Nashville attorney and director of the Metro Council office, Jon Cooper, will start a new job with Bone McAllester Norton in July, the Nashville Post reports. Cooper had previously held his position with Metro Council from 2008 until 2015. He was law director for the Metro Government from 2015 to 2019 before circling back to the council. He joins a growing team of attorneys at the firm with Metro ties who are working on land use and zoning issues. Cooper will handle regulatory and administrative law matters for counties and municipalities in his new role.

A work crew at Health Sciences Park in Memphis this morning began the exhumation process of Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife, the Daily Memphian reports. After private nonprofit Memphis Greenspace bought the park in 2017, the statue of Forrest, which marked his grave, was removed and an agreement was reached with the Sons of Confederate Veterans to transfer the remains for reburial at a Confederate-themed park in Columbia, Tennessee. While speaking to camera crews about the removal, Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer was interrupted by a member of the construction crew who threatened and berated her with profanity, calling her a communist and saying he would physically confront her if she were a man. “So there’s no question about why we need to remove this hateful structure,” Sawyer said. The disinterment process is expected to take several weeks.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will host one in-person legal advice clinic and two phone clinics this week for members of the public with questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. The in-person clinic will take place tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at Operation Stand Down Nashville, 1125 12th Ave. S. The phone clinics will be held tomorrow from 4:30 to 6 p.m. CDT and Thursday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. CDT. To help answer questions, contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will livestream two cases on June 3. The first case will begin streaming at 9 a.m. CDT and will be followed by the second case at 10:30 a.m. The livestream can be found on the Administrative Office of the Court’s (AOC) YouTube page. Find details of both cases on the AOC’s website.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday asked the Board of Professional Responsibility to review the case of Mohamad Akbik to determine what, if any, action is warranted. Akbik agreed to a pre-trial intervention in the state of Florida in December 2020. The court stated that because pre-trial intervention agreements in Florida are akin to judicial diversion in Tennessee, Akbik is not subject to immediate summary suspension.

The Veterans’ Legal Advice Clinic is a joint project of the Knoxville Bar Association Barristers and Young Lawyers Division, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office, University of Tennessee  College of Law, Lincoln Memorial University-Duncan School of Law, and the local Veterans Affairs office. This is a general advice and referral clinic which requires attorney volunteers for its continued operation. The next clinic will be held in person at the Knoxville Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., on June 9 from noon to 2 p.m. Sign up here.

Erwin attorney Lois Shults Davis recently declared her candidacy for the 1st Judicial District Circuit Court judge, the Erwin Record reports. The district serves Carter, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties. Originally from the area, Davis earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. She worked for a Knoxville law firm during school but formed a firm in Erwin following graduation. She has been active in the local community, including serving as the Unicoi County High School mock trial coach for many years. “I want to invest my energy now in assuring the success of our region’s families, businesses and communities through fair judgment and sound justice so that those who come before the Circuit Court can repair, resume and build their lives in the best way possible,” Shults Davis says.

Neil Stauffer, the current assistant city attorney in Clarksville, has announced his candidacy for district attorney of the 19th Judicial District, which includes Montgomery and Robertson counties, Mainstreet Clarksville reports. Stauffer earned his law degree from Regent University School of Law and previously served in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and as assistant general counsel with the Tennessee Department of Health, prosecuting drug diversion and violations of standards pertaining to patient care. He currently serves as a judge advocate general in the Army Reserves.

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty have introduced the “Migrant Resettlement Transparency Act,” which would require the secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security to consult in advance with state and local officials regarding migrant resettlement. It also would require the administration to submit to Congress and governors a monthly, state-specific report regarding the resettlement, transportation or relocation of undocumented individuals. A companion bill has been introduced in the U.S. House by Republican Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Chattanoogan.com reports. The group says the need for the legislation came to light after it was discovered the Biden administration was using Chattanooga as a hub to relocate unaccompanied migrant children without the knowledge of state officials. “We have no idea where else this is occurring and communities have a right to know what is happening in their backyard,” Blackburn said. Last week, the group sent a letter to both departments asking for more transparency. The White House acknowledged flying children to Chattanooga but said the move is part a long-standing resettlement program.

TBA offers dozens of 1-Click packages that bundle sessions from recent CLE programs, providing up to eight hours of credit with one purchase. New packages include Business Law 2021, which offers five general and one dual hours of credit. This year’s program focused on valuation principles. Sessions include a nuts and bolts overview of valuation methodologies, day-to-day best practices regarding valuation advice and guidance by business counsel, and recent Tennessee and Delaware caselaw regarding acceptable methods in valuing dissenter appraisal rights. Check it out here.