The former deputy commissioner and chief financial officer for the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), Wesley Olan Landers, has been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and to commit perjury in connection with a $123 million contract to provide behavioral health services. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, Landers used his personal email account to provide confidential TDOC information related to the bidding process for a new behavioral health service provider for TDOC inmates. After a new contract was awarded to a new provider, Landers was hired as vice president of operations, reporting to Jeffrey Scott Wells, to whom he had passed the confidential TDOC information and who also was charged in the case. If convicted, both defendants face up to five years in federal prison.

Baker Donelson shareholder Lang Wiseman recently was named to the Tennessee Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advisory Council and will chair the council's policy subcommittee. The Nashville Post spoke with Wiseman about his appointment and to get his thoughts on AI in the legal community and beyond. He addresses the importance of protecting client data, the purposes and goals of the council and shares how the council can help identify opportunities to make Tennessee a leader in the AI movement.

U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger has ruled that a federal lawsuit alleging Tennessee’s mental health and disability agencies discriminated against deaf individuals living in privately run group homes can move forward. The Tennessee Lookout reports that attorneys for the state attempted to dismiss all claims brought by six individuals who say they were denied the ability to communicate and deprived of sign language interpreters and communication technologies in group homes. The state argued that Tennessee's mental health and disability agencies are not responsible for the way private group homes operate, but according to Trauger's decision, federal law “recognizes that a government agency’s decision to rely on a privatize-and-license model, rather than a direct services model, does not inherently excuse it from its antidiscrimination obligations in performing the underlying public services.”

U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz of Memphis was confirmed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday in a 48-46 vote by the U.S. Senate. The Daily Memphian reports that Ritz, nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden in March, succeeds Judge Julia Gibbons of Memphis on the panel of 29 judges who hear appeals from federal district courts in Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. Gibbons is taking senior status on the court. According to the Commercial Appeal, Ritz, who was born and raised in Memphis, began working in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee in 2005, holding a number of positions including appellate chief, criminal appellate chief and special counsel. As U.S. attorney, he led the federal criminal case against five Memphis police officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols' civil rights, was part of the announcement that the Justice Department had launched a pattern-or-practice investigation into the Memphis Police Department and brought a new program to Memphis that targets organized crime. Tennessee's Republican U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty voted against Ritz's confirmation. Blackburn detailed her opposition during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings in April. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, praised the Senate vote in a post-confirmation social media post.

Join West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) for its inaugural Disaster Law Seminar on Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. CDT. Attorney Jessi Pruett will discusses heirship property issues; WTLS attorneys Matthew Flood and Michael Creasy will present an overview of disaster legal work, FEMA appeals and working with the community after a disaster; and Vickie Trice and Jennifer Ramcharan from the Department of Commerce and Insurance will discuss working with insurance companies after a disaster. The event is free and will take place via Zoom. Register here.

Today marks the 237th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier and law clerks Carrie Brown Stefaniak, Rachel Elaine Noveroske and Katherine E. Philyaw discuss some of the current sentiment for changing or amending the Constitution. They consider the dissatisfaction that some people have with the document, the role and function of the federal judiciary and the procedural steps required to change the Constitution. Interested in learning more about Constitution Day? The TBA has a collection of online resources.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) is sponsoring a webcast on Nov. 21 beginning at noon CST titled "What Attorneys Must Know About Secondary and Vicarious Trauma." A panel of speakers will explore how exposure to the traumatic experiences of clients can affect lawyers' mental health and overall well-being. Panelists also will share ways attorneys can safeguard their mental health and support colleagues. Speakers include S. Chris Troutt, CEO of the Papillon Center; psychotherapist and behavioral health executive Lindsey O'Connell; and clinical psychologist Dr. Brynda Quinn. YLD member Patrick Morrison will moderate the discussion. 

The third installment in TBA’s Mockingbirds & the Rest of Us series will take place Sept. 19. This highly interactive three-part series, taught by Doug Blaze and Buck Lewis — founders of the Institute for Professional Leadership at UT Law — examines the book, movie and recent Aaron Sorkin adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” through the lens of contemporary times. Panelists examine the lynching scene on the porch of the jail, the trial and the final scene on the Finch porch after an attempt on the Finch children’s lives. The full program qualifies for 4.5 dual hours of CLE. Register for part 3 here. View recordings for part 1 and part 2 using the respective links.

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law will hold a historic celebration for its 15th anniversary on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. EDT. The event will take place at The Mill & Mine, 227 W. Depot Ave., Knoxville 37917. Get more information and register here.

Minority attorneys stay in their first jobs out of law school about half as long as their white peers, though the gap may be narrowing, according to a new Bloomberg Law survey. The race-based imbalance among all attorneys surveyed was almost four years — 3.98 years for minority lawyers versus 7.8 years for white attorneys. But the gulf was only about a month or two on average among lawyers who have practiced for 15 years or less — a sign that investments by law firms and legal departments may be helping close the gap.