Whoever wins the race to be the next Hamilton County district attorney — either John Allen Brooks or Coty Wamp — will be able to refashion the office if experienced prosecutors and staff depart the office with the change of administration. Chattanoogan.com reports that the first person to leave following the defeat of incumbent District Attorney Neal Pinkston is prosecutor Andrew Coyle. His last day will be May 27. Coyle says he has been asked to join the law firm of Patrick, Beard, Schulman & Jacoway, where former prosecutors Lance Pope and Kristen Williams are also on staff. “Being a prosecutor is incredibly rewarding and provides such a sense of job achievement," Coyle said. "I will miss it tremendously." 

The TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) Class of 2022 stopped in Memphis this week for its third session of the year, “Issues in Community Leadership,” held at Burch, Porter & Johnson. Day one speakers included Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Butler Snow attorney Ed Stanton, Paul Young with the Downtown Memphis Commission, Dorcas Young-Griffin with the county’s Division of Community Service, and attorneys Bruce McMullen and Van Turner, who gave a presentation on the legal work behind the takedown of several confederate statues in the city. Programming concluded on Tuesday with a presentation from W.J. Michael Cody, who helped represent Martin Luther King Jr. during the Memphis sanitation strike, and a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum. The next session will take place in conjunction with the TBA’s Annual Convention in Nashville next month.

You’ve met our CLE crew, now it’s time to meet our Membership Team! Linda Murphy, our Receptionist and Membership Coordinator, is the friendly voice you hear when you call the TBA. A longtime member of TBA team, Linda is skilled in the ways of troubleshooting and getting our members where they need to go. In the movie about her life, Linda says her younger self would be played by Kristen Bell, while her older self would be played by Candace Bergen. The #TeamTBA series offers members a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the TBA and how each staff members makes the association run. Check back every Wednesday for a new staff profile in TBA Today and on the TBA's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The Miles Mason Family Law Group is seeking an associate attorney to work in its Germantown office. Candidates should have at least one year of experience in family law, be detail-oriented, be able to work independently in a team environment, and maintain a positive attitude. To apply, email resume, salary history and salary requirements to Sharon Mason. A writing sample may also be included. Learn more about the position.

Shelby County lawyer Brett B. Stein received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday. The court found that Stein violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4 and 5.1. Stein was hired to file a petition for habeas corpus relief in federal court in Mississippi — a court in which he was not admitted to practice. He also failed to adequately supervise a junior attorney’s preparation of the petition and an accompanying motion for pro hac vice admission. The motion for admission was denied for failure to comply with court requirements, but Stein did not inform the client of this development, which caused the client to suffer potential harm.

Funeral and visitation details were released today to celebrate the life of Memphis attorney John Ryder. Visitation will be held Sunday from 3-5 p.m. CDT at Canale Funeral Directors, 2700 Union Ave. Extended, Memphis 38112. The funeral will be held Monday at 1 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church, 3245 Central Ave., Memphis 38111. A reception will follow in the parish hall. Memorials may be sent to St. John's Episcopal Church, Opera Memphis or Wabash College, 301 W. Wabash Ave., Crawfordsville, IN 47933. Ryder died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 72 years old.

Brian Faughnan, president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL), is featured on a new episode of Bob Ambrogi's podcast, LawNext to discuss why the APRL has "asked the American Bar Association to amend the model rules that govern law practice to allow lawyers admitted in any U.S. jurisdiction to practice law and provide legal advice to clients anywhere in the country." APRL says the current rule is "anachronistic" and "concluded that the change is critical to a '21st Century' approach to the practice of law.'" Listen to the episode here, or wherever you get your podcasts. Faughnan is a shareholder in the Memphis office of Lewis Thomason, where his practice includes representing lawyers and law firms in disciplinary matters. He recently posted the 500th post on his blog Faughnan on Ethics.

Former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark received the Nashville Bar Foundation’s David Rutherford Award posthumously at the foundation’s Annual Fellows Dinner last month. The award is given to a fellow who exemplifies the memory and ideas of Rutherford, including professionalism, charitable contributions in the legal field and in the community as a whole, and the spirit of collegiality among the bench and bar. Justice Sharon G. Lee accepted the award on Clark’s behalf, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. In her remarks, Lee recognized Clark’s devotion to her faith, her family, her community and the rule of law. Clark died Sept. 24, 2021, following a short battle with cancer. She was 71 years old.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeff Bivins recently gave the keynote address at the 16th Judicial District Recovery Court graduation at the Rutherford County Judicial Center. More than 125 people were present for the ceremony where Bivins applauded the seven graduates and the program’s staff saying, “Programs like this one reunite families and restore lives.” The program, administered by Judge Jimmy Turner, is a court-monitored intensive outpatient program for individuals with severe addictions to controlled substances. Turner said that participants “start in very dire circumstances, including homelessness, unemployment and a complete lack of family support” but completely change their lives with the help of the court. Read the full release from the court and see pictures from the event.

The third installment of the American Bar Association’s Model Diversity Survey is out and shows that large law firms hired more Hispanic, Black and Asian associates leading up to the pandemic, but continued to struggle with moving diverse lawyers into partnerships. Michelle Behnke, chair of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession told Law.com: “I wasn’t terribly surprised to not see a lot of movement in the equity partnership space for diverse partners. That is not new. It is one of the things we are putting more of an emphasis on.” The survey also showed that attrition rates in 2019 were higher for women (16%) than men (11%). “This is a cause of concern for us,” Behnke said. “If we were already seeing more pronounced attrition among women, it will be hard to look at what we end up seeing as a result of the pandemic.”