State Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, has been granted a yearlong delay for his federal campaign finance trial, the Tennessee Journal reports. Originally scheduled to begin next month, the trial was reset by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw to Jan. 23, 2023. The motion to delay the case was made by Kelsey’s legal team and was unopposed by the U.S. attorney’s office or co-defendant Josh Smith. Kelsey’s attorney Paul Bruno told the court that he is scheduled to go to trial in a quadruple homicide case in January and did not believe he had enough time to prepare for both trials. Kelsey faces charges of funneling campaign funds from his state account through other political action committees to the American Conservative Union, which then allegedly spent the funds on Kelsey’s unsuccessful bid for the 8th Congressional District in 2016. Kelsey has denied any wrongdoing.

The 875-lawyer litigation firm Quinn Emanuel announced today that it will allow all U.S. lawyers — including first year associates — to permanently work remotely. It also said it plans to recruit new hires from cities where it does not have an office. The move comes as many law firms struggle with return-to-office policies. Reuters looks at how the firm plans to implement the new policy.

The 33rd Annual Health Law Forum, offered in full on-demand, is here for a limited time! Recognized as one of the premier health law programs in the country, this year’s annual forum addressed key issues such as regulatory fraud and abuse, health care transactions and fraud, physician discipline, claims coding and billing, HIPAA, legislative updates, and lessons learned during COVID-19. The course package offers 15 hours of credit (12 general, three dual) and is available until Jan. 31. 2022.

The House Select Committee on Redistricting today voted to advance its own draft state map that would eliminate five House Democratic seats, the Tennessean reports. The proposal drew criticism from House Democrats, who argued Republicans reshaped the lines for political gain. Democrats released their redistricting plan yesterday. The committee also heard presentations on proposals submitted by the public, although most maps did not meet the House redistricting guidelines. Tennessee Lookout reports that a staff member for Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery was one of those submitting a plan, raising questions from some. Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, questioned whether the move was a conflict of interest since the attorney general’s office will have to defend the final maps if suits are filed. Slatery’s office said the staffer submitted the plan “on his own time and as a private citizen.” The committee is tentatively set to meet again the week of Jan. 10 to approve a new map for congressional seats.

Law schools are racing to confront and embrace new COVID-19 safety measures as coronavirus cases spike around the country, Reuters report. At least three law schools pushed final exams online this week after their universities announced campus closures tied to COVID-19. Cornell University shut down its Ithaca, New York, campus this week halfway through the law school’s nine-day finals period. New York University and George Washington University, each citing the fast spread of COVID-19, quickly followed. All three universities require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to be on campus, but each has reported a rise in the Omicron variant among their recorded cases.

Williamson County lawyer Jason Scott Mangrum was censured today for violations of Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.16 and 3.2. Mangrum agreed to represent a client in pursuing two collection matters. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that he failed to (1) take proper action and expedite litigation in the cases, (2) respond to inquiries from his client, (3) keep his client updated on the status of her cases, and (4) turn over the client file to successor counsel for more than one month.

Several new state laws will go into effect on Jan. 1. WBIR has a list of some of the key changes, including new requirements for guardians and conservators, authority for counties to operate transition centers designed to reduce recidivism, funding for counties that implement programming to reduce inmates’ recidivism rates, extension of filing deadlines for compensation from the criminal injuries compensation fund, changes to trusts, and permission for student athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image or likeness.

The Tennessee Republican Party has decided to drop judges and judicial candidates from a new rule that requires a fee to run in primary elections because of a recent ethics opinion, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The Judicial Ethics Committee issued an opinion on Sept. 7 that "generally prohibits a judge from paying an assessment to a political organization." The Republican State Executive Committee discussed the issue at length during its Dec. 4 meeting and subsequently voted this week to remove judges from the rule, which would have required judicial candidates to pay $500 to run as Republicans. Yahoo News has the story.

The Florida Supreme Court yesterday reaffirmed a decision that bans Florida lawyers from receiving continuing legal education credit for programs that require diversity among panelists, the ABA Journal reports. That includes CLE programs offered by the American Bar Association, which the court said imposes quotas. The court first ruled on the issue in April after a Florida Bar section adopted a speaker panel policy that was modeled on the ABA’s 2017 diversity policy. ABA President Reginald Turner said after the ruling that that group was disappointed in the decision, believing that its CLE practices do not constitute a quota system.

Tennessee prison officials this week agreed to ease restrictions on Alex Friedmann, a prison reform advocate, who is in pre-trial custody at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for breaking into a Nashville jail that was under construction. Friedmann was originally placed in solitary confinement in a special cell and confined to the cell for 23 to 24 hours a day. After Friedmann won a court order last month to move him out of solitary, officials transferred him into a different cell but kept him confined for up to 23 hours a day. On Dec. 10, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw held prison officials in contempt for not complying with the previous order. This week, prison officials agreed to find work for Friedmann that will allow him to be out of his cell for four to six hours each weekday, allow visitors other than his wife and allow him to purchase commissary items, the AP reports.