The American Bar Association, in collaboration with dozens of American law schools, is forming a Legal Education Police Practices Consortium to contribute to the national effort to examine and address legal issues in policing and public safety. The group announced that 52 law schools — including Tennessee law schools Lincoln Memorial University-Duncan School of Law and University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law — have agreed to collaborate on projects to develop and implement better police practices over the next five years.

Bob Corker, a former Chattanooga mayor and U.S. senator, will join One-to-One Health, a physician-led corporate health management company that partners with employers to provide high-quality health care services to their employees, Chattanoogan.com reports. The company reported last week that Corker will serve as its chairman. Corker retired from the U.S. Senate in 2018.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert. H. Slatery III today announced an update to a global settlement framework between state attorneys general, local jurisdictions and opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt. Under the new settlement pending before the bankruptcy court, Mallinckrodt will pay $1.6 billion into a trust that will go toward abating the opioid crisis. Funds will be paid in three installments: $450 million upon emergence from bankruptcy; $200 million annually on the first and second anniversary of emergence from bankruptcy; and $150 million annually on the third through seventh anniversaries of emergence from bankruptcy. The company also has agreed that its opioid business will be subject to stringent injunctive relief that will prevent marketing and ensure systems are in place to prevent drug misuse. Details about how much each state will receive, how the money will be distributed, and how the trust will be administered are all still being negotiated, Slatery said.

Tennessee judges had an opportunity to learn more about the state’s human trafficking problem during a recent online training session organized by the Administrative Office of the Courts. During the session, which was planned in partnership with End Slavery Tennessee, Epic Girl and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, judges heard experts discuss the scope of the problem, initiatives to identify youths most at danger, and efforts to crack down on the crime. Studies show that 72% of counties have reported sex trafficking of minors, with the highest concentrations in counties with higher levels of child poverty, and 85% have reported trafficking cases in general. Read more about how the issue is impacting the state.

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis in 1994. The child of a French teacher and lawyer, Barrett knew she would choose one of those careers but it was her time at the college that “put her on the path that would later qualify her for a lifetime appointment to the highest court,” the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Though she first leaned towards teaching, it was a pro-con list created her senior year that finally cemented her decision to pursue a career in the law. And though Rhodes has recognized her achievements over the years, more than 1,500 alumni have signed a letter expressing concerns about her nomination, The Hill reports.

Lawyers’ personal relationships with opposing counsels may create a conflict under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, according to a new ethics opinion from the ABA’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Model Rule 1.7(a)(2) prohibits lawyers from representing a client if there is a significant risk that the lawyer’s representation will be materially limited by a personal interest of the lawyer. Personal interest is defined as when a lawyer is “closely related by blood or marriage” to opposing counsels. Formal Opinion 494, released Wednesday, expands the definition to include intimate relationships, friendships and acquaintances. Read more here.

The death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has renewed interest in her life and career, and an article in the ABA Journal reports that two films based on her life will be re-released to theaters. Focus Features will re-release “On the Basis of Sex,” which begins in 1956 with Ginsburg starting her first year as a student at Harvard Law School and then proceeds to capture the difficulties and discrimination faced by women attempting to enter the legal profession at that time. Magnolia Pictures will re-release the documentary “RBG,” which chronicles the life of Ginsburg as a justice, weaving together interviews with her children and former clerks to tell her story. Both films originally were released in 2018.

The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners reports that applications to sit for the February 2021 Uniform Bar Examination will be accepted starting Monday. The initial deadline is Dec. 1. The final deadline is Dec. 21. For more information about deadlines and application requirements, visit the board’s website.

COVID-19 outbreaks have been shuttering municipal buildings across the state, WPLN reports. Lebanon's city hall closed after employees tested positive for the virus. Clarksville’s police department closed public access to its lobbies through Oct. 24 after several positive tests among staff. The small town of Monterey, in Putnam County, closed its city hall after two positive tests among employees. At the end of September, Davidson County’s Juvenile Justice Center reverted to only emergency hearings after multiple court employees fell ill, including Judge Sheila Calloway. In Millersville, which straddles Sumner and Robertson counties, ill employees prompted a city hall closure in August.

Tennessee Senior Judge Don Ash of Murfreesboro has been appointed to hear a case involving allegations that 10th Judicial District Attorney General Steve Crump was blackmailed into obtaining a murder conviction against Miranda Cheatham, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the death of her husband. He is the third judge to consider the case: 10th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Andrew Mark Freiberg and 12th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Justin Angel recused themselves. Crump has denied the allegations. Cheatham’s lawyer is seeking a new trial based on the claim. WRCB-TV has more.