Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren were seeking a six-month delay in their trial, but U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson today doubled that time, rescheduling the proceedings for Oct. 3, 2023. A pre-trial conference is now scheduled for Sept. 22, 2023. Richardson also directed that all pretrial motions be filed no later than six weeks prior to trial, Tennessee Journal reports. The trial was originally set to start next month.

The Walmart Foundation has awarded $1 million to the National Judicial College and the National Bar Association (NBA) to fund non-traditional community-based diversion programs designed to end the cycle of crime. A special focus of the grant will be to give a second chance to youth and young adults with no, or a minimal, criminal history. Marvin Carr, Walmart's director of strategic initiatives and Center for Racial Justice, said the grant resulted in large measure, from a second chance program launched in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by NBA Immediate Past President Carlos Moore.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and the U.S. General Services Administration will host a dedication ceremony next Friday for the new Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in downtown Nashville. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. CDT with Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and historian Jon Meacham serving as the dedication speaker. A reception and tour of the building will follow the ceremony. The courthouse, which is named for former U.S. Sen. Fred D. Thompson of Lawrenceburg, has been in the works for more than 25 years. Read more in a release from the court or view the invitation.

Dover Signature Properties recently turned the old Tennessee State Supreme Court building in Knoxville into 63 apartments. The renovated building, called The Tribute, includes seven floors with one bedroom and studio spaces, along with a rooftop lounge. The company plans to open 237 more units by the end of the year, WBIR reports.

The Memphis Bar Association this week announced it has selected 11 law students to participate in its 2022 MBA Leadership Scholars Class. The new program, created by MBA President Tannera Gibson, is designed to equip rising 2Ls and 3Ls at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law with leadership skills as they transition from law student to lawyer. The inaugural class includes: Alexander Perkins, Christina Mulliford, Danielle Quadrani Riartes, Derrick Ranson II, Hilaria Mbati, Renna McCartney, Kentavius Whitt, Rajanne Jones, Remon Youssef, Trenton Woodley and Wai-Lin Danieley. Read more about the program from the MBA.

Former federal judge and U.S. Solicitor General Ken Starr died today at 76, The Hill reports. Starr was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan to the federal appellate court for the D.C. Circuit in 1983, where he served until becoming solicitor general during the first Bush administration. Starr headed up the Whitewater investigation into former President Bill Clinton, which ultimately led to his impeachment. In 2019, Starr headlined the Bench/Bar program during the TBA’s annual Convention in Nashville, where he shared his experience as independent special counsel. According to this family, Starr passed away in a Houston hospital following complications from surgery.

Chattanooga law firm Summers, Rufolo and Rodgers has announced it will give $1.2 million to a scholarship program at the University of Tennessee, WBIR reports. The gift will go to UT Promise – a last-dollar scholarship program that guarantees free tuition and mandatory fees for qualifying Tennessee undergraduate students with a family income of under $60,000 after other financial aid is received. The gift will help graduates from 12 Chattanooga-area high schools. “Working families have relied on our firm to protect their interests and their lives since 1969, and we hope that this gift continues that work by creating pathways for students to find their future through UT,” firm member Jimmy Rodgers said. “This is our way of giving back to the community.”

Two former Shelby County attorneys have been sentenced to prison for soliciting and selling accident report information, the Daily Memphian reports. Former Shelby County Assistant District Attorney Glenda Adams was convicted of selling accident report information to personal injury lawyer Aaron Neglia. Neglia would use the information to offer legal representations to accident victims. Neglia was sentenced to 12 months and one day with one year of supervised release. Adams was sentenced to 30 months in prison with three years of supervised release. Both have had their law licenses suspended.

The Third Judicial District swore in its new public defender and assistant public defenders earlier this month, the Citizen Tribune reports. Judge John F. Dugger Jr. presided over the swearing in ceremony of Third Judicial District Public Defender Todd Estep, along with Hamblen County Assistant Public Defenders Ben Hodges, J. Nikki Price and Whitney Trujillo. Estep will be taking the place of Greg Eichelman, who served in the position for 33 years. The three new Hamblen County assistant public defenders join attorneys Rus Mattocks, who has been serving for over 30 years, and Colby Collins, who has been serving for a year. View a picture from the event here.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings today said it will move its Nashville office to One22One, a new high-rise office building located in the Gulch, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The firm signed a “long-term lease” to occupy the top four floors of the new building, roughly 100,000 square feet, with move in set for late 2023. Bradley’s Nashville office, currently located in Nashville’s Music Row area, is comprised of more than 165 attorneys, making it the third largest law firm in the city.