Retired NFL star Michael Oher, whose supposed adoption out of poverty by a wealthy, white family was immortalized in the 2009 movie "The Blind Side," told a Tennessee court last week that a central element of the story was a lie concocted by the family to enrich itself at his expense. The 14-page petition, filed in Shelby County Probate Court, alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who took Oher into their home as a high school student, never adopted him. Instead, the petition says, the couple tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators, which gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name, including millions of dollars from the movie. Oher is now petitioning the court to end the conservatorship and bar the Tuohy family from using his name and likeness. ESPN has more on the story. The Daily Memphian reports that Sean Tuohy responded to the allegations saying, “We’re devastated. It’s upsetting to think we would make money off any of our children. But we’re going to love Michael at 37 just like we loved him at 16.” Asked if he would support ending the conservatorship, Tuohy said, “Of course. I want whatever Michael wants.”

Mark P. Chalos, managing partner in Lieff Cabraser's Nashville office, has been appointed as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a nationwide marketing and sales practices and products liability suit against Generac Solar Power Systems. The suit claims the company’s PWRCell System components are defective and potentially dangerous following reports of solar panels catching fire in homes. Chalos was appointed by Judge Lynn S. Adelman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, who will oversee all federal cases filed against Generac. Read more about the case.

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Nashville law firm Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison has established a renewable, need-based scholarship fund at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Scholarships will support students pursuing two- or four-year degrees at technical schools, community colleges or universities. The firm recently hosted a reception to honor Finn Pritchett, the first recipient of the scholarship. Pritchett will attend Belmont University. Read more about the program, which the firms says exemplifies its “sense of social responsibility through tangible action and the spirit of giving in a meaningful and measurable way.”

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility issued two new ethics opinions last week. The first, 2023-F-169, addresses what steps lawyers should take when departing a law firm and what steps firms should take to protect clients. The second, 2023-F-170, addresses acceptance of credit card payments and the use of payment platforms such as Venmo. TBA CLE ethics speaker Brian Faughnan provides his take on the opinions in his blog Faughnan on Ethics.

Memphis lawyer Patrick H. Morris, a senior employment llitigator at Federal Express and a member of the TBA Young Lawyers Division Board, was elected assembly clerk of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (ABA YLD) at the group’s meeting in Denver last week. As clerk, Morris will chair the ABA YLD Credentials Board and sit on the ABA YLD Executive Committee, Executive Board and Elections Committee. The position also puts him in the line of succession for ABA YLD speaker, a position he will assume for the 2024-2025 bar year. Morris also recently was appointed to the ABA Commission on Governance by ABA President Mary L. Smith. In this role, Morris will take part in the decennial review of the ABA House of Delegates, Board of Governors and Nominating Committee.

The Nashville Business Journal has awarded its 2023 Lifetime Achievement distinction to Nashville lawyer Charles W. Bone, a founding partner of Bone McAllester Norton, which merged with Spencer Fane in 2021. According to the Journal, Bone was selected as this year’s honoree for the critical role he has played in Middle Tennessee’s growth, noting that he has provided counsel to more than 100 financial institutions and was responsible for forming the first community bank holding company in Tennessee. He also was a leader in the campaign that defeated the 2009 “English only” referendum in Nashville, an adviser for Al Gore and instrumental in the release of Cyntoia Brown, a juvenile convicted of murder. The Journal sat down with Bone for an interview about the state of the legal profession, what law schools should be teaching and some of his most memorable cases.

A new report from the Tennessee Department of Health finds that the leading external cause of death in Tennessee children is firearms, Tennessee Lookout reports. The annual report on the causes of death in children age 17 and younger shows that Tennessee children are killed by guns at a rate 36% higher than the national average. In 2021, the latest year analyzed, 67 children died by homicide; 53 of whom were Black, a rate four times as high as white children. The data, collected between 2017 and 2021, also shows that overall deaths from all causes — accidents, suicides, premature births, medical conditions and murder — is nearly twice the national average. Read more in the 2023 Child Fatality Annual Report.

Hundreds of would-be lawyers faced significant delays while trying to take the first-ever hybrid LSAT remotely last week, Reuters reports. The Law School Admission Council, which administers the exam, said the problems stemmed from its online proctoring system. Frustrated test takers flooded social media sites with complaints about absent proctors and unexpected delays. The council apologized to test takers in an email Sunday, saying the exams “involved unacceptable delays and other problems” and that it was working with the vendor, Prometric, to correct the issues. It also said it will offer free retakes on Aug. 19 and 20 either remotely or in person. Examinees may also reschedule for another free test through June 2024. The council previously said 61% of test takers had opted to complete the exam remotely, There were no reported issues at in-person test centers.

Former Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for campaign finance violations after pleading guilty to felonies related to illegal campaign funding maneuvers, the Tennessean reports. Kelsey's attempt to retract his guilty plea and claims of innocence earlier this year were unsuccessful, leading to a longer sentence recommendation from prosecutors. The case revolved around improper movement of campaign funds through political action committees to support his unsuccessful congressional campaign, with prosecutors highlighting his misuse of funds and betrayal of public trust. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew M. Edison of the Southern District of Texas delves into the intriguing matter of legal language in a recent opinion, addressing the perplexing question of whether it should be "attorney fees," "attorneys fees," "attorney's fees" or "attorneys' fees." The issue has caused confusion in federal statutes, rules and cases, with different forms being used interchangeably. Edison references the U.S. Supreme Court's style guide, the insights of legal experts like Bryan A. Garner, and the ABA Journal's own style, ultimately settling on the use of "attorney's fees" when one lawyer requests fees and "attorneys' fees" when multiple lawyers are involved. The ABA has more on this vexing conundrum.