U.S. litigation firm Susman Godfrey will award seniority-based year-end bonuses to its associates worth between $140,000 and $360,000, more than triple what other U.S. law firms have committed to this year, reports Reuters. Last year, the Houston firm gave out bonuses between $85,000 and $160,000 based on seniority.

Democrats are calling for local governments to have a say in where the state builds optional toll lanes, the Commercial Appeal reports. State officials recently named a Transportation Modernization Board which was created through Gov. Lee’s Transportation Modernization Act. The act allocates $3.3 billion in one-time funding for statewide road projects without input from local officials. The five-member board has authority to develop and operate toll lane projects without local input.

Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Ralph Avarado and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti have announced that Joe Landsman will succeed Larry Fitzgerald as the Ballad Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) monitor in April 2024. Landsman, president and chief executive officer of the University of Tennessee Health System, has been with the university since 1999. He previously held senior level positions with other health care organizations. In his new role, Landsman will be responsible for evaluating the continued public advantage of the COPA by monitoring Ballad’s compliance and performance.

After exhausting “all available investigative avenues,” the Metro Nashville Police Department says it is unable to identify who leaked images of The Covenant School shooter’s writings to a radio host. The police, however, say that the images did not come from a current department employee or employees of the any partner agency, and that employees placed on administrative assignment during the investigation have since returned to their regular duties. A former detective had access to the images but is no longer with the department and police officials say they do not have the ability to compel statements or cooperation from former employees. The case file documenting the investigation will be presented to Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk’s Office for review, according to the Associated Press.

Severe weather impacted 11 Tennessee counties, with reports of 13 tornadoes on Saturday night. Six people died in Clarksville and Madison and 83 injured patients were rushed to area hospitals in the aftermath of what is likely the deadliest December for Middle Tennessee tornadoes on record, according to the Tennessean. Gov. Bill Lee and affected counties have issued state of emergency declarations and the Tennessee legal services community is prepared to provide assistance to those affected. The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services' website Help4TN is always available with legal information and resources, and individuals with disaster related legal questions may call 844-HELP4TN and ask to speak with the expert disaster resilience attorney Nick Gau. Regional legal aid programs are planning clinics and other services in the coming days. More information, including a link for attorneys to volunteer to help is available on the TBA website. 

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is joining 26 other state attorneys general and the Arizona state legislature in a letter asking the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to drop a proposed rule they argue violates the Second Amendment. The group writes that the rule risks making any individual who sells a firearm for profit — even to friends or family —liable to civil, administrative and even criminal penalties for failing to register with a federal agency. The proposed rule, “Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms,” was put out for public comment on Sept. 8. Read the letter.

Six individuals have applied to be considered by the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments to fill a vacancy that will be created when Justice Roger A. Page retires from the court on Aug. 31, 2024. They are: 29th Judicial District Chancellor Tony Childress, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge J. Ross Dyer, McNairy County General Sessions & Juvenile Judge Van Douglas McMahan, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Camille R. McMullen, Memphis lawyer Jeffrey C. Smith and 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Mary L. Wagner. The Administrative Office of the Courts has links to each candidate’s application. The council will hold a public meeting to consider the candidates on Jan. 4, 2024, at the Belmont College of Law Randall and Sadie Baskin Center, 1901 15th Ave. S., Nashville 37212 at 9 a.m. CST. Interested individuals may attend the hearing and may express, orally or in writing, any objections concerning the applicants. The council is expected to vote immediately following the interviews and forward three names to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reports that a new database is giving victims of sexual assault real-time updates on the evidence in their cases. According to the Tennessee Lookout, the SAMS-Track system is fully operational through a web portal after TBI logged 3,036 kits into it. The system requires police, hospitals and laboratories to log the dates they handle evidence to mark the path of a rape kit throughout the chain of command. TBI also recently told state lawmakers that the backlog of kits has improved. The average turnaround time for is now about 18 weeks, compared to 45 weeks a year ago.

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. is seeking a court order of protection against fellow commissioner Mickell Lowery in what appears to be a dispute from August about the timing of a recess during commission meetings. The Daily Memphian reports that Ford filed for the protection order, citing an argument during a Aug. 14 meeting over whether the group’s break was at 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Two weeks later, Ford claimed in an open-commission session that there was almost “an alleged assault” but provided no details or names. The General Sessions Court Clerk’s office is not releasing the affidavit seeking the protection order on the advice of the county attorney’s office.

“Big Law” firms are moving into Nashville at a steady pace. Several have merged with local firms or have started a new office from the ground up, staffing it with attorneys from established Nashville firms. As part of a series on Big Law’s movement to, and influence on, developing markets, The American Lawyer reports that with Nashville’s huge population growth, thriving health care sector and booming economic growth, national law firms have “an extra incentive to plunge into the market.” Local firms like Bass Berry & Sims and Baker Donelson continue to grow their practices and regional presence, which managing partners say gives them a competitive advantage with clients. Observers of Nashville’s legal market say that “clients don’t generally choose a law firm as much as they choose a lawyer and often remain with that lawyer, even if they move to another firm.”