Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) was recently awarded a new $73,000 grant from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). In an email to TBA, the LAS says it will use the grant money to evaluate its existing pro bono program, with the goal of attracting and retaining pro bono attorneys to assist in serving low-income clients in the 48 counties it serves across Middle Tennessee. The grant is for six months, with the option to apply for a longer two-year grant to implement recommendations suggested by the evaluation.

The Tennessee Department of Correction (DOC) is proposing a $6.8 million increase to CoreCivic’s contract next year, raising the total payout to $244.5 million despite the company’s history of failing to meet contractual obligations and an ongoing federal civil rights investigation. Tennessee Lookout reports that CoreCivic, which runs four Tennessee prisons, has paid over $29.5 million in penalties since 2022 for issues like staffing shortages, with turnover rates reaching 146% last year. Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, a CoreCivic facility under federal scrutiny, has faced significant safety risks, including contraband smuggling and a 188% guard turnover rate.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan in Texas blocked a new rule from the Biden administration that would have expanded access to overtime pay to millions more salaried workers across the U.S. The Associated Press reports that the judge agreed with the state of Texas and a group of business organizations that the Department of Labor (DOL) exceeded its authority when it finalized the new rule earlier this year, ruling that the department could not prioritize employee wages over job duties when determining eligibility. The rule would have increased the threshold at which employers are required to pay overtime to salaried workers from $43,888 a year to $58,656 a year, marking the biggest increase in decades. Jordan had temporarily blocked the rule in June.

The TBA received the Excellence in Continuing Education Programming Award for the Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) "Rookie's Guide Series" from the Tennessee Society of Association Executives (TNSAE) at the group's annual meeting on Nov. 13. The curated series fills a unique need in the legal community, offering a “crash course” for young lawyers to learn the basics of a range of practice areas. Members of the TBA YLD suggested the series concept based on their own experiences in the first few years following law school. For many lawyers, the law school experience focuses on overarching legal concepts, but does not provide practical insights into the range of legal issues lawyers are asked to handle, leaving a gap following graduation. The series fills that gap by providing an honest look at the practice areas covered, including basic issues a lawyer should expect to encounter as well as the ethical and other pitfalls to avoid when handling cases in this area. TNSAE President Edithann Buckles Wadewitz presented the award to TBA's Executive Assistant Karen Belcher, who was at the award ceremony representing the association.

Four people have been arrested and charged in a drug smuggling scheme at the Shelby County Jail. Two corrections deputies, an inmate and the inmate's girlfriend were charged with bribery of a public servant, possession of contraband in a penal facility and possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute. The deputies were further charged with official misconduct. The Daily Memphian reports that Sheriff Floyd Bonner estimated that during the scheme, those involved made “thousands of dollars.” He also noted that smuggling occurs at prisons and jails around the country, requiring continual vigilance on the part of law enforcement.

The company Walton Tennessee and three of its investors have filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2025, that will prohibit people living in China, Iran, North Korea and other countries subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations from owning land in Tennessee. The Tennessean reports that the law states that foreign owners have to divest their property by the start of the year or face criminal prosecution and civil penalties, including eventually losing their land without compensation. The plaintiffs are a U.S. citizen living in Shanghai, an Italian citizen living in Hong Kong and a U.S. citizen in South Carolina who say that they, along with other investors living in the U.S., will lose more than $100 million if the state takes their properties.

Four Tennessee attorneys were inducted as fellows in the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) at the group's annual meeting in Nashville in September. Charles Malone, a partner in K&L Gates' Nashville office; Donna Mikel, founding partner of Mikel & Hamill in Chattanooga; Christopher Poole, of counsel to Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel in Chattanooga; and Christopher Vescovo, managing partner of Lewis Thomason's Memphis office, were among the 88 inductees from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Fellowship in the ACTL, which was founded in 1950, is extended by invitation only to experienced trial lawyers of diverse backgrounds, who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of 15 years trial experience before being eligible. Membership also is limited to no more than one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments met in Jackson to interview and select nominees for a vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Western Section. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the council selected three nominees to forward to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. They are: Steven W. Maroney, James R. Newsom III and Valerie L. Smith. Read more about the three from the Administrative Office of the Court.

At a forum sponsored by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission on Saturday, local officials expressed support for a change to state law that would allow judges and judicial commissioners access to juvenile records for purposes of setting bail. According to the Daily Memphian, judges in Tennessee currently have access to a defendant’s juvenile record for sentencing but not setting bail. Several officials at the forum said they favored a new state law that would extend such access to judges and judicial commissioners who set bail. State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, said after the forum that he plans to introduce such a bill in the upcoming session.

The family of Malcolm X, a civil-rights leader who was assassinated almost 60 years ago, filed a $100-million wrongful death lawsuit on Friday that accuses the FBI, CIA and New York Police Department of allowing his murder to be carried out, Reuters reports. The federal lawsuit brought by Malcolm X's daughter and other family members alleges the law-enforcement agencies concealed evidence that they knew of the plot to kill Malcom X but did nothing to stop it. According to the attorney representing the family, the lawsuit seeks to answer questions surrounding the assassination, paint an accurate history of the events and financially compensate the family.