An attorney for Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. says an ethics probe against the commissioner is a politically motivated attack on his client, and that defamation lawsuits are being considered, the Commercial Appeal reports. In a letter to the Shelby County Commission, Ford's attorney Allan Wade says the probe is a political attack by county Mayor Lee Harris’s administration and he is investigating the mayor's use of the "power of his office to attack his political adversaries.” Wade also takes the Commercial Appeal and Daily Memphian to task for “biased and sloppy reporting” of the situation. News broke earlier this week that Ford is being investigated to determine if he acted improperly when he allegedly proposed a grant for Junior Achievement of Memphis & the Mid-South in 2019. Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich has recused herself from the case. District Attorney Robert Carter of the 17th Judicial District is serving as special prosecutor.

A bill that would strike the name of the late Clifford Davis from Memphis's downtown federal building passed the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation Committee today, the Commercial Appeal reports. The bill, sponsored by Memphis Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen, would keep the other name on the building, that of Odell Horton, the state’s first Black federal judge following the Reconstruction Era. Cohen spoke to the committee about Davis's racist past, noting that had been a strong proponent of Jim Crow laws and a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The bill now goes to the House floor for a vote.

The TBA’s 2021 Business Law Forum is set for May 20 and 21. This year’s program will focus on valuation considerations for the Tennessee business lawyer with sessions from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. CDT each day. Watch for registration information in the coming weeks. 

The Nashville YWCA will host Stand Against Racism: Legacies of Injustice in Sports on Thursday from noon until 1 p.m. CDT. The virtual program will include a panel discussion on the intersection of sports, racism and sexism, featuring leaders and experts from the community. The event is free and open to the public.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been asked to assist prosecutors who are reviewing allegations of misconduct against Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Kelvin Jones, NewsChannel5 Nashville reports. Jones allegedly made several admissions of potentially illegal behavior during a sworn deposition last year as part of his divorce proceedings. A complaint against Jones was filed with the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct and Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk. After Funk recused himself from the case in January, 17th Judicial District Attorney General Robert Carter was assigned to the case as a special prosecutor.

National intellectual property (IP) law firm Merchant & Gould has announced it will sponsor a yearly $5,000 scholarship for University of Tennessee College of Law students who are from diverse backgrounds and are interested in practicing IP law. Additionally, the firm wants to create opportunities and experiences for the next generation of Tennessee IP attorneys. UT Law was one of nine schools chosen to receive scholarships. Selection of scholarship recipients will be handled by a review committee at the school. For scholarship applications, school-specific criteria, number of students sharing the merit aid, deadlines, or any other questions, contact the Office of Admissions at the University of Tennessee College of Law at lawadmit@utk.edu or 865-974-4131.

The legislation to ban transgender athletes from competing in middle and high school sports under their gender identity has been approved by the state House, the Tennessean reports. Lawmakers voted 71-16 in favor of SB228/HB3, which will now head to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. Lee has previously expressed support for the measure. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee yesterday issued a response urging Lee to veto the bill and threatening legal action “should any transgender student be excluded because of this new law.”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced that it has reached a settlement in its lawsuit against Cumberland County for failing to take adequate precautions to prevent the sexual harassment of 10 female employees. The DOJ filed the complaint on March 8, alleging that former Solid Waste Department Director Michael Harvel regularly subjected the female employees to unwanted sexual contact and sexual advances, propositioned them for sexual favors and made offensive sexual remarks about their bodies. The DOJ sued the county for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin and religion. The county will pay approximately $1.1 million to the women and must also revise its policies and trainings on sexual harassment in the workplace. The county will also pay attorney’s fees to Livingston lawyer John Nisbet who represented the women.

Death row inmate Derrick Quintero, who was sentenced to death in 1991 for killing two people after escaping from prison, has died, the Tennessean reports. The Tennessee Department of Correction announced that Quintero, 59, died of apparent natural causes at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution yesterday. The exact cause of his death is pending official determination by the medical examiner. Quintero and fellow prisoner William Hall were both sentenced to death for the 1988 murder of a Stewart County couple. The murders took place after Quintero and Hall escaped from a Kentucky prison.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery today announced a $188.6 million multistate settlement with medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC). The settlement stems from a complaint alleging that BSC misrepresented the safety of surgical mesh products for women by failing to disclose the potential for serious and irreversible complications. BSC will pay 47 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, it must reform its marketing materials, training for healthcare providers and clinical trials. Tennessee will receive $4.9 million from the settlement.