U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty has promoted legislative director Adam Telle to chief of staff following John Rader’s departure, the Nashville Post reports. Telle was part of a group of former Trump aides who joined the Tennessee Republican’s office following his 2020 election. In addition to his previous role as legislative director, Telle was Hagerty’s chief adviser. Under Trump, he led the White House Office of Legislative Affairs’ Senate team. Rader left the office to return to the private sector.

The American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Disaster Legal Services Program (DLS) is ramping up pro bono efforts to assist Louisianans affected by Hurricane Ida. Attorneys play a vital role in helping disaster survivors recover after a disaster, including accessing post-disaster assistance from federal and state programs and responding to other needs. The DLS is asking interested attorneys to register to assist with the anticipated legal needs. Additionally, the Louisiana State Bar’s website has information about how to assist attorneys affected by the hurricane in their state, including providing office space, technology and housing.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today amended Rule 8, RPCs 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 and 7.5, after considering a TBA petition filed in October asking for the changes, as well as comments from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, the Knoxville Bar Association, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and two individual lawyers. The TBA also submitted a comment that, in large measure, replied to the suggestions and objections raised in other comments. The amendments are set out in the appendices to this order. In a separate order also filed today, the Supreme Court declined to grant the TBA’s petition to amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 8, RPC 7.6. The court instead published proposed amendments to RPC 7.6 and to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 44 and is asking for comments by Nov. 30. 

A Texas law banning virtually all abortions took effect today after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to act on an emergency application seeking to block it, the ABA Journal reports. Texas Senate Bill 8 prohibits abortions after a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat, which usually occurs around six weeks of pregnancy. The law also allows private citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone else who helps a woman obtain an abortion. Those who sue can potentially earn $10,000 per abortion if they are successful. The Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, the Lawyering Project, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups had asked the high court to intervene. Reuters reports that the Supreme Court could still act on the matter but have already agreed to hear arguments in Mississippi’s effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.

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Six lawyers have recently been reinstated after being suspended for failure to complete required CLE hours. See the full list of those suspended and reinstated in 2021 for 2020 violations. The TBA also has records of all administrative suspensions and reinstatements going back to 2005. See all lists here.

U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman yesterday denied a motion from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to end the consent decree between the county jail and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) regarding COVID-19 prevention. The Sheriff’s Office asked Lipman last month to terminate the agreement, claiming it had satisfied the terms of the decree. According to the Memphis Flyer, Lipman rejected that claim, finding that all detainees had not been offered the COVID-19 vaccine, nor had they all been given the educational materials and incentives to take the vaccine. “The consent decree did not enshrine mere box-checking. It enshrined meaningful protection for plaintiffs, a medically vulnerable group,” Lipman said.  

Logicforce, a Nashville-based law firm IT company, has been aquired by Frontline Managed Services of Atlanta, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Logicforce, which offers e-discovery, IT and cybersecurity and digital forensics services, was founded in 1995 by Phillip Hampton. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Frontline said in its announcement that it will gain more than 100 new law firm clients in the acquisition. Frontline has hundreds of employees in seven states, Washington D.C., Toronto, London and India. Logicforce has 50 employees. Nashville attorney and Logicforce CEO Gulam Zade will join Frontline's management team.

A federal judge this week heard arguments in a lawsuit seeking to block Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order that allows parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates, the Commercial Appeal reports. The plaintiffs, two Shelby County families with immunocompromised children, told U.S. District Judge Sheryl Halle Lipman that Lee’s order creates an “unreasonably dangerous environment” for medically vulnerable children and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Jim Newsom with the attorney general’s office argued the parents had not yet exhausted the appeal process available for families of children with disabilities. He added the proper route would be to file a complaint with school and district officials and then with the State Department of Education. The state did not call any witnesses. The plaintiffs, represented by Donati Law, brought in two medical experts who spoke of the “higher burden” an unmasked child puts on other kids in the classroom. 

Chancellor Jim Kyle today begins a one-year term as presiding judge for the 30th Judicial District. Prior to joining the judiciary, Kyle represented parts of Shelby County in the Tennessee Senate from 1982 to 2014. The 30th Judicial District covers all of Shelby County.