Former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter died suddenly of a “cardiac event” at age 68. He served as secretary of defense under former President Barack Obama from February 2015 to January 2017. His family said in a statement, "As secretary, he launched the successful campaign to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria, opened all combat positions to women, and forged new connections between the Department of Defense and the nation’s technology community." Read more from ABC News.

Charles Van Morgan, an independent candidate for governor, was arrested at a Hamilton County voting site Monday, and was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and intimidation of voters. Police said they responded to a call from the Hamilton County Election Commission stating that “a man was screaming about politics, cursing, getting into people’s faces and harassing the voters.”

Attorneys from Butler Snow, Bradley, Baker Donelson and Adams and Reese participated in an expungement clinic at Belmont School of Law on Friday as part of the Capitol City Challenge. Attorneys and Belmont Law students were welcomed by TBA Vice President Ed Lanquist and Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry. Attorneys, students and representatives from the clerk’s office then assisted clients in filling out and filing expungement paperwork. The clinic was sponsored by the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. Over $12,000 in legal services were donated during the clinic. Click here to view photos from the event.

The 31st Judicial District Public Defender’s Office is hiring an assistant public defender. Applicants must be hard working attorneys licensed to practice in Tennessee ready to join a team representing appointed clients in juvenile, general sessions and circuit courts in Warren and Van Buren counties. This position is funded by the state and the assistant public defender will receive all state employee benefits. Pay varies based upon experience. For information on how to apply, visit TBA's JobLink posting.

The Rogersville Review reports that Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny has chosen long time Coffee County resident and attorney Ed North as the temporary part-time Coffee County attorney, effective Oct. 1. North received his law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 2003. He has practiced continuously as an associate and partner of the Manchester-based law firm of Rogers, Duncan and North, and he is the owner and operator of North Properties and North Farms. North has served on the Tennessee Bar Association's House of Delegates since 2009, representing the 14th district.

Sumner County is seeking qualified applicants for the position of the Sumner County Law Director. The Law Director is responsible for handling all the legal matters of Sumner County and is expected to be competent in a wide range of practice areas, including litigation, workplace and employment law, compliance with laws and regulations governing county governments, and more. Visit TBA JobLink for more information.

From conducting an initial client interview to completing a representation, a lawyer’s duty of communication with a client creates on-going potential for ethics missteps and legal malpractice liability. Sign up for this three-hour CLE webcast and learn what you can do to effectively meet this important attorney-client duty.

This year's Tax Law Forum makes its return as an in-person event, taking place at the Nashville headquarters of global asset management firm AllianceBernstein. Topics for this year's forum include SECURE Act updates; required minimum distributions state business, excise, sales and use taxes; ethics and more! Don't miss this chance to learn from top experts while meeting with other tax law experts and industry leaders. Visit cle.tba.org for more info and to register.

Ted M. Winestone, born Moshe Tuvia Wajnsztejn in Baranowicze, Poland, in 1929 passed away on Sept. 17, one week short of his 93rd birthday. Winestone lost his parents, his younger brother and many extended family members during the Holocaust. Winestone survived the Holocaust after living in the woods with his father's brother and two cousins amongst the Partisans. When World War II ended, Winestone was 15 years old. He had survived typhus, bone-chilling winters, starvation and the ever-present threat of German bullets. In 1947, Winestone emigrated to America, learned English, and graduated from high school and college while working full time. He served in the U. S. Marine Corps (attaining the rank of staff sergeant) during the Korean War and subsequently became a certified public accountant, homebuilder and attorney, attending Southern Law University. He was a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, and his legal and accounting practice served the Mid-South community for more than 50 years. Funeral services were held Sept. 19 at the Sam Abraham Chapel in Baron Hirsch Cemetery.

Lloyd Senter Adams Jr. died on Sept. 10 at 96. A 1946 graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, he served in the U.S. Army (Infantry) until 1950, mostly with the occupation forces in Austria. Following his Army service, he attended Vanderbilt University School of Law where he served as editor-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Law Review. Adams practiced law in Humboldt until 1982 when he left his firm of Adams, Ryal & McLeary to join the Thomason Hendrix law firm in Memphis. He served as president of the Young Lawyers Conference of the Tennessee Bar Association in 1960-61 and was a member of the Tennessee Law Revision Commission from 1963-1967. At various times he served as a member of the Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission and the Tennessee Supreme Court Advisory Commission on Rules of Civil Procedure. He became a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation and the Tennessee Bar Foundation, and was a member of the American and Tennessee Bar Associations. A memorial service will be held Sept. 24 at 3 p.m. in the chapel at The Lodge At Shannondale. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Church Health, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 142, Memphis, TN 38104.