Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Director Michelle Long testified before the House Finance Committee last week, telling lawmakers it has been nearly 27 years since Tennessee boosted pay for court-appointed attorneys, who often handle difficult cases involving children and families. The current situation, she said, is approaching a crisis point, the Tennessee Journal reports. Long asked the committee to restore at least some of the funds needed. She also asked the committee to fund a new human resources staff member and a full-time staff member to manage the Supreme Court’s “Justice Bus” program. The committee is conducting hearings on Gov. Bill Lee’s proposed 2024-2025 budget, which did not include funding requested by the AOC for these expenses. The TBA continues to support the AOC’s request to increase the reimbursement rate for indigent representation. Watch her tesimony beginning at 1:40:50. Please visit the TBA Government Affairs webpage for more information and to get involved with its grassroots efforts.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division will hold its Diversity Law Week next month and attorney volunteers are needed in Chattanooga. The program, a special project of YLD President Quinton Thompson, provides high school students the opportunity to visit a local courthouse, shadow and engage with practicing attorneys or judges, visit a college or law school campus, and participate in programming designed to expose them to the theory and practice of law. The week will offer a one-of-a-kind experience and an invaluable road map for those interested in pursuing a career in the law. Volunteers specifically are needed on March 11 and 12. Learn more about volunteering and sign up here.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office Division of Consumer Affairs notified the public today of a new law impacting the recording of service contracts with registers of deeds. The new law prohibits the recording of service agreements and makes a service contract void and unenforceable if the agreement (1) purports to run with the land or be binding on future owners of interest in the real property, (2) allows for assignment of the right to provide services without notice to and consent of the residential real estate owner or (3) purports to create a lien, encumbrance or other real property security interest. The office also lays out warning signs consumers should look for when approached by companies offering a cash payment in exchange for agreeing to use their services in the future. Learn more about the law.

A federal judge preliminarily has approved more than $104 million in settlements between major U.S. universities and a proposed class of students, who accused the schools of favoring wealthy applicants for admission, reports Reuters. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago said the students’ previously disclosed agreements with Brown, Columbia, Yale and other schools were reasonable and could move forward. The students’ case is continuing against 10 other schools. The lawsuit, brought in 2022, seeks billions of dollars in damages on behalf of a proposed class of hundreds of thousands of current and former students who accuse the schools of unlawfully considering applicants' financial backgrounds in admission decisions.

The Thomson Reuters Law Firm Financial Index reports that law firms ended 2023 on strong financial footing after a sluggish start. According to Reuters, the index tracks key financial metrics across 173 large and midsize law firms. Fueled largely by rate growth and increased demand for countercyclical work, profits rose year-over-year among both large and midsize law firms in the fourth quarter. Profits-per-equity partner jumped 6% among Am Law 100 firms, 2.5% among Am Law 200 firms and 0.3% for midsize firms. Overall, law firm demand was up nearly 2% year-over-year, but varies significantly by practice area. Lawyer productivity, however, continued its recent slide, with lawyers billing an average 115 hours per month in the fourth quarter of 2023. That is the lowest figure since at least 2005, according to the index.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue has released its FY 2023 Annual Report & Informal Conference Summaries. The department's Administrative Hearing Office conducts informal conferences with taxpayers to resolve disputes about tax assessments. The annual reports provide a high-level overview of selected topics of interest and summaries of related informal conference decisions.

TBA's Legislative Updates podcast is back with a new episode this week. TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Ashley Harbin discuss Gov. Bill Lee's State of the State address; HB2710/SB2254, the TBA 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.

Shelby County Criminal Court Division 10 Judge Jennifer Mitchell has ruled that a jury from outside Shelby County will be brought in to hear the case of two men accused of killing Memphis rapper Young Dolph. According to the Daily Memphian, the request was made by defendant Justin Johnson’s lawyer, who argued at a hearing last week that Johnson can not get a fair trial before Memphis jurors due to “public visceral outrage” over the slaying. Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman told reporters after the ruling that he has not yet determined the Tennessee jurisdiction from which  the jury will be pulled. The trial will still be held in Memphis.

The federal trial for four former police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols last year has been pushed back four months to Sept. 9, reports the Daily Memphian. U.S. District Judge Mark Norris granted the motion after defense lawyers asked for more time to effectively prepare their case, a process they say includes reviewing 800 gigabytes of video, documents and other evidence given to them by prosecutors. Lawyers for the officers as well as federal prosecutors agreed that the trial will take about three weeks.

Nashville Law Director Wally Dietz told members of the Metro Arts Commission in a letter Wednesday that the commission needs greater financial oversight and an outside law firm has been hired to investigate multiple complaints made against the body. The letter, described by the Nashville Banner, includes an update from Metro Finance Director Kevin Crumbo, who says that completion of an internal audit ordered in December is still weeks away, but that surplus funds from the fiscal year 2023 budget “will not be made immediately available until the Arts Commission can demonstrate its operations are stable and that its financial affairs are in good order.”