The TBA’s Tennessee FastTrack program is coming to Knoxville on Sept. 23. Fulfill all your annual CLE requirements with this program, which will provide attendees with tips and updates in a wide range of practice areas. The program will offer a combination of 15 hours of live credit and prepaid credits to complete online anytime — at home or on your mobile device — allowing you to customize your learning to your schedule. The Knoxville program will run from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. EDT at the University of Tennessee Conference Center. The series also will hold sessions in Memphis on Aug. 26 and Nashville on Sept. 16.

The New York Times recently ran an article on the 50th anniversary of Title IX – legislation signed by former President Richard Nixon in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools or education programs that receive federal funding. Featured in the article is Cookeville attorney Sam Schiller of the Schiller Law Firm, whose practice is dedicated to cases involving sex discrimination of high school or middle school athletes. According to the article, Schiller has filed Title IX lawsuits against school districts in more than 30 states and has never lost a case. “We’re now at the point where women who were high school athletes are raising families, and they definitely know their daughters are supposed to have what the men have had all along. It’s Title IX 2.0,” Schiller told the Times. Read the full article.

Early voting for the Aug. 4 election begins Friday and runs through July 30. This year’s ballot will be longer than usual, featuring four constitutional amendments, as well as judicial and other court races. The Secretary of State’s office in a statement urged people to take advantage of the early voting period. Tennesseans can find early voting and Election Day polling locations and sample ballots through the GoVoteTN app or online at GoVoteTN.gov. Learn more from WPLN.  

The Nashville Business Journal has announced Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle as its Lifetime Achievement honoree for 2022. According to NBJ, Lyle was a partner at local law firm Trabue, Sturdivant & Dewitt from 1984 until 1995 and has served Davidson County as a judge for more than 20 years. The publication also announced its 2022 Best of the Bar list. Read more on Lyle’s award and the full Best of the Bar list from the Nashville Business Journal.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court will begin accepting applications for the position of State Attorney General and Reporter on Friday. Interested candidates must submit an application by noon CDT on July 29. The Supreme Court will interview all candidates at public hearings on Aug. 8 and 9 at the Nashville Supreme Court Building. The hearings will be livestreamed on the TN Courts YouTube page. Per Tennessee’s constitution, the attorney general is appointed by the Supreme Court and serves an eight-year term. The new attorney general will begin their term on Sept. 1. Attorney General Herbert Slatery announced in May he would not seek a second term.

Three attorneys have applied for a vacancy on the 11th Judicial District Criminal Court, which covers Hamilton County. Robert Davis, Amanda B. Dunn and Alexander K. McVeagh will be interviewed by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission during a public hearing on Aug. 5 at 9 a.m. EDT. The commission will vote immediately after the interviews and forward the names of qualified candidates to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on each candidate. 

Attorney Michael Barry Swindle of Altamonte Springs, Florida, died on June 18. He was 77. Swingle attended college at the University of Tennessee and, after a brief stint with the U.S. Army and as a member of the Office of Staff Judges Advocate (JAG), returned to UT where he earned his law degree from the College of Law. Swindle eventually made his way to the Orlando area, where he practiced law for the remainder of his career. Though he lived for many years in Florida, his friends say he always identified as a Tennessean. A celebration of life will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. EDT at All Saints Episcopal Church of Winter Park, 338 East Lyman Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789. The family asks in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to All Saints Episcopal Church in Winter Park.

White County lawyer Stephanie Branam Johnson was reinstated to the practice of law on July 8. Johnson had been suspended on June 13 for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding complaints of misconduct. The board reported to the court that Johnson provided a response that was deemed sufficient for dissolution of the suspension.

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week dismissed a petition for reinstatement filed by Florida attorney David Brian Wilford. After receiving the petition, The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility reported to the court that Wilford had paid outstanding professional privilege taxes but remained noncompliant with continuing legal education requirements. The court sent two letters to Wilford advising him of the CLE requirements, and that the petition would be dismissed if he did not respond by July 5. The court reports that Wilford had not responded.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently rejected a recommendation for discipline as too lenient. The Board of Professional Responsibility had recommended that Sevierville lawyer James Ralph Hickman Jr. be suspended for one year, with “no less than 90 days” to be served on active suspension and the remainder on conditional probation. The court said it was concerned that the punishment was too lenient and “not comparable to the punishment imposed in similar cases.” It also expressed concern about the indefinite language used to define the period of active suspension. The board now has 30 days to file additional information. Hickman has 20 days to file his brief, after which, the board will have 20 days to file its brief.