Settlement talks to resolve a lawsuit claiming federal court officials mishandled a former North Carolina public defender's sexual harassment complaints collapsed yesterday, reports Reuters. The U.S. Department of Justice, which is defending the judiciary, said in a court filing that mediation with former public defender Caryn Devins Strickland aimed at averting a trial had ended without a deal. A federal appeals court last year revived Strickland's claims from her 2020 lawsuit that she was sexually harassed by a superior and was stonewalled in her efforts to have the judiciary address her complaint. Strickland's husband is acting as her lawyer after other attorneys left the case citing conflicts.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is warning of a new scam that utilizes a forged signature of Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Commissioner Carter Lawrence to lure Facebook Marketplace shoppers into purchasing a nonexistent tractor. Skrmetti also announced a settlement with Tempoe LLC, which ends the company’s misleading leasing practices and relieves consumers of unfair payment obligations. Over the past several weeks, Skrmetti also has taken action on a range of matters. He joined colleagues from other states in urging the U.S. Congress to study AI and its harmful effects on children and enact the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act; urging the FDA to ban flavored disposable e-cigarettes; and warning financial service providers that the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance (NZFSPA) may violate state and federal antitrust and consumer protection laws.

Cleotha Abston-Henderson is slated to have the first of his criminal cases go to trial in early 2024, Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee V. Coffee said Friday. The first trial will center on allegations that he raped Alicia Franklin in 2021. He has been charged with aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping and unlawful possession of a firearm as a convicted felon in that case, the Commercial Appeal reports. After disposition of that case, Abston-Henderson will stand trial for allegedly kidnapping and killing Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher in September 2022. The Fletcher case, Coffee said, should be tried by the end of 2024. Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman said the Franklin case was set earlier given that the alleged offense took place almost a year before the Fletcher case.

Birmingham-based Bradley Arant Boult Cummings has tapped Nashville attorney A.J. Bahou to head its new practice group focused on artificial intelligence, the Nashville Post reports today. The cross-disciplinary AI Practice Group will advise companies on the creation, regulation and use of AI technology, including in the health care, technology and financial services sectors. Read more from the firm. Bahou is a frequent speaker at TBA education programs and serves as chair of the TBA's Special Committee on the Future Practice of Law and on the executive councils for the TBA’s Health Law Section, Intellectual Property Section and Law Office Technology & Management Section.

Members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Board and YLD Fellows gathered at the Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun, Mexico, this past weekend for the Fall Board Meeting. YLD President Quinton Thompson gave special recognition to Nashville lawyer Alix Rogers, Murfreesboro lawyer Morgan Hanna and Cookeville lawyer Amber Vargas for their work holding pro bono wills clinics this summer for essential workers. Rogers also was recognized for her work training YLD district coordinators across the state and for leading a panel of lawyers at a recent law school visit. Finally, Memphis lawyer Jeffrey Moore was awarded the “disco gavel” for his enthusiasm and efforts to bring people together. During the meeting, members planned for upcoming events, including additional pro bono clinics, the Diversity Leadership Institute, the Tennessee State High School Mock Trial competition and Diversity Law Week. They also discussed long range planning and how best to engage young lawyers across the state. See photos from the meeting, which was held during Mexico's Independence Day celebration.

Kevin G. Ritz, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, has announced two federal grants will be awarded to area nonprofits. Lifeline to Success, which helps men and women with serious felony convictions transition back to society, will receive $500,000. The funding will be used to support the organization’s new rehabilitation center, Welch Home for Success, and a 12-month demonstration program offering peer support, therapeutic and mental health services, job training and life coaching to reduce recidivism and support long-term success. In addition, West Tennessee Legal Services in Jackson will receive $600,000 to provide legal services and improve coordination of justice systems impacting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

Kansas City-based Spencer Fane LLP has assembled a team of lawyers — including two in Nashville — to launch a sports law practice. The new practice will be led by Denver-based Peter Goplerud and Nashville lawyers Loren Mulraine and James Crumlin. The practice will build on work already being done by the firm in areas such as name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The team will focus on corporate, entertainment, higher education, intellectual property and labor and employment law; contract negotiations; internal investigations; and National Collegiate Athletic Association compliance and eligibility issues. Spencer Fane entered the Nashville market in 2021 when it merged with Bone McAllester Norton PLLC.

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) is embarking on more than $400 million worth of construction projects to handle children entering state custody and to improve detention centers, Tennessee Lookout reports. The projects include a new assessment center, two intake facilities and six other facilities across the state at a total cost of $88.3 million. Another $333 million will be spent for a new Woodland Hills Youth Detention Center in Nashville and improvements at John S. Wilder Youth Detention Center in Fayette County, where reports of abuse by guards, riots and poor living conditions have been frequent. A new Wilder center also is to be built to house another 24 to 48 minors, potentially bringing its population up to nearly 170.

U.S. District Judge Mark Norris is considering how to proceed with the civil lawsuit over Tyre Nichols' death and which parties should be involved. The civil suit involves five officers accused of killing Nichols, and they, along with other former MPD personnel, have sought a stay of the proceedings, citing fear of federal criminal charges. According to the Daily Memphian, attorneys for Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, and the city of Memphis agree that the case should proceed in a manner that would allow the defendants to avoid self-incrimination. They also agree the civil case will largely focus on the city's practices and its role in Nichols' death.

Chattanooga attorney and Immediate Past TBA YLD President Brittany Faith has been appointed to the advisory committee of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration by ABA President Mary Smith. The Advisory Committee provides counsel to the Commission in its efforts to ensure fair treatment and full due process rights for immigrants and refugees within the United States, develop and implement immigration-related policy for the ABA and advocate for changes in the law when necessary.