Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will host two in-person legal advice clinics this week for members of the public with questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. The clinics will take place tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at Operation Stand Down Nashville, 1125 12th Ave. S and on June 10 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. CDT at Greenhouse Ministries, 309 South Spring St., Murfreesboro. To help answer questions, contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131.

Prosecutors in the retrial of former Pilot president Mark Hazelwood said this week that Chattanooga Federal Judge Curtis Collier should not recuse himself from the fraud case, the Chattanoogan reports. Hazelwood and two others had their convictions overturned by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals based on Collier allowing tapes of Hazelwood singing racist songs and using racist banter to be heard in court. Hazelwood last month released a 29-page memorandum in which he questioned the court’s impartiality and asked Collier to step aside. Prosecutor David Lewen said the 6th Circuit had already decided on the matter. Lewen quoted the federal appeals court ruling, which stated that “nothing in the record suggests that the district court would have substantial difficulty in setting aside previously expressed views,” and that the record showed the court’s “unwavering dedication to the integrity of the criminal justice process.” The government is also in opposition of the defense’s attempt to move the trial out of Chattanooga.  

There is still time to register for the 2021 TBA Annual Convention virtual experience! The virtual option includes all the same CLE and key programs as the in-person option but at a significant savings. Programming will be offered each day next week. Early in the week, Tennessee law school alumni will gather for virtual mixers, while virtual programs will focus on civility, the TBA’s Practice Management Center and legal trends beyond COVID. On Thursday, join colleagues gathered in Memphis for the annual Bench Bar program and popular Better Right Now CLE via Zoom. And on Friday, don’t miss the annual Legislative Update CLE and Lawyers Luncheon, where colleagues will be honored for their service to the bar and the profession, and Nashville lawyer Sherie Edwards will be sworn in as TBA's 142nd president. Register here for the virtual option.

A Nashville court yesterday heard arguments in the ongoing legal battle over a property tax referendum set for a July 27 special election vote, the Tennessean reports. The group 4 Good Government, led by attorney Jim Roberts, filed the petition to place six initiatives on the ballot, including one that would roll back the city’s recent property tax increase. In arguments before Judge Russell Perkins, Metro Nashville legal called the petition “defective” and “unconstitutional.” Legal counsel for the Davidson County Election Commissions said that the petition was lawfully filed and that the commission acted accordingly in its 3-2 decision to allow the initiatives on the ballot. Both sides also clashed on the proposed election date, the signature-gathering threshold and how the signatures were counted. Attorneys for the commission want the judge to solely examine the commission’s conduct instead of the substance of the petition since the case is waiting on the judge’s judicial review instead of a declaratory judgement. Metro attorneys said they will file a separate suit seeking declaratory judgement if the judicial review doesn’t resolve the situation. Perkins is expected to issue a written ruling by June 18.  

Shelby County lawyer Paul James Springer was permanently disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday. The court also ordered him to pay restitution of $6,247.34 to a client and close his law firm IOLTA account. The court found that Springer misappropriated settlement funds belonging to his client, made material misrepresentations to his client, failed to reasonably communicate with his client, knowingly failed to comply with a court order, engaged in criminal conduct, and engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, deceit, misrepresentations and fraud. His actions were found to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.15, 8.1(b) and 8.4(a), (b), (c) and (g).

State prosecutors can hire an expert to conduct a mental evaluation of death row inmate Pervis Payne, Shelby County Judge Paula Skahan ruled Friday. The Shelby County district attorney's office says it is in the process of selecting someone to perform the review, Nashville Ledger reports. Lawyers for Payne filed a petition May 12 asking Skahan to declare their client cannot be executed because he has an intellectual disability.

Former Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke plans to join Vanderbilt University now that he has left office, Nashville Post reports. Berke, who served as a state senator before being elected mayor, will teach public policy at Vanderbilt Law School and be a special adviser for innovation and strategic projects to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. Berke earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School (where Diermeier previously served). Following graduation, Berke taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Kansas School of Law and then relocated to Chattanooga to practice law and ultimately run for office. In addition to the roles at Vanderbilt, Berke will join the consultancy Cityfi and chair an advisory council at the Strong Cities Network.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) Barristers recently received a grant from the ABA Young Lawyers Division to refurbish tablets to use at legal advice clinics, the KBA reports. The clinics, which provide legal advice on a wide variety of issues, are offered in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee. The KBA will serve as a collection center for those who wish to donate. The devices then will sanitized and reconditioned. Tablets may be dropped off at the KBA Office, 505 Main St., Ste 50, Knoxville, TN 37902 until June 16.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Friday again expressed frustration about the movement of migrant children through Tennessee, but may have his hands tied, the Times Free Press reports. Four commissioners in Lee's executive branch have said the state does not have the authority to conduct an investigation of the Chattanooga shelter housing migrant children. In a letter to the House Government Operations Committee, the commissioners said there are no reports of child abuse at the facility and that while the state is impacted by federal immigration policies, "states have very little control over the movement of illegal immigrants who are subject to immigration proceedings in federal courts." 

Online legal services company LegalZoom is looking to list its shares again, Barrons reports. The company first filed for an initial public offering in 2012, but instead sold a $200 million stake to a private equity firm. In 2018, it received a $500 million investment from several other investment firms. Now it is seeking to raise $100 million. LegalZoom operates in every state and employs 1,055. According to a prospectus, the company helped launch 378,000 businesses, created 250,000 estate plan documents and reported profits of $9.9 million last year.