The Nashville School of Law (NSL) recently held its annual Recognition Dinner to honor Nashville lawyer Bill Harbison and its class of 1974. Harbison, an attorney with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison and a former TBA president, was recognized for his community service and 15 years as a professor of contracts. The class of 1974 was honored for its 50th anniversary. Several members of the class attended the dinner and shared their experiences at NSL. A scholarship also was announced in honor of a deceased classmate, Kirk Scobey. Read more in the press release. See photos from the event.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has released its first guidance on how lawyers should assess potential clients under a revised ethics rule. The rule, adopted in 2023, requires lawyers to inquire into a client's situation to avoid unknowingly assisting in criminal activity. Formal Opinion 513 acknowledges the challenges lawyers may face in making these assessments and offers a step-by-step approach to help them navigate potentially risky situations. It includes questions to consider when undertaking an assessment of the representation and whether the lawyer would be assisting or furthering a crime or fraud.

Brittany Bartkowiak was recently honored by the Williamson County Bar Association for her leadership as its president for 2023-2024. The association also recently announced the members of its executive board for 2024-2025. They are President Charles Ferguson, President-elect Crystal Etue, Treasurer Amanda Bradley and Secretary Dylan Harper.

Butler Snow LLP has announced that attorney Melody McAnally will serve as chair of the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) for 2024-2025. McAnally is a partner at the firm and brings extensive experience in cybersecurity and data privacy law to the role, according to a press release from the firm. She will lead the committee's efforts to educate ABA members on these critical issues and promote awareness of cybersecurity, data privacy and AI-related risks. McAnally is actively involved in various professional associations, including the Tennessee Bar Association’s Construction Law Section Executive Council.

A lawsuit alleging that Tennessee's redistricting plans for the U.S. House of Representatives and state Senate amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering has been dismissed by a federal judicial panel, according to WBIR News. While the panel ruled that the new maps are "consistent with a racial gerrymander,” it also found they are "consistent with a political gerrymander.” The judges found that the plaintiffs would need to provide stronger evidence that Tennessee's legislators knew the redistricting maps would harm Democratic voters, including minority voters. The court gave the plaintiffs 30 days to refile the case if they could provide stronger evidence of racial motivations. The complaint, filed in August 2023, alleged that the 2022 redistricting maps intentionally discriminated against Black voters and diluted the voting power of communities of color.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office is warning consumers about a number of QR code scams. While evolving QR code technology may be convenient, the codes can be exploited by scammers through emails, text messages, mailers, packages, charitable appeals and cryptocurrency payments — all of which take users to fake websites designed to steal personal information. Scams like these can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/scams if encountered. Learn more about spotting suspicious QR codes.

U.S. District Judge Samuel Mays Jr. has dismissed a lawsuit against Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. and Chief Jailer Kirk Fields over the October 2023 death of an inmate. The Daily Memphian reports that the suit had been filed in January by the family of Deion Byrd, an inmate at the Shelby County Jail who died after being stabbed by another inmate, Donnie Clay, while waiting for a court hearing at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center. Clay has been charged with first-degree murder for the death. Mays found that Byrd’s parents failed to show that Bonner and Fields violated Byrd’s constitutional rights by failing to protect him from harm.

The Nashville Banner recently lost its bid to unseal court filings related to Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn’s competence. In a narrow decision, the Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Blackburn’s colleague Judge Angelita Dalton did not err when she sealed affidavits made by attorneys that allegedly detailed problems with Blackburn’s performance. The court did not rule on the merits of the affidavits. The Banner notes that neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys had asked for the affidavits to be sealed and Judge Blackburn herself had not sealed the filings. It says it will appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. The Banner reported the news in its Aug. 19 newsletter.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) has opened a new office for its Eviction Prevention Program (EPP) in Knoxville. A ribbon-cutting and celebration was held earlier this month, Knox TN Today reports. LAET’s Executive Director Debra House said the EPP has been a massively beneficial program for the entire community and for people from all walks of life. “Since its inception in November 2023, the EPP has handled 357 cases and prevented 166 evictions. This program needed its own space to make it more accessible. We now have a large parking lot, and the building is on a bus line.” In addition to eviction prevention, the office also educates consumers about issues such as fair housing, discrimination, unfair lockouts and repairs and basic maintenance. It also assists with domestic violence cases to help make the home a safe place for all. The new office can be reached at 865-371-8730. Read more in a release or see photos from the event.

Shelby County Commissioners voted down a referendum, proposed by Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, that would have allowed voters to decide whether the commission should hire its own attorney, the Daily Memphian reports. The measure failed by one vote of the two-thirds majority needed to send it to the Shelby County Election Commission and put it to voters on the November ballot. Sugarmon argued the commission needed to be able to hire its own attorney independent of the Shelby County Attorney’s Office as a “check and balance” on the county administration.