Atlanta lawyer Robert Andrew Free received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 19. Free represented a client in an immigration application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). A request for evidence was sent to Free’s office from USCIS, but he did not respond and did not send the request to his client. A decision was issued in the matter and sent to Free’s office a few months later, and he did not inform his client of the decision. Three years later, Free’s neglect was discovered, and he cooperated with the client’s subsequent attorney in seeking to reopen the immigration application. The court found these actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4 and 8.4(d).

Did you miss some of TBA's most popular programs this year? Don't worry; you can catch the webcast replay! Earn ethics hours and choose your CLE a la carte from programs like Business Law Forum 2024: Professional Conduct Through the Lens of HBO Max’s Succession on Dec. 26; Law Tech Webcast Series — 60 Legal Tech Tips, Tricks, Gadgets and Websites in 60 Minutes on Dec. 27; What Overrated Rock Bands Teach About Attorney Ethics on Dec. 30; and Shift Happens: Surviving the Law Profession from the Women in the Profession Committee on Dec. 31. Check out all of the webcast replays to choose from in the CLE Course Catalog.

The TBA will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday in observance of the Christmas holiday. Offices will reopen Thursday at 8 a.m. CST. Online CLE programming will remain available throughout the holidays.

The TBA will host a webcast replay of "Ethics Update: Current Developments from the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR)" on Dec. 31 at 10 a.m. CST. Earn an hour of dual credit with Eric Fuller, disciplinary counsel in the BPR's litigation department, as he reviews the latest ethics updates. Register here and wrap up your CLE requirements for 2024!

Crime rates in Memphis are trending down from last year, according to data from the Memphis Police Department. The Daily Memphian reports that year-to-date, overall violent crime incidents are down around 8% compared to the same point last year, and at the same time, arrests are up, likely due to a new department task force. Murders are down 31%, guns stolen from cars have decreased 24%, juvenile arrests for gun charges are down 7.3% and car thefts and car break-ins are down 38% and 19%, respectively. The number of interstate shootings also has decreased.

The Biden administration has released a rule “overhauling” the H-1B work visa program with the aim of streamlining the application process and limiting abuse of the program. An article from The Hill highlights the changes, which include clarifying who can apply for an H-1B work visa, expanding the definition of specialty occupation positions, and spelling out the requirements for nonprofit and governmental research organizations to sponsor visas. Of note, the changes impose H-1B eligibility requirements on third-party beneficiaries rather than applicant organizations; codify numerical cap exemptions for research jobs to allow nonprofits and academia to sponsor visas year-round; allow foreign nationals transitioning from a student visa to an H-1B to avoid gaps in employment; and expand the government’s authority to conduct site visits to ensure proper implementation of the visa.

Several new state laws are set to take effect Jan. 1, 2025, reports the Tennessean. The Protecting Children from Social Media Act requires social media companies to verify users' ages before they can create an account. If the user is a minor, the company must confirm "express parental consent" before the minor is allowed to create an account. The Protect Tennessee Minors Act limits minors from accessing pornography online. Companies may either require users to match an uploaded photo with a state ID or use "a commercially reasonable method relying on public or private transactional data to verify" that users are over 18 years. Both the social media and pornography age verification laws are facing free speech lawsuits in federal courts. Also on Jan. 1, residents of China, Iran, North Korea and other countries subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations will be prohibited from owning agricultural land in the state. It was challenged in court on Oct. 31 by investors in the Walton Tennessee company. Other laws taking effect in the new year are HB1814, which requires landlords to provide contact information for the "agent" authorized to manage the property; a new law requiring alcohol servers to be trained on preventing date-rape drugging and the role of alcohol and drugs in sexual assault; and SB1919, requiring medical providers with TennCare to begin prescribing birth control as a 12-month refill, allowing patients to get a year's worth of contraceptives without returning for multiple doctor visits.

Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) has announced the hiring of Lucille C. McGee as director of experiential learning and assistant professor of law. McGee is a graduate of Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, where she earned a higher education teaching certificate in 2020. She received her law degree from the Appalachian School of Law and a degree in English from the University of Georgia. In her new role, McGee will oversee LMU Law’s experiential learning programs, including clinics, externships and simulation courses. She also will teach practice-oriented courses such as externships and pleadings and practice. Read more in a press release from the law school.

After a state investigation found Nashville District Attorney (DA) Glenn Funk's office secretly recorded criminal defense attorneys, office employees and visitors, a special prosecutor has been appointed to handle a 24-year-old murder case. Robert Nash, DA for Montgomery and Robertson counties, will take over the case of Calvin Atchison from Funk's office. The Tennessean reports that in October, Judge Cynthia Chappell postponed the trial for Atchison, who is accused of killing a North Nashville woman in 2000. Atchison's defense attorney Ben Powers had asked Chappell to disqualify the Nashville DA's office from prosecuting the case because Powers and a private investigator were pictured in the state's audit report about the situation. State investigators also found an audio recording of the two as they worked in the Funk's office.

Eugene W. Ward, Nashville attorney and husband of Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely, died Dec. 13 at age 92. He received his undergraduate degree from Lincoln Memorial University in 1956 and his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1959. Ward practiced law in Morristown for two years before being appointed to assistant general counsel at the Tennessee Public Service Commission. He later served as general counsel, and then in 1986, moved to Nashville Electric Service (NES). He retired in 2011 as general counsel and vice president. Ward was a member of the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations, as well as the American and the Tennessee Valley Public Power Associations and the Tennessee Municipal Electric Power Association. Services will take place at Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5110 Gallatin Pk., Nashville 37216 on Dec. 19. Visitation will begin at 11 a.m. CST with a celebration of life at 1 p.m. The family requests that memorial donations be made to Shriner's Hospital for Children or the Opry Trust Fund.