National intellectual property (IP) law firm Merchant & Gould has announced it will sponsor a yearly $5,000 scholarship for University of Tennessee College of Law students who are from diverse backgrounds and are interested in practicing IP law. Additionally, the firm wants to create opportunities and experiences for the next generation of Tennessee IP attorneys. UT Law was one of nine schools chosen to receive scholarships. Selection of scholarship recipients will be handled by a review committee at the school. For scholarship applications, school-specific criteria, number of students sharing the merit aid, deadlines, or any other questions, contact the Office of Admissions at the University of Tennessee College of Law at lawadmit@utk.edu or 865-974-4131.

The legislation to ban transgender athletes from competing in middle and high school sports under their gender identity has been approved by the state House, the Tennessean reports. Lawmakers voted 71-16 in favor of SB228/HB3, which will now head to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. Lee has previously expressed support for the measure. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee yesterday issued a response urging Lee to veto the bill and threatening legal action “should any transgender student be excluded because of this new law.”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced that it has reached a settlement in its lawsuit against Cumberland County for failing to take adequate precautions to prevent the sexual harassment of 10 female employees. The DOJ filed the complaint on March 8, alleging that former Solid Waste Department Director Michael Harvel regularly subjected the female employees to unwanted sexual contact and sexual advances, propositioned them for sexual favors and made offensive sexual remarks about their bodies. The DOJ sued the county for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin and religion. The county will pay approximately $1.1 million to the women and must also revise its policies and trainings on sexual harassment in the workplace. The county will also pay attorney’s fees to Livingston lawyer John Nisbet who represented the women.

Death row inmate Derrick Quintero, who was sentenced to death in 1991 for killing two people after escaping from prison, has died, the Tennessean reports. The Tennessee Department of Correction announced that Quintero, 59, died of apparent natural causes at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution yesterday. The exact cause of his death is pending official determination by the medical examiner. Quintero and fellow prisoner William Hall were both sentenced to death for the 1988 murder of a Stewart County couple. The murders took place after Quintero and Hall escaped from a Kentucky prison.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery today announced a $188.6 million multistate settlement with medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC). The settlement stems from a complaint alleging that BSC misrepresented the safety of surgical mesh products for women by failing to disclose the potential for serious and irreversible complications. BSC will pay 47 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, it must reform its marketing materials, training for healthcare providers and clinical trials. Tennessee will receive $4.9 million from the settlement.

What have the first 100 days under President Joe Biden’s administration looked like for immigration law? Find out during the 2021 Immigration Law Forum on May 6 from 9 a.m. until noon CDT. Bruce Buchanan of Sebelist Buchanan Law in Nashville also will tackle immigration cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, other pending litigation, ethics and more. Become a member of the Immigration Law Section today for discounted savings on the program.

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. is being investigated by the District Attorneys General's Office for the 17th Judicial District. Attorney General Robert Carter was appointed by the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference as special prosecutor for the criminal investigation, the Daily Memphian reports. That decision was made after Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich recused herself from the case to avoid any appearance of impropriety due to funding her office receives from the County Commission. Carter will investigate whether Ford acted improperly when he allegedly proposed a grant for Junior Achievement of Memphis & the Mid-South in 2019. That organization later bought $45,000 worth of computers from Ford through a company called E&J Computers. In a report for the county, attorney Brian Faughnan concluded that Ford had violated the county’s code of ethics by not disclosing that the grant money would go to his company and him. He also said Ford’s conduct was “not just negligent but intentional.”

Gallatin law firm, Mason & Associates, has announced the opening of a Nashville office. The firm, formerly known as Heritage Law Group PLLC, focuses on elder law and estate planning. The Nashville branch may now be reached at 615-619-2791 or by email at info@planyourlegacy.com.

A state appellate court has reversed a sanctions order given by Williamson County Circuit Court Judge Michael Binkley and removed him from that case, the Tennessean reports. In July 2018, Binkley hit Nashville attorney Brian Manookian and his law partner with more than $700,000 in contempt sanctions in a lawsuit between warring lawyers. That ruling came after Binkley suspected Manookian of tipping off the press about a secret expungement of Binkley’s arrest in a 2010 prostitution sting. That expungement was handled by disgraced former judge, Casey Moreland. Before he handed down the sanctions order, Binkley made public statements to attorneys and in court vowing revenge against Manookian. “My day will come,” Binkley told a courtroom of attorneys weeks before his ruling against Manookian. Those statements, the appellate court said, would indicate “that the judge may have sought retribution against Mr. Manookian for a perceived wrongdoing unrelated to the contempt charges.” The appeals court struck down Binkley’s sanctions order and there will be a new hearing in the case before a new judge.

Attorney William Richard “Rick” Baker passed away suddenly at his Blount County home on March 3. He was 58. Baker earned his law degree from the University of Memphis in 1988 and practiced as a plaintiff’s attorney his entire career. He was a member of the American Association for Justice and the Tennessee Association for Justice. Memorial donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. A private service will be held at a later date.