The Division of State Audit in the Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury is currently conducting a performance audit of the Court Systems Indigent Defense Procedures for assigning, compensating and reimbursing private attorneys. Attorneys practicing in Tennessee are invited to participate in a brief survey. The questions in the survey should be interpreted to refer to cases where attorneys are appointed to represent indigent clients under Tennessee Supreme Court Rules 13, 40 and 40A. Click here for more information.

The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board will hear arguments during the bureau’s upcoming educational conference. The case, Martinez v. ACG Roofing Inc., involves an insurance coverage dispute and multiple alleged employers. The arguments will take place on June 15 at 1:45 p.m. CDT at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro.

Nashville divorce and family law attorney Audrey Anderson is running for the Davidson County Circuit Court Part IV seat. The Nashville Post reports that she was previously a finalist for the seat but in January, Gov. Bill Lee appointed another local attorney. Anderson has almost 25 years of experience working on divorces, adoptions and other family law matters — the purview of the Part IV court — in Davidson County.

Former Nashville nurse RaDonda Vaught, who was convicted of homicide in 2022 after a medication error killed a patient, is seeking to have her nursing license reinstated by the Board of Nursing. The Associated Press reports that Vaught argues the board acted improperly by revoking her license after initially expressing support during her trial. Vaught’s attorney pointed out that the Department of Health initially reviewed Vaught’s errors and concluded the case “did not merit further action.”

A civil lawsuit has been filed in Wilson County against the Chili's Southwest Grill & Bar in Lebanon and parent company Brinker International. The suit alleges that the restaurant knowingly overserved Sandra Lee Strickland, 71, and allowed her to leave intoxicated. Strickland was later involved in a wreck at the Lebanon Public Square on April 25, 2022 that killed 27-year-old Ashley Bailey. Strickland is charged with DUI first offense, vehicular homicide, two counts of reckless endangerment with a vehicle and failure to stop at the scene of an accident. The Tennessean has the full report.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee will be honored next month with the Tennessee Bar Association’s prestigious Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award, the association’s highest award for service to the judiciary. The award will be presented at the TBA’s Bench Bar Luncheon set for June 15 as part of the association’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. Lee was selected for this award for her many years of service to the bench and the legal profession. As chief justice of the court from 2014-2016, Lee worked tirelessly to improve the state’s legal system and its administration of justice. She emphasized access to justice efforts, established the state’s first Business Court pilot project, implemented electronic filing with the appellate courts, and undertook a review of the state’s indigent representation system. Often described as a “Justice for the People,” Lee has shown humility, respect for those appearing before the courts, and a recognition that cases involve not only legal issues and concepts, but real problems that impact real people’s lives. Read more about her career and accomplishments.

Nearly six months after law schools began boycotting the U.S. News & World Report "Best Law Schools" rankings and a month after the planned release date of this year’s data, new rankings will be released Thursday, Above the Law reports. The rankings were supposed to be released on April 18 but were pushed to April 25 due to an “unprecedented number of inquiries from schools” about errors in the preliminary data and were later further delayed.

Indianapolis-based Barnes & Thornburg LLP has opened a Nashville office to be anchored by five partners: capital markets partners Jay H. Knight and Taylor K. Wirth; health care partners J.D. Thomas and Elisa Harris; and white collar litigation partner Joy Boyd Longnecker. Knight, who also will serve as partner-in-charge of the office, and Wirth previously were with Bass Berry & Sims. Thomas was with Holland & Knight (formerly Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis). Harris previously was in house general counsel for Contessa Health and Wayspring. Longnecker was with Baker Donelson. The office will temporarily reside in the Moore Building, 827 19th Ave., Ste 930, Nashville 37203 with plans to move into permanent space next year.

Low-income consumers who were eligible to file their taxes for free with TurboTax but were deceived into paying for the service will receive payouts from parent company Intuit, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced today. The company has agreed to a $141 million multistate settlement benefiting 4.4 million consumers. Tennessee will receive at least $3.7 million to pay more than 120,300 consumers. Eligible consumers will be contacted by email about the settlement. Checks are expected to be mailed out starting next week. For more information about the settlement visit www.AGTurboTaxSettlement.com.

Juneteenth is now an official state holiday in Tennessee following Gov. Bill Lee signing a new bill into law on May 5, News 9 reports. The bill was sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and ordered freedom for the enslaved people of the state two months after the end of the Civil War.