The American Bar Association’s Task Force on Legal Needs Arising Out of the 2020 Pandemic is providing resources and information on emerging legal issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It also is offering practice tools for remote work, updates on new benefits provided in the CARES Act, protections against evictions and other actions due to job losses, court closings and mobilization of pro bono efforts.

The U.S. Supreme Court will postpone oral arguments scheduled for April amid the ongoing pandemic, SCOTUS Blog reports. The justices had been scheduled to hear arguments over six days in late April. Today's news follows the decision to postpone March oral arguments. A spokesperson for the court said the justices will consider rescheduling arguments for later in the term if health and safety guidance allow it, or may explore other options. The justices continue to hold regularly scheduled conferences, with some participating remotely, and will continue to decide cases that have been argued so far this term.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Matthew Ledvina of Zurich, Switzerland, from the practice of law on March 11 after he entered a guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Ledvina pled guilty to the serious crime of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in violation of Title 15, United States Code, Section 78j(b) and Title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 240.10b-5. The court referred the matter to the Board of Professional Responsibility to determine the extent of final discipline to be imposed.

Carroll County lawyer Benjamin Dempsey agreed to a conditional guilty plea offered by the Board of Professional Responsibility to settle a disciplinary complaint against him in January. After the board presented the plea agreement to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the court expressed concern that the recommended punishment was too lenient in light of the nature of the misconduct. On March 27, the court rejected the plea and referred the matter back to the board for further proceedings.

New Jersey attorney Deon Devall Owensby filed a petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court in early March requesting transfer of his law license to disability inactive status, arguing that he is suffering from a temporary disability or infirmity that prevents him from responding to or defending against a disciplinary matter pending against him. The Board of Professional Responsibility asked the court to refer the matter to a hearing panel or require the submission of additional medical documentation. On March 27, the court determined that the documentation submitted in support of the petition was insufficient and directed Owensby to show cause why his petition should not be dismissed.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Davidson County lawyer Dana L. Nero on Feb. 25. She had been suspended in 2013 for three years, with 11 months and 29 days to be served on active suspension (retroactive to June 11, 2012) and the remainder to be served on probation.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility recently reported that 47 lawyers previously suspended have been reinstated. These lawyers were suspended for failure to pay the annual fee or file a report that client funds are held in an IOLTA account in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020. See all lists of administrative suspensions and reinstated online.

The latest episode of the TBA YLD Presents: War Stories podcast is now available. The show features an interview with University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Michelle Kwon, who sits down with YLD members Julia Hale and Alicia McMurray Smith of Knoxville. Kwon discusses her legal career, uplifting other female attorneys and how she handled a last-minute docket call surprise. War Stories is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found online or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court today entered an order to address concerns with the July 2020 bar exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s order extends the amount of time certain applicants will be able to practice pending bar exam results and the expiration of MPRE scores. The court also created a process to transfer a July 2020 exam application to either a fall exam, if one is scheduled, or the February 2021 exam. The order also permits the Board of Law Examiners to offer a full refund of fees. “The Court’s temporary changes to Rule 7 address many of the questions being asked by recent graduates and exam takers arising from the COVID-19 crisis,” Board of Law Examiners President Bill Harbison said in a statement. “Tennessee has a plan for bar exam applicants, whether we move forward with no examination or multiple examinations in 2020, that provides opportunities to practice, to transfer the July 2020 application to a different exam, and to seek concurrent admission.” Read the full order here. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued an order to clarify certain provisions of previous orders regarding the extension of deadlines. The prior orders applied generally to discovery deadlines, but did not apply to deadlines set forth in pre-trial scheduling orders entered pursuant to Rule 16. Trial courts may extend such deadlines in their discretion. See the order for full list of clarifications. The court today filed another order extending the use of electronic signatures as provided under Rule 5B of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and Rules 46 and 46A of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court to any pleadings or documents to be filed or served by conventional means during the time that the state of emergency for the Judicial Branch remains in place.