The U.S. Department of Justice has taken its first action to combat fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The action came against operators of a website offering a fraudulent coronavirus vaccine. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order requiring the site, coronavirusmedicalkit.com, be blocked from public view. The department has prioritized fraud schemes arising out of the coronavirus emergency. It has developed guidelines for consumers to protect themselves from scams and asks that those who suspect fraud related to COVID-19 call the National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721 or email.

As COVID-19 continues to affect all aspects of life, the TBA brings you two new resources for navigating the pandemic. Now that more employees are being asked to work from home, the TBA is offering a webcast to help lawyers working remotely. Working From Home is More Than a Laptop and Cell Phone will take place Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. Join Lori Gonzalez, president of the RayNa consulting firm, as she provides the building blocks needed to create an effective work-from-home strategy. The second offering — Navigating Client Financial Issues During the Pandemic — will focus on the financial issues that both businesses and creditors will face as a result of the pandemic. Join David Anthony with Bone McAllester Norton and Griffin Dunham with Dunham Hildebrand on Friday from 1 to 2 p.m.

The U.S. Justice Department has created a special task force to address criminal misconduct by federal Bureau of Prison officers at several correctional facilities after a loaded gun was found at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, the same jail where wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. In an interview with the Associated Press, Attorney General William Barr said the task force would engage in a “very aggressive review of potential misconduct by correction officers” at that facility and others where reports of misconduct have surfaced.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility and the CLE Commission recently reported that 23 lawyers previously suspended for administrative violations have been reinstated. They include two suspended in 2006, one suspended in 2010, three suspended in 2013, one suspended in 2014, four suspended in 2017, four suspended in 2018, and eight suspended in 2019. See all lists of administrative suspensions and reinstatements.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, one group is particularly vulnerable: people in jail. Many suffer underlying health conditions. Plus, they’re locked into tight quarters, often without regular access to soap or hand sanitizer. That is why the Davidson County sheriff says he is urging Nashville's criminal justice agencies to limit the number of people coming into the jails. That leaves law enforcement officials grappling with how to balance public safety and public health interests, WPLN reports. Sheriff Daron Hall says this is a crisis unlike anything else and that law enforcement agencies need to work together — not just go about “business as usual.” Criminal justice reform advocates and the local public defender have called on officials to develop a “comprehensive plan to safeguard the health of the people being held.”

Knoxville lawyer Mark Robert Orr died last Saturday at 40. A graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law, he was admitted to practice law in 2004. He served as a U.S. Marine Corps scout sniper in Afghanistan and most recently worked as a firearms instructor. He also had an active civil litigation practice in Knoxville with a focus on family law and wills and estates. A private funeral will be held at Church Street Methodist Church. A celebration of life will be held Saturday from 3-6 p.m. at Sapphire. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to tnAchieves, P.O. Box 2723, Knoxville, TN 37901.

News from legal organizations and other groups that affect lawyers is posted online at the TBA’s Pandemic Resource Center. Updates for today include news from the Chattanooga Bar Association, Hamilton County Circuit & Chancery Courts, Hamilton County Criminal Court, the Internal Revenue Service, Knoxville Bar Association, Marshall County General Sessions & Juvenile Court, and the National Bar Association. The site also includes resources for the legal community for office management and well-being during a pandemic.

Did you miss the TBA’s free webcast “Tennessee Law in the Time of Pandemic Disease?" The course is now available on-demand for viewing at your convenience. The one-hour CLE program is based on the March 2020 Tennessee Bar Journal cover story and is presented by its author, William Shults. The session explores the latest information on what Tennessee lawyers need to know about the COVID-19 virus, including relevant statutory provisions, applicable regulations and rights under quarantine or isolation. Due to the volume of lawyers who registered for the simulcast, some may have experienced technical difficulties during the live webcast. If so, we sincerely apologize and encourage you to access it in your TBA CLE account and watch it again.

Former Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Herschel P. Franks, whose 42 year tenure on the bench was one of the longest in state history, died yesterday at 89. Franks received his law degree in 1957 from the University of Tennessee and in 1959 joined the law firm of Harris, Moon, Meacham & Franks in Chattanooga. He became active in the local bar and ultimately served as president of the Chattanooga Bar Association. He was appointed to the 11th Judicial District Chancery Court in 1970. In 1978, he was appointed to the state Court of Appeals. He later was elected chief judge and served in that position until he retired. During his career, Franks earned numerous awards and accolades, including the Chattanooga Bar Association’s Foundations of Freedom Award and the TBA’s Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award. A celebration of life and memorial will be arranged at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Pilgrim Congregational Church or the Chattanooga Food Bank.

Former federal judge and lawmaker Thomas A. Wiseman Jr. died Wednesday at 89. Originally from Tullahoma, Wiseman earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University and a master of law from the University of Virginia. He served two years in the U.S. Army and began his practice of law in Tullahoma in 1956. In 1965, he was elected to represent Coffee, Franklin and Grundy counties in the Tennessee House of Representatives and served there until 1969. In 1971, he was elected as state treasurer and served until 1974 when he stepped down to run in the Democratic primary for governor. After losing that race, he returned to the practice of law, forming the firm of Chambers & Wiseman. In 1978, Wiseman was appointed to U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and served as chief judge for seven years. He took senior status in 1995. His judicial legacy includes presiding over the desegregation of Nashville schools and the state’s higher education desegregation case, and serving as a founding member of the Federal Judges Association. A celebration of life will be schedule at a later date. Author Keel Hunt offered this personal reflection on Judge Wiseman’s life.