports that more than 1,500 lawyers who took continuing legal education (CLE) courses from Rutgers University's two law schools had their personal information compromised by hackers who accessed names, address, encrypted passwords and other data from about 100 university websites. A group called Team GhostShell claims responsibility, stating they were protesting rising education costs and student loan debt. Personal information that was posted online has been removed, and Rutgers said they have increased website security.

According to most recent reports, 15 new cases of fungal meningitis were announced today, bringing the nationwide total to 184. As that number continues to grow, a group of plaintiffs have filed the first federal class action suit against the Framingham, Mass., pharmaceutical company alleged to be the source of the contaminated spinal steroids. The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Minnesota, charges that the company “had a duty to use reasonable care in designing and manufacturing the methylprednisolone acetate steroid doses such that they are not unreasonably dangerous.” The Tennessean has the story