Alternative law school admissions program JD-Next could soon join the LSAT and the GRE in gaining the American Bar Association’s stamp of approval, reports Reuters. On Thursday, the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar will consider a request to deem the program a “valid and reliable” predictor of an applicant’s law school grades. The designation would enable law school admissions offices to use it without special ABA permission. Supporters say JD-Next — which offers an eight week contracts course followed by an exam — is an important new tool for law schools because it captures law school aptitude without the racial score disparities seen on other standardized tests.

A coalition of major U.S. plaintiffs' law firms are asking the federal judiciary to modernize rules that govern civil trials to encourage live-streamed testimony by witnesses who are unable to appear in person. Attorneys at 12 law firms led by the class action firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro wrote in a letter to the federal judiciary's top rulemaking committee, arguing that when a witness could not appear in person, the courts should favor having them testify virtually rather than use "spliced, disjointed video clips from depositions." Read more about the proposal from Reuters.

Baker Donelson has named eDiscovery officer Clinton Sanko as managing shareholder of its Chattanooga office. While serving in the role, Sanko will maintain his practice as a litigation trial lawyer. He succeeds Russell Gray, who served as managing shareholder of the office since 2012. Gray will continue to focus on his practice, which includes labor and employment and commercial litigation matters. Read more in a news release from the firm.

Eads attorney Charlotte Knight Griffin will serve as president of the Tennessee Bar Association in 2026-2027. No other candidate filed for the vice president position by the Feb. 15 deadline. After taking office as vice president at this summer’s TBA Convention, Griffin will become president-elect in 2024-2025 and then take over the organization’s leadership in June 2026. Knight Griffin began her career in private practice in Memphis after earning her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1976. In 1978, she joined Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division as a staff attorney. She was named the manager of legal services in 2000. She retired in April 2023 after 45 years of service. Knight Griffin has been active in the TBA for many years, currently serving as speaker of the House of Delegates and member of the Board of Governors. She is a past chair of the Local Government Practice and Litigation sections, charter fellow of the Young Lawyers Division and a past executive officer of the YLD. Read more about her background.

In addition to Knight Griffin’s election as vice president, several other key positions for the 2024-2025 bar year were certified today via uncontested election results. These include TBA Board of Governors members as well as Tennessee representatives to the ABA House of Delegates. Two vacancies will be filled by the Board of Governors. No contested elections will be held in 2024. See all election results here.

A Cordova man is accused of pretending to be an attorney and stealing nearly $40,000 from multiple clients, WREG reports. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and Memphis Police Department are investigating three cases involving Glenis “Chip” Campbell over the last three years. One couple police are talking to paid Campbell $28,000 over two years to have him handle a workers’ comp case. They became suspicious when Campbell refused to provide any receipts or paperwork. They called the TBA and learned he is not a licensed attorney. Another man paid Campbell $3,240 to represent him in a Mississippi criminal case in, but after the payment, Campbell disappeared. In 2008, Campbell was found guilty of impersonating a lawyer and sentenced to 150 days in the Shelby County Correctional Facility.

Michael Regier, general counsel and secretary at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), will retire at the end of the academic year, and Douglas Mefford, managing counsel in the Office of Legal Affairs, will succeed him effective July 1, according to a press release from VUMC. Mefford joined VUMC in 2013 and has led initiatives to restructure the LifeFlight air ambulance program and Vanderbilt Imaging Services. He has also supported the Medical Center’s regional hospital acquisitions in Lebanon, Shelbyville and Tullahoma, and helped negotiate VUMC’s minority interest in Tennova Healthcare – Clarksville.

Memphis Area Legal Services Inc. (MALS) has announced that Loyce Lambert Ryan has joined the organization as interim executive director following the departure of Cindy Ettingoff. Lambert Ryan served as judge for the Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Division XV from 2000 to 2022. She was appointed in 2004 by then-Gov. Phil Bredesen to the Governor’s Task Force on Sentencing Guidelines, and in 2015 by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve on the Indigent Defense Task Force. Additionally, MALS has appointed Gortria C. Banks as chief operating officer. She joined MALS in August 2023 after serving as associate executive director of the Community Legal Center. Read more in a press release from the organization.

A group of women suing Johnson City and multiple police officers is now accusing city officials of victim-shaming, pushing back against public statements suggesting they deserve blame for being victims of an alleged serial rapist, the Tennessee Lookout reports. Johnson City Manager Cathy Ball has said the victims could be, to some degree, “at fault” for their assaults because they “consumed and partook of illegal drugs.” The lawsuit alleges mishandling of the investigation into local businessman, Sean Williams, and claims officers with the Johnson City Police Department took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from Williams while refusing to take meaningful steps to "stop his sexually predatory behavior," News Channel 9 reported in December. “Survivors deserve to be treated with respect,” one Jane Doe said. Ball said in a statement that “protecting victims and the community is the top priority of the Johnson City Police Department."

Legal technology and TBA member advantage company Clio has announced it will heighten its focus and investment on technology for mid-sized law firms of more than 20 employees, according to the legal blog LawSites. Clio states that more than 1,000 mid-sized law firms already subscribe to its services, so it will more heavily invest in products tailored to that market. In conjunction with the announcement, Clio released its 2024 Legal Trends for Mid-Sized Firms report, which finds a significant discrepancy in the adoption of cloud-based legal practice management software between mid-sized and smaller law firms, signaling a potential gap in artificial intelligence readiness and technological integration across the mid-sized segment.

TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is new with TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Brad Lampley. This week they discuss several bills that are moving through the legislative process, including HB2320/SB2375 on debtor/creditor relations; the rolling professional privilege tax bill, HB2586/SB1841; HB1804/SB1690 on child custody and support; HB2710/SB2254, TBA's conservatorship bill; HB2645, the adoption birth certificate bill; and HB2644, TBA's adoption clean-up bill. Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.