Shelby County lawyer Paul James Springer was permanently disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday. The court also ordered him to pay restitution of $6,247.34 to a client and close his law firm IOLTA account. The court found that Springer misappropriated settlement funds belonging to his client, made material misrepresentations to his client, failed to reasonably communicate with his client, knowingly failed to comply with a court order, engaged in criminal conduct, and engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, deceit, misrepresentations and fraud. His actions were found to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.15, 8.1(b) and 8.4(a), (b), (c) and (g).

State prosecutors can hire an expert to conduct a mental evaluation of death row inmate Pervis Payne, Shelby County Judge Paula Skahan ruled Friday. The Shelby County district attorney's office says it is in the process of selecting someone to perform the review, Nashville Ledger reports. Lawyers for Payne filed a petition May 12 asking Skahan to declare their client cannot be executed because he has an intellectual disability.

Former Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke plans to join Vanderbilt University now that he has left office, Nashville Post reports. Berke, who served as a state senator before being elected mayor, will teach public policy at Vanderbilt Law School and be a special adviser for innovation and strategic projects to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. Berke earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School (where Diermeier previously served). Following graduation, Berke taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Kansas School of Law and then relocated to Chattanooga to practice law and ultimately run for office. In addition to the roles at Vanderbilt, Berke will join the consultancy Cityfi and chair an advisory council at the Strong Cities Network.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) Barristers recently received a grant from the ABA Young Lawyers Division to refurbish tablets to use at legal advice clinics, the KBA reports. The clinics, which provide legal advice on a wide variety of issues, are offered in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee. The KBA will serve as a collection center for those who wish to donate. The devices then will sanitized and reconditioned. Tablets may be dropped off at the KBA Office, 505 Main St., Ste 50, Knoxville, TN 37902 until June 16.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Friday again expressed frustration about the movement of migrant children through Tennessee, but may have his hands tied, the Times Free Press reports. Four commissioners in Lee's executive branch have said the state does not have the authority to conduct an investigation of the Chattanooga shelter housing migrant children. In a letter to the House Government Operations Committee, the commissioners said there are no reports of child abuse at the facility and that while the state is impacted by federal immigration policies, "states have very little control over the movement of illegal immigrants who are subject to immigration proceedings in federal courts." 

Online legal services company LegalZoom is looking to list its shares again, Barrons reports. The company first filed for an initial public offering in 2012, but instead sold a $200 million stake to a private equity firm. In 2018, it received a $500 million investment from several other investment firms. Now it is seeking to raise $100 million. LegalZoom operates in every state and employs 1,055. According to a prospectus, the company helped launch 378,000 businesses, created 250,000 estate plan documents and reported profits of $9.9 million last year.

Five months after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, FBI investigations continue to prompt new arrests, The Tennessean reports. Three more Tennesseans recently were arrested and charged. They are Matthew Baggott of Murfreesboro, Nicholas James Brockhoff of Covington and Stewart Parks. Nationwide, more than 450 people have been charged with crimes committed that day. In related news, Eric Munchel of Nashville (the "zip-tie guy") and his mother have been charged with eight superseding indictments, including four new charges, adding conspiracy and aiding and abetting enhancements to the charges as well as violent entry related to possession of a deadly weapon. Previously, the pair faced four counts related to tampering with a witness and unlawfully entering the capitol building.

A new report from The Sycamore Institute shows that the state of Tennessee collects nearly $38 million annually in fines and fees through the criminal justice system, Tennessee Star reports. The study found 360 fees and fines authorized in law. A spokesman for the institute says the state’s fee structure has “grown into this almost maze of financial obligations that are in addition to any criminal sentence or parole or probation.” In addition, the report found that county governments differ widely in the fines and fees they impose, and revenue from these fees is generally shrinking. The study also looked at asset forfeiture throughout the state. In 2019, it found that 64 vehicles and just under $186,000 were forfeited to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Highway Patrol – a large drop from two years earlier. The report recommends additional research on long-term trends and variation in state and county reliance on this revenue source. It also suggests that more information could shed light on the indirect costs of fees and fines – including “what counties spend to collect them, the costs of prolonged criminal justice involvement, and any downstream impact on tax revenue tied to things like employment and productivity.”

Nashville lawyer Todd Pinckley will be presented with the prestigious Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing next week during the TBA's Annual Convention in Memphis. The award was established nearly 40 years ago and is given each year to the lawyer “who writes the most outstanding article that is published in the ... Tennessee Bar Journal for the preceding year." This year’s winning article is “The Right to Remain Silent: Law Enforcement and the Duty to Intervene,” which was published in the November/December 2020 issue. The award will be presented at the annual Lawyers Lunch, which will be held in-person and livestreamed.

Bass, Berry & Sims has named Gil Uhlhorn as managing partner of the Memphis office. In his new role, Uhlhorn will lead day-to-day operations, recruiting and retention initiatives, business development activities and community outreach in the Memphis market. He succeeds John S. Golwen, who has led the Memphis office since 2017. The firm also recently elevated three others to leadership roles. It named Memphis attorney Al Bright Jr. to lead the African-American Affinity Group, and Nashville attorney Lillian Blackshear and Memphis attorney Richard Mattern to the firm’s executive committee.