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.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today clarified uncertainties concerning the appropriate standard of review to apply to claims of alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument when no objection was lodged at the time of the alleged misconduct but the claim is raised in a motion for new trial. After reviewing State v. Tyler Ward Enix, the high court clarified that failure to object to a prosecutor’s statements during closing arguments results in waiver on appeal and that the plain error standard of review applies to claims that are treated as waived. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the case and the Supreme Court’s decision.

Former Govs. Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam have joined forces to launch a new podcast that will delve into hot-button political issues like gun violence, climate change and affordable housing, Axios Nashville reports. The new show, “You Might Be Right,” launches tomorrow and hopes to elevate bipartisan problem-solving and civil conversations that include different parts of the political spectrum. The podcast comes from the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee and will feature an eight-episode season with guests like former Vice President Al Gore, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan and former U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. Listen to the trailer for “You Might Be Right.”

Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, are assembling a special committee to study sentencing and violent crime following several instances of violent deaths in Memphis, the Nashville Post reports. The committee will review the “supervision, investigation, and release of individuals who commit crimes in this state” and “recommend whether there is a need for legislative action to provide additional safeguards to protect the public from those who repeatedly violate criminal laws.” The committee will include co-chairs Sen. Ed Jackson and Rep. Bud Hulsey, plus Sens. Richard Briggs, Todd Gardenhire, Bill Powers and Jeff Yarbro, and Reps. Clay Doggett, Andrew Farmer, William Lamberth, Lowell Russell and Antonio Parkinson.

Fulfill all your annual CLE requirements with the TBA’s Tennessee FastTrack program! This annual staple is a 15-hour CLE, offering tips and updates in diverse areas of law, designed to be relevant to a wide range of practice areas. The program will provide a combination of live credit and prepaid credits to complete online anytime — at home or on mobile — allowing you to customize learning to your schedule. Catch the program in Nashville this Friday from 9 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. CDT at Belmont College of Law or attend the Knoxville program on Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. until 2:15 EDT the UT Conference Center.

Stop by and tour the Tennessee Bar Association’s new office space this Thursday from 2-5 p.m. CDT. TBA will open its doors to members interested in touring the new space, located at 3310 West End Ave., Ste. 590 in Nashville. Visitor parking is available. Please register here so we know how many guests to expect.

The 2022 class of the TBA Public Service Academy convened for its first session last Thursday and Friday. The academy is a nonpartisan training fellowship that provides attorneys with the tools to run for local public offices, such as school board, city council and county commission. The theme of the first session of the program was “Preparing to Run,” and speakers discussed the importance of choosing service, how to assess fundraising power, balancing the practice of law and public service, and complying with Tennessee campaign finance laws. They also shared what they learned while running for office. The class will meet again for its final session in November. For more information about the public service academy, check out TBA’s website.