The TBA on Tuesday filed a comment with the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) in response to its proposed Formal Opinion 2022-F-168, which addresses whether lawyers who do not reside in Tennessee, but work remotely full-time as in-house counsel for an organization with its principal place of business in Tennessee and are not licensed in Tennessee or registered as in-house counsel in Tennessee are engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. The TBA believes the guidance provided by the proposed opinion will be helpful to in-house counsel who are evaluating whether they should register with the Board of Law Examiners under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, § 10.01. However, the proposed opinion makes several references to in-house counsel licensed in other states “practicing Tennessee law” or engaging in “the practice of Tennessee law” while they are not physically present in Tennessee. The proposed opinion also repeatedly relies on the phrase “the practice of Tennessee law” as a description of a lawyer’s activity to be evaluated under Rule 5.5. This phrase is not used in Rule 5.5, nor is it used in the primary statutory law governing UPL in Tennessee, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 23-3-101 and 23-3-103. There are several likely reasons for this absence. While the TBA commends the BPR for its efforts to address an important issue through the opinion, the TBA recommends that the opinion be revised in several important respects. See the filed comment and suggested additions and deletions. 

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti today announced a settlement has been reached with Walmart to resolve allegations that the company contributed to the opioid addiction crisis by failing to appropriately oversee the dispensing of opioids at its stores. Walmart must pay $3 billion nationally and make significant improvements in how it handles opioids. Under the settlement, Tennessee and its local governments could receive more than $70 million if all incentives are met. State attorneys general on the executive committee, attorneys representing local governments and Walmart have agreed to this settlement, and it is now being sent to other states for review and approval. The settlement requires approval from 43 states by the end of the year. Read more from the Attorney General’s Office.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and attorneys general from 39 additional states have reached a $391.5 million settlement with Google over its location tracking practices relating to Google Account settings. Tennessee is set to receive $14,560,086.13 from the settlement, which is the largest multistate attorney general privacy settlement in U.S. history. The attorneys general opened the Google investigation following a 2018 Associated Press article that revealed Google “records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.” The attorneys general found that Google violated state consumer protection laws by misleading consumers about its location tracking practices since at least 2014. The agreement requires Google to be more transparent about its practices. Read more from the AG’s office.  

Frost Brown Todd LLC has announced it is expanding to the west coast with the addition of California-based law firm AlvardoSmith, the Nashville Business Journal reports. AlvardoSmith, which has a presence in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco, will operate under the name “Frost Brown Todd AlvardoSmith” through 2023 and then take on only the Frost Brown Todd name. The firm has 23 attorneys, bringing Frost Brown Todd’s total presence to more than 575 attorneys. In Nashville, its office includes about 30 attorneys, making it the city's 12th-largest local law firm, according to Nashville Business Journal research. Terms of the merger, which will be completed on Jan. 1, 2023, were not disclosed.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee has announced she will retire on Aug. 31, 2023. Lee is currently the high court’s longest-serving member, having been appointed in 2008 and serving as Chief Justice from 2014 until 2016. Prior to her time with the Supreme Court, she spent four years on the Court of Appeals. “Serving in the Tennessee Judiciary for the past 19 years has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Lee said. During her time on the court, Lee advocated for access to justice and spearheaded a variety of innovative projects, including the Business Court pilot project, e-filing implementation, a review of the state’s indigent representation system and a statewide docket cleanup initiative. Chief Justice Roger Page said Lee, the court's only East Tennessee justice, “has never forgotten where she came from and the people she serves.” Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy is hosting an event at Vanderbilt University’s Student Life Center Ballroom to examine the potential impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on the perceived politicization of federal courts. Panelists with experience as White House counsel in Republican and Democratic administrations are expected to discuss the intricacies of the federal judiciary’s nomination and confirmation process. Additionally, this expert group, including CBS News’ chief judicial correspondent, will highlight which decisions will generate headlines in the coming year and what effect, if any, the major decisions of 2022 had on the midterm elections. The free event will be held Nov. 29 at 11 a.m. CST. Advance registration is required. 

Almost 550 guests joined the Tennessee Innocence Project for an evening of music and inspiration at the Inspired by Innocence fundraiser on Oct. 27. It was the Tennessee Innocence Project's largest event since its founding in 2019, raising more than $340,000. Guests lit up the Music City Center with tea lights — 95 lights each representing one year wrongfully served in prison by each of the organization’s four exonerees — Shane Garrett, Joyce Watkins, Charlie Dunn and Claude Garrett. An additional 318 lights were later lit, each symbolizing one year lost in prison by the organization’s 12 current clients waiting to be exonerated. In total, 413 lights represented the 413 years served in prison by TIP clients. Read the full press release and see photos from the event.

FedEx pilots, represented by the Airline Pilots Association, and FedEx Express sat down for their first session with a federal mediator last week to assist in ongoing contract negotiations. The pilots and FedEx have been in negotiations for the past 18 months, “with pilots seeking adjustments to their pensions and other quality-of-life benefits.” The Commercial Appeal has the story.

The Chattanoogan reported Friday that the bridge at Exit 11 on Interstate 75 will be renamed in memory of the late Mike Carter, Hamilton County judge and state legislator. The dedication ceremony will take place Friday at 11:30 a.m. EST and will be led by State Rep. Greg Vital.

A 13-year-old resident of Hollis Academy, a facility for teens in state custody, is suing the facility and its parent company for neglect, stemming from an October 2021 incident. The Tennessean reports that a fight on the basketball court escalated quickly, and the youth cracked his head on the concrete while another resident punched him in the face and head. He was flown from the hospital in Waynesboro to Vanderbilt Medical Center because doctors feared his injuries could result in paralysis. The suit alleges that the staff knew the teen was in danger after being threatened by another resident and needed to be removed from the facility.