The TBA filed a petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court today requesting a modification to Rule 13 to allow interim billing by appointed counsel providing indigent representation in non-capital cases. “The TBA appreciates the Court’s successful efforts to date and its ongoing pursuit of additional recurring funding for court appointed counsel," TBA President Sarah Sheppeard said of the filing. "The recent suspension of in-person proceedings due to the public health crisis, however, requires additional action for attorneys who now more than ever need to be compensated on an interim basis for work they have already completed on cases.” The TBA asks attorneys and associations who support this effort to reach out to the Court when the comment period opens. 

Attorney General Herbert Slatery has reached a settlement with Matthew and Noah Colvin of Hixon, who had stockpiled hand sanitizer and antibiotic wipes to sell online. Slatery’s office issued a stop and desist order to the Colvins last month and they surrendered the approximately 17,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to a nonprofit organization. In the settlement, the Colvins are prohibited from selling emergency or medical supplies grossly in excess of the price generally charged during any declared state of abnormal economic disruption related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more from the Attorney General’s office.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) on Monday hosted a briefing via Zoom that addressed the effects COVID-19 is having on state courts, access to justice and legal services organizations and their clients. Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins and American Bar Association President Judy Perry Martinez were among the panelists. Bivins discussed specific orders, rules and procedures that are helping keep Tennessee courts functioning while most in the legal community are working remotely. He noted that “we are learning something every day and must take these lessons,” including use of video, remote and electronic resources to help move the justice system into the future. Martinez addressed the challenge of being proactive for the “tidal wave of legal needs” that will be facing the country’s legal system in the coming months. A recording of the briefing, as well as other COVID-19 resources, are available on the LSC website.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the University of Tennessee College of Law will host a free legal advice clinic by phone this month for members of the public in Knoxville who are dealing with issues in adoption, bankruptcy, child custody and support, employment and many other areas. Those interested in  receiving free one-time legal advice must register between April 20-24 by calling Legal Aid at 865-637-0484. A volunteer attorney will then contact the registrant on April 28, 29 or 30.

Want to enhance your skills in communicating with clients? The attorney-client relationship is an important one: it can be the best source for referrals or the source of ethical complaints. Nashville attorney David Raybin looks at 50 tactical suggestions to employ when communicating with clients. Watch the webinar anytime and then tune in on April 22 at 11 a.m. CDT to discuss these tips and ask Raybin your questions. This dual credit webinar will benefit your practice and future relationships.

A proposed class action lawsuit is taking aim at Ticketmaster and Live Nation over their refund policies for events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Law360 reports. The suit, filed in California federal court on Friday against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, alleges the company retroactively changed its policy in March to say it would only refund canceled, not postponed, events, even if they are indefinitely postponed. Ticketmaster President Jared Smith in a letter to lawmakers said the company intends to "refund as many tickets as possible in as timely a fashion as is feasible.” He went on to write that, of the 30,000 events impacted by the virus, 12,000 have been canceled and the company is working on refunds. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory, statutory and punitive damages for claims including breach of contract, conversion, unjust enrichment and false advertising.

Nashville attorney Harold Scott Saul yesterday received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Saul failed to adequately communicate with his client and was not diligent in the representation which caused the client to terminate the attorney-client relationship. Saul partially reimbursed his client, but failed to reimburse additional fees advanced to him that were deemed unreasonable as he had not provided any substantive representation in the matter. The court found Saul in violation of rules 1.3, 1.4, 1.15 and 8.4(a). He must reimburse his client $750 in fees within 60 days.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued three orders regarding the administration of the annual registration form and fee, the professional privilege tax and the interest on lawyers’ trust accounts (IOLTA) program. The first order amends Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 10 to make changes to the filing of the annual registration form, add a $5 fee for filing an annual registration by mail, clarify rules for active military, and require attorneys to complete all delinquent registration requirements before being reinstated. The second order amends Rule 9, Section 26 to make several changes to how the professional tax is administered. The third order amends Rule 43 to make changes to the process for seeking reinstatement from an administrative suspension for noncompliance with IOLTA requirements.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that juries in state criminal trials must be unanimous to convict a defendant, settling a quirk of constitutional law that had allowed divided votes to result in convictions in Louisiana and Oregon. The Associated Press reports the court found the practice to be inconsistent with the Constitution’s right to a jury trial and that it should be discarded as a vestige of Jim Crow laws in Louisiana and racial, ethnic and religious bigotry that led to its adoption in Oregon in the 1930s. The 6-3 ruling also overturned the conviction of Evangelisto Ramos, who is serving a life sentence in Louisiana.

The Tennessee Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision today, held that a doctor who was permitted to practice medicine in Tennessee without a license under a statutory exemption does not meet the requirements to testify as an expert witness in a lawsuit against another doctor. The decision came in a wrongful death case against a cardiologist and his medical group. The doctor chosen to be an expert witness by the plaintiff did not have a license but was participating in a fellowship program at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Tennessee law allows doctors to practice without a license for the limited purpose of training in such a program.