Roane County lawyer Melanie A. Campbell-Brown was suspended from the practice of law today. She will spend 60 days on active suspension and the rest on probation so long as she does not incur new complaints of misconduct during the probationary period. One complaint was filed against Campbell-Brown on Nov. 12, 2020. At the time, she entered a conditional guilty plea admitting she accepted a fee to represent her client in a quiet title action but mislead her client regarding the filing the complaint. Specifically, she failed to (1) file the claim, (2) provide legal services in a diligent manner, (3) expedite her client’s litigation, and (4) reasonably communicate with her client regarding the status of the case. Her actions were determined to violate of Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) 1.3, 1.4, and 8.4(a), (c) and (d).

The Tennessee Bar Association is now accepting applications from candidates interested in becoming the next editor of the award-winning Tennessee Bar Journal. The editor of the Tennessee Bar Journal facilitates review of submitted articles, directs layout and design, researches and writes articles and proofreads copy. In addition to the six-times-a-year Journal, the editor is also responsible for helping produce other TBA media products, including the TBJ Select e-newsletter, content for the TBA website and TBA-related social media accounts. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume and writing samples by email to TBA Assistant Executive Director Barry Kolar. Access a full job description here.

Tennessee Republicans plan to divide Nashville into multiple congressional districts, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, has told the Associated Press. The splitting of the district would likely mean that Republicans would control eight of Tennessee’s nine congressional districts, leaving one Democratic-leaning seat in Memphis. Longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, has spent the past several months urging the state legislature not to split his district. The other member who may be opposed to the plan is U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, who has said he could lose some of the wealthy, strongly Republican parts of his district. The Nashville Post has the story.

Five former students filed suit in federal court yesterday alleging that top colleges, including Vanderbilt University, have engaged in price fixing and unfairly limiting aid. The Nashville Post reports that the other schools are Brown, the California Institute of Technology, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University of Chicago, Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Rice and Yale.

A status hearing before federal district court judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. was held today in the case of parents suing the state to allow mask mandates in schools, Actions News 5 reports. Crenshaw previously granted a preliminary injunction of the state law, which bans mask mandates by school districts unless virus caseloads reach certain levels. In related news, Gov. Bill Lee today filed an appeal of Crenshaw’s ruling with the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. In December, Lee filed a motion for a stay of the injunction.

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in two cases challenging COVID-19 vaccination mandates. For over two hours of debate, the justices appeared skeptical of the administration’s attempt to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate for workers at large employers, Amy Howe writes for SCOTUSBlog. In the second case, which lasted for roughly an hour and a half, the justices seemed more receptive to efforts to impose a vaccine mandate for health care workers at facilities that receive federal funding. Both cases came to the court last month on an emergency basis and, in an unusual move, the justices opted to fast-track oral arguments on the question of whether the mandates can remain in place while challenges to their legality continue in the lower courts. Beyond the subject matter in question, COVID-19 “loomed over the courtroom” as two lawyers arguing against the mandates appeared by phone because they had recently tested positive for the virus.

Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston recently was honored by the Tennessee chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) at its annual Night of Remembrance and Awards Ceremony. Pinkston received the group’s 2021 East Tennessee Excellence Award, Chattanoogan.com reports. Pinkston said he was humbled and honored to receive the award, which he said would not have been possible without the assistance of the Chattanooga Police Department and its Traffic Unit. Given that, Pinkston said he would dedicate the award to the department and the traffic unit in memory of officer Nicholas Galinger, who was killed in 2021 by an intoxicated driver. 

Large law firms are increasingly adding diversity and inclusion officers to their top leadership as efforts to diversify the legal profession have stagnated, an ABA Journal article says. Multiple surveys show progress for women and people of color is advancing slowly, and a growing number of firms are hoping that creation of chief diversity officer positions will help change that. “Firms are now realizing that this is something important that they need to do in order to be successful,” says Paulette Brown, who in 2015 became the first African American woman to serve as ABA president. “More leaders are actively involved. Firms have to be hyperintentional about these issues of diversity and inclusion.” Law.com looks at the experience of one firm — Nixon Peabody — that recently created a new chief diversity officer position.

The Chattanooga Bar Association has released the results of its annual judicial poll, Chattanoogan.com reports. Local attorneys were asked to rate 17 judges. The news source has the breakdown of approval rates for each judge in four categories: superior legal ability, good moral character, diligence and judicial temperament. Those with the highest rates across all categories were Circuit Court Judge Jeff Hollingsworth, who is not running for re-election; Criminal Court Judges Tom Greenholtz, Barry Steelman and Don Poole, who is retiring; Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw; and General Sessions Court Judge Alex McVeagh.

Due to potential inclement weather, the Legal Aid Society's (LAS) McHugh Legal Clinic scheduled for tomorrow in Nashville has been canceled. Next week, LAS will hold three clinics. On Tuesday, a phone clinic will begin at 2 p.m. On Wednesday, a clinic specifically for veterans will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S. Nashville 37203. On Thursday, a clinic will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Greenhouse Ministries, 309 S. Spring St., Murfreesboro 37130. All times central. To volunteer contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all January clinics.