Court Increases Attorney Compensation

In September, the Tennessee Supreme Court increased the maximum attorney compensation for some non-capital felony cases. Where the defendant is charged with first degree murder or a Class A or B felony, the Court raised the maximum from $1,500 to $2,500. The court also raised the maximum in complex or extended cases for the same offenses to $5,000. The increased limits apply to cases where counsel is appointed after Jan. 1, 2014.

Law Firm Mergers Up this Year

Law firm mergers are up 41 percent from the same period last year, according to legal consulting firm Altman Weil. Forty-eight law firm combinations were announced in the first three quarters of the year, with 19 mergers and acquisitions announced in just the third quarter. The ABA Journal has more.

October Is Pro Bono Month

This month, Tennessee lawyers are joining their colleagues across the country to provide free legal services to those in need and honor the good work performed by lawyers every day as part of the annual National Pro Bono Celebration.

Now in its fifth year, the TBA’s statewide Celebrate Pro Bono initiative brings together legal services providers with local bar associations, law schools, law firms and individual lawyers to offer free services to those unable to afford a lawyer.

Legal Clinics and Events Planned

October is Pro Bono Month

This month, Tennessee lawyers are joining their colleagues across the country to provide free legal services to those in need and honor the good work performed by lawyers every day as part of the annual National Pro Bono Celebration.

Now in its fifth year, the TBA’s statewide Celebrate Pro Bono initiative brings together legal services providers with local bar associations, law schools, law firms and individual lawyers to offer free services to those unable to afford a lawyer.

TBA Joins Military Pro Bono Effort

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) has joined a nationwide effort to increase the number of lawyers committed to providing needed legal support to servicemembers, veterans and their families. Organized by Army OneSource, the Military Legal Assistance Campaign is focused on identifying and training volunteers who can assist families while a servicemember is deployed and help servicemembers when they return from overseas duty. Through its Access to Justice Committee, the TBA is recruiting lawyers to provide pro bono legal assistance to these groups.

How to Fill the Seat Is the Question

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Janice M. Holder announced June 26 that she will retire at the end of her current term and will not seek re-election in the August 2014 judicial retention election.

Holder became the third woman to serve on the Tennessee Supreme Court and the first to serve as chief justice. “It has been my privilege to serve the people of Tennessee as a trial judge and Supreme Court justice — and an honor to have been selected by my fellow justices as the first female chief justice in our state’s history,” Justice Holder said in a letter to Gov. Bill Haslam.

Justice Holder Announces Retirement

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Janice M. Holder announced that she is retiring at the end of her current term and will not seek re-election in the August 2014 judicial retention election. Holder became the third woman to serve on the Tennessee Supreme Court and the first to serve as chief justice.

It takes a lot of people to run the Tennessee Bar Association’s many committees and sections. To learn more, find out how to get involved or contact the chair, go to www.tba.org/committees or www.tba.org/sections, or contact Programs Administrator Lynn Pointer or Assistant Committees and Sections Coordinator Christy Gibson at 800-899-6993.

Here is the leadership for the 2013-14 bar year:

Committees

ABA Resource Committee
Jonathan Cole, chair, Nashville

TBA Efforts

Gov. Bill Haslam has signed into law the first major revisions in more than a decade to the state law that governs the process of placing state residents under the control of a court-appointed conservator.

The new statute, to take effect July 1, was the product of a series of hearings held across the state by the TBA. Speaking about the legislation, House sponsor Andrew Farmer, R-Sevierville, said that the “intent of this law is to clarify the process, to make sure people aren’t being taken advantage of.”

Gov. Haslam Signs Conservatorship Bill

Gov. Bill Haslam has signed into law the first major revisions in more than a decade to the state law that governs the process of placing state residents under the control of a court-appointed conservator. The new statute, which will take effect July 1, was the product of a series of hearings held across the state by the TBA.