The Tennessee Supreme Court this week reinstated three lawyers previously on inactive status. Knox County Lynda Nine Blankenship was reinstated today, retroactive to May 1. She was placed on inactive status in March 1994. Virginia lawyer Cameron Ray Edlefsen was reinstated yesterday, retroactive to May 1. He was placed on inactive status in February 2008. South Carolina lawyer John Robert Sokohl Jr. was reinstated yesterday, retroactive to April 20. He was placed on inactive status in May 2008.

Gov. Bill Lee yesterday issued Executive Order 34 extending authorization for state, county and municipal governing bodies to meet and conduct business electronically. A previous order authorizing electronic meetings was set to expire on May 18. Chattanoogan.com reported on the move.

Nashville's Metro Council has rejected a proposed settlement between the city and Youth Opportunity Investments (YOI) over the escape of four teens from the city’s Juvenile Detention Center last fall,  WPLN reports. YOI operates the center where the teens escaped, costing the Metro Nashville Police Department more than $235,000 in search and recovery efforts. Under the proposed deal, YOI was to pay Metro $144,000, but that deal failed in a 17-18 council vote, with some abstentions. Councilmember Emily Benedict spoke against the settlement at the meeting, calling the payment insufficient. “Nashvillians should expect more from us in how we manage our detention centers,” Benedict said at the meeting. 

The Tennessee Department of Correction today announced that of the 586 inmates at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville who tested positive for COVID-19, 580 have recovered, the Tennessean reports. Six positive cases remain, including two inmates who are hospitalized and four who are asymptomatic and in isolation. After mass testing in April, about 25% of Bledsoe inmates were positive for the virus, but a TDOC spokesperson claimed that 98% of those who tested positive were asymptomatic. Earlier this week, an inmate at the Trousdale Turner prison in Hartsville died after being diagnosed with COVID-19, but that inmate’s cause of death is still pending.

University of Tennessee College of Law Dean Emeritus Doug Blaze has agreed to serve as interim dean of the law school beginning July 1. According to the law school’s website, despite a talented pool of finalists, the nationwide search for a new dean that began in September “did not yield a good fit for the college and was suspended last month.” Plans to resume the search will be announced later this summer. The position was made available after Dean Melanie Wilson announced she would return to faculty this summer. Blaze has been part of the college’s faculty since 1993, when he joined UT as director of clinical programs. He served as dean from 2008 to 2015 before returning to the faculty. He also serves as director of the college’s Institute for Professional Leadership, which he co-founded.

Thomson Reuters has filed a lawsuit against legal research startup ROSS Intelligence alleging it stole content from Westlaw to build its competing legal research product, Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites blog reports. Thomson Reuters claims ROSS “intentionally and knowingly” had legal research and writing company LegalEase Solutions use its Westlaw account to reproduce data and deliver it to ROSS. Westlaw does not give licenses to competitors and had previously denied a license to ROSS on that basis. The complaint further alleges that, upon investigating a spike in usage, Westlaw discovered a bot was being used to download and store its content in bulk. ROSS issued a press release today denying the allegations and claiming the lawsuit was “motivated by fear of competition.”

The Legal Services Corporation will host a virtual briefing on Domestic Violence and Civil Legal Services during the Coronavirus Pandemic on May 11 from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. CDT. Rep. David E. Price, D-North Carolina, Rep. Susan W. Brooks, R-Indiana, and Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisconsin, will deliver remarks during the briefing and Chief Justice Cheri Beasley from the Supreme Court of North Carolina will provide an update on how North Carolina’s courts have handled the pandemic. A panel will also be held to discuss serving domestic violence survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic with attorney panelists from civil legal organizations from across the country. The event invitation has information on how you can watch the event via Facebook or Zoom.

Following Monday’s ruling that declared Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program unconstitutional, the state has now appealed the decision, the Tennessean reports. Attorney General Herbert Slatery filed a 165-page appeal application with the Tennessee Court of Appeals on Wednesday arguing the state has the “exclusive authority” to provide for schools and that halting the vouchers program would be detrimental to students. The voucher law would allow eligible families in Davidson and Shelby counties to use public money for private school tuition and other educational needs and was scheduled to begin this fall. "The constitutional issue presented for review pits the State’s ability to engage in significant educational policy reform against a county’s ability to insist on local rule,” the state’s application said. According to the state, about 2,500 students have applied so far and on average, each would receive about $7,100 through the program.  

The 2020 Family Law Forum is now available in a convenient 1-click online package. The four-hour program will cover extensive revisions to the Child Support Guidelines set to take effect on May 10. In addition to revisions surrounding what happens when a stepparent has health insurance coverage for the child and whether a person can claim voluntary unemployment while incarcerated, the program also covers required federal changes. Other topics in the forum include key issues in family law during the COVID-19 pandemic, G.A.L. essentials and ethics in family law. Visit the TBA course catalog to see all available online courses.  

Shelby County lawyer Elizabeth Margaret Cummings was today transferred to disability inactive status by the Supreme Court of Tennessee. Cummings cannot practice law while on disability inactive status. She may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the state Supreme Court upon showing clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and she is fit to resume the practice of law.