The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office is reminding lawyers that all outgoing inmate calls may be recorded or monitored except for calls placed to designated numbers. Lawyers who represent clients at DCSO facilities must submit a written request to the administrative counsel’s office to receive a non-recorded designation. Once the request is received, office personnel will verify the attorney’s credentials and, if there are no concerns, will designate the number(s) as non-recorded. Requests should be submitted to DoNotRecord@dcso.nashville.org and include the lawyer’s Board of Professional Responsibility number.

Davidson County lawyer Janet L. Layman received a censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on March 31. The court took the action after finding that Layman retained funds belonging to her former law partner for over a year after they dissolved their partnership. The court also found that she deposited some of the funds into her operating account or transferred the funds to herself. The former partners filed civil lawsuits against each other. Layman eventually turned over all funds due to her former partner but the court determined that her actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.15, and 1.16.

To help meet the growing legal needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and RingCentral Inc. have launched a national toll-free hotline to connect its Disaster Legal Services Program with those seeking civil legal services. The hotline is available in every state and U.S. territory and will remain in place after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Having a “centralized, never-changing number means easy access for survivors and reduced administrative burden for our federal, state and local partners,” ABA President Judy Perry Martinez said about the effort. Those needing help can call 888-743-5749 and choose either English or Spanish, and then be directed to the appropriate state’s disaster legal services hotline. In Tennessee, calls are fielded by Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld a 31st Judicial District rule of court requiring bail bonding companies to have an agent present at court appearances of defendants for whom the bail bonding company serves as surety. The case arose when Cumberland Bail Bonding and two of its defendants failed to appear for hearings in September 2017. The court suspended the company from writing any additional bonds after a hearing. Cumberland appealed, alleging that the local rule is inconsistent with Tennessee statutes and is arbitrary and capricious. The appeals court agreed that the agent requirement was “arbitrary, capricious, and illegal.” The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals decision saying trial courts have authority to adopt local rules addressing any topic so long as those rules do not conflict with statutes or Supreme Court rules.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold three legal clinics via phone this week. On Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., an Operation Stand Down Phone Clinic will be held for veterans in the Nashville area only. On Thursday (3 to 4:30 p.m.) and Saturday (8:30 to 11 a.m.) general phone clinics will be held. Those needing assistance may call 800-238-1443 to speak to an attorney during any of these times. Please contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131, for more information. See all phone clinic dates for April.

The TBA has a range of ethics CLE available as online video. Check out Ethics of Healthy Lawyering, which helps lawyers recognize and respond to risk and problematic behaviors; Becoming a Persuasive Legal Writer, which focuses on how to write in a clear, concise and direct manner; Ethics Roadshow Part 1 and Part 2, which address the future of legal ethics; Ethical Limitations on Lawyers' Superpowers, which looks at the allocation of decision making authority between lawyer and client; and Learning from the Kardashians, which explores confidentiality, trial publicity and the duty to self-report mistakes.

A retirement ceremony held in late February honored Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Charles D. Susano Jr. for 25 years of service on the bench. Friends, colleagues and family gathered to share their thoughts about the state’s longest serving appellate judge. Representatives from state government and the courts, as well as former law partners, praised Susano's well-written opinions and indomitable spirit. TBA President Sarah Sheppeard, a former law partner of Susano’s, also was present. Read more about the event, see photos, watch a highlight video or watch the full ceremony.

The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board has released its first opinion from cases heard on oral argument last week. The case, Ibarra v. Amazon Fulfillment Services, dealt with three issues: the nature of “actual notice” an employee must give of an injury; whether a number of incidents “over an identifiable period of time” meet the statute’s requirement for the injury to be “identifiable by time and place;” and whether a referral to a specialist was intended solely to obtain a medical causation opinion. The board found that the employer did not offer proof to contradict the employee’s testimony and remanded the case to the trial court.

The Shelby County Health Department added teeth to its stay-at-home order this week: those who ignore it and social-distancing directives may face misdemeanor charges. Offenders will first receive verbal warnings, followed by written notice. Those who continue to defy will face charges and risk having their businesses shut down, the Daily Memphian reports. In Nashville, metro police are warning non-essential businesses that they could receive citations, fines or even have licenses revoked if they stay open. Police and health department inspectors were out this week visiting businesses deemed “non-essentials” to make sure they were closed, Fox 17 reports.

The FY 2018-19 Tennessee Judicial Weighted Caseload Study indicates more judges are needed in the state. Produced by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, the report estimates a growing net deficit of full-time equivalent judges — 8.53 compared to 6.51 in the last past two years. The judicial districts showing the highest demand for additional judicial resources were Districts 13 (Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Overton, Pickett, Putnam and White counties), District 19 (Montgomery and Robertson counties), District 22 (Giles, Lawrence, Maury and Wayne counties) and District 30 (Shelby County). The study also found that criminal cases increased 1.37% while civil cases increased 2.74% over the previous year. Read the full report.