An article in yesterday’s issue of TBA Today gave an inaccurate description of Resolution 115, which will be considered by the American Bar Association House of Delegates at its meeting in Austin this week. The resolution encourages “U.S. jurisdictions to consider regulatory innovations that have the potential to improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality of civil legal services, while also ensuring necessary and appropriate protections that best serve the public.” The story also had an incorrect date for a TBA reception for Lewis Thomason President and Managing Shareholder Lisa Ramsay Cole. She will be honored on Saturday.

The Hamilton County Department of Education paid $810,000 to two Ooltewah High School rape victims to settle their claims, the Times Free Press reports. The payments went to “Richard Roe” and “John Doe,” who were minors when older classmates attacked them and sexually assaulted them during a December 2015 trip to Gatlinburg for a basketball tournament. The two filed suit but settled before trial. The amounts paid had been sealed until Attorney General Herbert Slatery asked the court to disclose the information.

The Elizabethton City Council is set to pick an interim municipal judge following the death of Judge T.J. Little, the Johnson City Press reports. The new judge would serve until voters choose a replacement in the November general election. Five candidates are under consideration: Mark S. Dugger, Jason L. Holly, J. Collins Landstreet II, Teresa Murray Smith and John W. Walton. The lawyer selected by the council will immediately assume the office.

The four candidates running for Coffee County General Sessions and Juvenile Court judge participated in a forum to meet community members and share their ideas last week, the Manchester Times reports. The candidates — Jason Huskey, Stacy Lynch, Greg Perry and Jess Stockwell — are all running as Republicans so the winner of the March primary will serve the rest of Judge Timothy Brock's term. Brock died suddenly last November leaving a vacancy.

Northeast Tennessee district attorneys have identified four legislative proposals they are asking state lawmakers to support this year to help fight crime, the Kingsport Times News reports. The bills would allow judges to sign search warrants to obtain electronic data stored outside the state; prohibit state prisoners from posting “party images” on social media that could be seen by family members of their victims; reclassify voluntary manslaughter to a Class B felony with an eight to 12-year jail term; and enhance penalties to those committing drug crimes with children in the home. The group also has expressed concern about the governor’s criminal justice reform initiative.

Former Knox County prosecutor William “Bill” Crabtree died Feb. 9 at the age of 77. Crabtree grew up in Loudon County and served in the U.S. Marine Corps before earning a law degree from the University of Tennessee. He was admitted to the practice of law in 1975 and worked as a solo practitioner before joining the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office in 1976. He retired in 2016. In addition to handling a number of high profile cases, Crabtree will be remembered for being at the forefront of prosecutor training and development in Tennessee and across the country. A memorial service will be held Feb. 29 at 2:30 p.m. at St. John’s Cathedral, 413 Cumberland Ave., Knoxville 37902. Receiving of friends will follow in the church’s Great Hall. Obituary details were provided by the Knoxville Bar Association. WBIR has this profile of Crabtree's career.

The Legal Aid Society is hosting its monthly clinic in collaboration with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) this Saturday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the MNPS Center, 2694 Fessey Park Rd., Nashville 37204. For details contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131.

In this unique program, Stuart Teicher — The CLE Performer — weaves together talk of superpowers, superheroes and other fun stuff to explore the breadth and limitations of a lawyer’s power. Ethics topics include: decision making authority between lawyer and client, withdrawing from representation and duties as an advisor. The program will be held Feb. 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Clio and Above the Law recently released the 2019 Legal Trends Report claiming it is the “legal industry’s first longitudinal analysis on how law firms succeed and struggle.” The report also provides insights into how today’s legal consumer shops for legal services and includes results from a responsiveness study, which tested how responsive law firms were to emails and phone calls.

From 2008 to 2019, incumbent state supreme court justices running for re-election in non-partisan elections won 93% of the time, according to a new report by Ballotpedia. The study also found that only six incumbent justices lost in a single year, and among the 38 states that elect supreme court justices, only 11 saw incumbents lose. In 2020, 35 states will hold state supreme court elections with 84 of the nation’s 344 state supreme court seats on the ballot.