New Website Features Will Give TBA Members New Level of Online Services

Tennessee Bar Association members will experience a new level of online services when they visit the newly refreshed TBA.org website later this month. After several months of development and collaboration among TBA members, staffers and the Member Central team in Austin, Texas, the TBA’s website is set to emerge with a new look and new features that will serve members as the organization moves forward into 2020 and beyond. Watch for the changeover in mid-January.

Will the New Law Simplify or Complicate the Worker (Mis)Classification Issue?

How can your clients appropriately classify most workers as independent contractors in Tennessee? How can you argue that workers who want to be protected by wage regulations and other labor laws are “employees?” The answer to the former question may be easier and the answer to the latter may be more challenging as new amendments to Title 50 redefine what it means to be an “employee” in Tennessee.

Davidson County lawyer Erica May Lotz was suspended today following suspension by the Supreme Court of Louisiana in September. Lotz was suspended by the Louisiana court for one year and one day for mismanaging her client trust account. All but 30 days of the suspension was deferred and the active suspension is to be followed by two years of unsupervised probation. The Tennessee Supreme Court imposed identical terms and conditions.

The state’s complaint against AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation has been made public, the Tennessee Attorney General’s office announced today. The suit, filed in Knox County Circuit Court on Oct. 3, alleges that Amerisource violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act and the Tennessee Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act when it shipped hundreds of millions of prescription opioids to Tennessee pharmacies, even when it knew the drugs were being abused and sold on the street.

In an opinion released today, the Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated a conviction for presenting a false or fraudulent insurance claim after the Court of Criminal Appeals struck it down. Just days after securing a homeowner’s policy, a fire caused extensive damage to the defendant’s residence and he subsequently filed an insurance claim. The defendant was later convicted of arson and presenting a false or fraudulent insurance claim. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the arson conviction but reversed the insurance claim conviction saying the defendant did not meet the technical requirements for filing a claim. The Supreme Court disagreed, finding that the defendant’s actions clearly showed he asserted a right to payment under the homeowner’s policy. Read more in a press release from the court.

Stuart McWhorter, the chair of the Tennessee Capitol Commission, committed this week to hold a meeting by the end of February to discuss the process for a vote on whether to remove the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from the Capitol, the Daily Memphian reports. The commitment came in a meeting with Memphis Democrat Rep. G.A. Hardaway, who is chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators. The commission declined to remove the bust two years ago when former Gov. Bill Haslam called for it to be taken out.

The Nashville Trial Courts have scheduled an Interpreter Ethics and Skills Building Workshop — the first step towards certification as a court interpreter — for February and March at the reduced cost of $100 per person. The workshop runs for six weeks and applicants must attend all sessions. To serve as an interpreter, applicants also must complete an oral proficiency interview, written exam and oral exam. Get more details online, including the workshop schedule and dates and locations for interviews and exams in 2020.

The City of Memphis has paid Baker Donelson more than $1 million in attorney fees to defend itself against a lawsuit brought in 2017 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Daily Memphian reports. In August 2018, the federal district court ruled that the police department violated a 1978 consent decree between the city and the ACLU by conducting political surveillance of activists. In addition to its own attorneys’ fees, the city also has paid those of the ACLU and court monitor Ed Stanton III, but those amounts have not been made public. In June 2020, the judge overseeing the case will consider whether to grant the city’s request to modify the consent decree.

The TBA announced today that 32 attorneys from across the state have been selected for its 2020 Leadership Law program. Now in its 17th year, Leadership Law is designed to equip Tennessee lawyers with the vision, knowledge and skills necessary to serve as leaders in their profession and local communities. The class will meet for its first session in January, and then spend the next six months learning about leadership in the legal profession, issues in the courts, policymaking in state government and the importance of community service. Learn more about the program.

The U.S. Senate yesterday passed an appropriations bill that includes $440 million for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) — an increase of $25 million over last year’s budget and the largest appropriation in the agency’s history. The U.S. House of Representatives passed identical legislation on Dec. 17 and President Trump is expected to sign the bill today. According to the LSC, the majority of the appropriation is for basic field grants to fund the direct delivery of legal assistance. More than 93% of the funding will be passed on to independent legal aid organizations that serve low-income residents in every state. In a statement today, ABA President Judy Perry Martinez applauded Congress for increasing the funding.