State lawmakers Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, and Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, plan to renew efforts to give an appointed board oversight powers over Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), arguing the district is too large to manage effectively. They say a $6 million state-funded forensic audit of MSCS, expected soon, could justify a compromise on their stalled takeover legislation, which advanced through several committees last session. The Daily Memphian reports that while some Memphis residents support the proposals — especially amid frustration with leadership changes and low test scores — others view them as overreach that undermines local control and unconstitutionally targets a single district. Both lawmakers, who represent suburban areas, also have floated the idea of breaking up MSCS into smaller districts, citing poor academic outcomes compared to wealthier neighboring systems.

Maxine Strickler, who worked for the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) for 25 years, died June 21 at age 97. Former Tennessee Bar Journal Editor Suzanne Craig Robertson remembers that when she started working at TBA in 1987, "Maxine was in the membership department. Nothing was computerized then and each member record was on a card in a big metal file called the Cardex." Services were held June 27 in Goodlettsville.

The 78th Judicial Conference of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will be held in Memphis Sept. 3-5 at The Peabody Hotel. The conference will open with a welcome reception on Tuesday evening, followed by two days of programming that include plenary and breakout sessions, luncheons and special evening events, including the Life Member Reception at Old Dominick Distillery and a formal banquet at The Peabody. Conference details, including hotel and registration information, can be found on the court's website. Register by Aug. 15. Call 513-564-7270 or email CA06-Conf@ca6.uscourts.gov with questions.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently announced that Alec Richardson will depart the governor’s office at the end of the month after serving for nearly seven years in multiple roles, including his most recent position of senior advisor and director of external affairs. Richardson will transition to the role of state director for U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty. As one of the longest-serving members of Lee’s team, Richardson played an instrumental role in achieving the governor’s agenda to champion rural advancement through the creation of the Governor’s Rural Opportunity Summit. "Alec’s passion for rural Tennessee has contributed greatly to our administration’s work to expand opportunity across economically distressed and at-risk counties, and I am grateful that Tennesseans will continue to benefit from his leadership in a new role," Lee said. Casey Sellers has been appointed to serve as senior advisor to the governor, in addition to her current role as director of communications and a member of Lee’s cabinet. Read more in a press release from the governor's office.

On Aug. 1, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board will hear in-person arguments in three cases at the Tennessee Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville 37219. All three are interlocutory orders granting benefits. First will be Chad Graves v. Southall Adventures, where both parties have appealed. Southall takes issue with a trial court order where medical causation was disputed, while Graves contests the decision to decline to designate an unauthorized doctor as the treating physician. Next, in Brittney Russell v. Werner Enterprises Inc., Werner appealed an order involving an assault while working, resulting in physical and mental injuries. Russell was delivering freight and had a confrontation with the manager of a retail store, followed by a shopper inserting herself into the argument. The shopper’s husband assaulted the employee. Finally is David Rainey v. US Express, where US Express appealed an order challenging rulings on whether a specific incident at work occurred as Rainey described and medical causation. The arguments begin at 9 a.m. CDT. Access the full docket.

There is a substantial difference between being a good lawyer and running a well-oiled, profitable practice. While there are some “money things” one can outsource, such as payroll mechanics, it is critical that attorneys understand core financial concepts and the associated reports produced by a practice management system. In this webcast replay, Jeffrey Krause with Affinity Consulting will highlight the kinds of accounting information attorneys need to know, as well as who else within the practice should have access to that sensitive information. Get more information and register here.

Tennessee state Rep. Jay Reedy, R-Erin, who previously filed paperwork to launch a bid for the 7th Congressional District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Mark Green, has decided not to run. Clarksville Now reports that Reedy dropped out of the contest, saying, “At this time I feel God has placed me in the Tennessee state House and the job is not yet finished. His departure leaves these five Republicans and two Democrats to face off in their respective party primaries. The field also includes former state Rep. Brandon Ogles and health executive Mason Foley on the Republican side and state Rep. Vincent Dixie on the Democratic side. Former Nashville mayor Megan Barry and state Republican Sen. Bill Powers of Clarksville, who originally had expressed interest in the seat, have decided not to run.

The CLE Performer Stuart Teicher is back with four ethics webcast replays this month. On July 17, Shakira, Secrets and Scandals: Attorney Ethics and the World of Offshore Deals begins at 9 a.m. CDT, followed by Five Ways to Use Chat GPT Safely in the Practice of Law at 10:15, and The Office: What Michael Scott Teaches About Lawyer Professionalism at 11:30. Then on July 18, tune in for Wedded Bliss and Attorney Ethics at noon CDT. Can't make these times? The sessions also are available on demand. Check out all options being offered during TBA's Summer CLE Event.

DeKalb County lawyer Lena Ann Graves Buck was publicly censured on July 9 by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Buck provided consultation regarding a workers’ compensation case to a client. Despite the client not signing a retainer agreement nor paying an attorney fee, Buck met with the client on three occasions during which she provided legal advice. Buck discussed the workers’ compensation issue with the client at two of the meetings, but did not apprise the client of a statute of limitations deadline. Over the next three years, Buck represented the client on a disability claim, though the client believed Buck also was handling the workers’ compensation matter. The client did not discover the statute of limitations had passed until several years later. In addition to these findings, the court determined that Buck entered into a business transaction with the client without first advising the client in writing of the desirability of seeking, or giving a reasonable opportunity to seek the advice of, independent legal counsel. The court found that these actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.8(a)(2) and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued a public censure to Davidson County attorney Zachary Ty Carden on July 9. The court found that Carden, while representing a client in a contested divorce action, failed to take proper action to submit his client’s discovery responses, resulting in the entry of a judgment against his client for opposing counsel’s fees. After the divorce action settled through mediation, the court found that Carden failed to take action to facilitate entry of the final divorce decree and did not respond to his client’s requests for information, delaying finalization of the divorce action. These actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4 and 3.2.