After almost 45 years of law practice as an association of attorneys, Phillips & Ingrum Attorneys at Law has evolved into two separate law firms: The Ingrum Law Firm PLLC and Phillips Ralston. The Ingrum Law Firm remains in its existing downtown office space at 117 East Main St., Gallatin 37066. Firm managing partner C. Jay Ingrum is joined by Haley E. Medley, Erin M. King and Ryan A. Claxton. The firm can be reached at 615-452-6613 or online at www.ingrumlawyers.com. Read the firm's announcement.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently filed what his office says is the “first-of-its-kind consumer protection lawsuit” against asset manager BlackRock Inc. The complaint alleges that Blackrock made false or misleading representations to current and potential consumers about the extent to which Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations affected its investment strategies. Skrmetti said, “BlackRock’s inconsistent statements about its investment strategies deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed choice.” The enforcement action seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties and recoupment of the state’s costs. Read more in a release from the attorney general’s office. 

Ashley McKenzie Smith — the mother of Jaylin McKenzie — has filed a pro se complaint in federal court against the Memphis Police Department and the city of Memphis for the death of her son. According to the Commercial Appeal, Smith alleges her son was killed in December 2022 during a high-speed police pursuit that followed a failed attempt to pull over his vehicle. The Shelby County District Attorney's Office announced this past fall it would not charge the police officer involved in the shooting, but would provide refresher training.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee is seeking furniture donations for an upcoming office expansion. The agency is expanding to a second location in Knoxville to focus on housing stability and eviction prevention. It is requesting donations of unwanted desks, chairs, cabinets and other furniture. Those who have items to donate should contact Zachary Arnold, 865-251-4955.

Artis Whitehead was released from prison last week after spending 20 years behind bars for a robbery and kidnapping on Beale Street he and the Tennessee Innocence Project say he did not commit. The Commercial Appeal reports that Whitehead's attorneys argued he should be granted a new trial, citing advances in eyewitness identification sciences, Brady violations by the Memphis Police Department and original prosecutor, and a dubious CrimeStoppers tip. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Fitzgerald granted the request for a new trial but the Shelby County District Attorney's Office says it will not re-try the case. That means Whitehead's record will show as if he was charged and had his case dropped.

The Memphis Bar Association (MBA) established The Honorable Gina C. Higgins Endowment Fund in recognition of Judge Higgins’ exemplary service to the Summer Law Internship Program (SLIP). The MBA surprised Higgins when it announced the endowment fund at its annual meeting on Dec. 7, which happened to be Higgins’ birthday. Prior to the public announcement, the fund already reached $158,000. It is managed through the Memphis Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the MBA, and will be funded by 100% tax deductible donations. Read more about SLIP and the endowment in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

A former employee of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury on Monday filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging that leaders in the state office forced her to resign the day after she informed them she was changing her name and preferred pronouns as part of a gender transition. The Nashville Post reports that the plaintiff worked as a field staff auditor for the comptroller for more than 14 years until January 2022. She alleges in the lawsuit that supervisors forced her to resign because of her gender transition.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today adopted new rules to further protect consumers from scam communications by directly addressing some of the biggest vulnerabilities in America’s robotext defenses and closing the “lead generator” robocall/robotexts loophole. The new rules allow blocking of “red flagged” robotexting numbers, codifies do-not-call rules for texting and encourages an opt-in approach for delivering email-to-text messages. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a bipartisan coalition of 29 attorneys general in filing a letter with the FCC in June, urging the commission to enact the one-to-one consent requirement.

Gov. Bill Lee has granted executive clemency to 23 people, including 22 full pardons. A pardon serves as a statement of forgiveness to someone who has completed their prison sentence and are no longer incarcerated, while commutation shortens a sentence but lets the conviction stand, reports the Associated Press. Similar to last year, Gov. Lee did not issue any exonerations, in which the governor declares that the applicant didn’t commit the crime.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy’s Office is developing a public-facing data dashboard that it plans to launch in spring 2024. According to the Daily Memphian, metrics will include the time it takes for cases to resolve, racial disparities in the criminal justice system and recidivism rates, among others still under review. Mulroy’s office has been working on data reform with help from Justice Innovation Lab, a nonprofit focused on “data-informed, human-centered solutions for a more equitable, effective and fair justice system." Vishant Shah, the DA office’s chief data officer, said the data will help with case management and provide accountability and transparency.