Two men terminated by the Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk, one of them disabled with cerebral palsy, are claiming they were wrongfully fired after suffering harassment and discrimination. Tennessee Lookout reports that Nicholas Trail, who has a physical disability, and Stephen LaQuire filed the suit last week against court clerk Melissa Harrell. The two argue that Harrell violated the state’s Human Rights Act, Disability Act and Public Protection Act by discriminating against them and others, using her office computer for outside work, and allowing an employee to run a canteen business in the office. They also claim other office workers made derogatory remarks about Trail’s disability and treated him differently than another employee with the same job responsibility. LaQuire also claims he was sexually harassed by numerous female employees in the office.

The House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday will consider HB519, which would completely eliminate the professional privilege tax. HB519, sponsored by Rep. Ron Gant, R-Rossville, in the House, and the Senate companion bill, SB884, sponsored by Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, have a great chance of passing this year if elected officials hear from their constituents. Please take a few minutes to reach out to your legislators and ask them to support these bills. Tennessee has more than 100 licensed professions; yet only seven professions, including attorneys, are still being singled out to pay a $400 professional privilege tax. Tennessee lawyers must help members of the General Assembly understand that forcing a small sliver of professionals to pay a $400 tax is both burdensome and discriminatory.

The TBA’s 2021 Law Tech Forum is now available online for on-demand viewing. Sessions, which can be purchased separately, feature a judicial panel with civil court judges and one with criminal court judges, a discussion of election law and technology, facial recognition technology and using technology to successfully handle remote depositions and trials. The ever-popular Bill & Phil Show will be rescheduled. Watch for a new date for that program coming soon.

The Memphis Veterans Legal Clinic — a joint project of Memphis Area Legal Services, the Memphis Bar Association and the Memphis VA — will take place tomorrow from noon until 2 p.m. CST by telephone. If you would like to volunteer or have any questions about volunteering, please email Jake Dickerson. Lawyers are especially needed to help veterans with family law, wills and estates, employment issues, consumer protection, fair housing, criminal law and expungements. The clinic does not handle veterans’ benefit issues.

Six lawyers have been reinstated after being suspended for failure to pay the professional privilege tax. The list includes four suspended in 2020, one suspended in 2019 and one suspended in 2018.

A number of lawyers have been reinstated after being suspended for failure to meet CLE requirements. The list includes 16 suspended in 2020, two suspended in 2019, two suspended in 2017 and one in 2016.

March is Women's History Month and today is International Women's Day. Women have played an important role in leading the Tennessee Bar Association during the past three decades and more women continue to join the leadership ranks. There are currently women in six of the top leadership posts in the association: President Michelle Greenway Sellers of Jackson, President-elect Sherie Edwards of Brentwood, Vice President Tasha Blakney of Knoxville, Immediate Past President Sarah Sheppeard of Knoxville, Treasurer Mary Dohner Smith of Nashville and House of Delegates Speaker Meredith Humbert of Kingsport. In addition, the TBA Young Lawyers Division is led by Jackson attorney Terica Smith and a number of sections and committees have female chairs. All of them follow in the footsteps of strong women lawyers who have led the TBA in past decades, starting with the late Pamela Reeves, who was the TBA’s first female president when she was sworn into office in 1998. Read more about Reeves and the other leaders now.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 28 attorneys on Feb. 26 for failure to pay the annual registration fee and/or file proof that client funds are being held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order or the IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended for fee and IOLTA violations in 2021 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

Following the TBA’s statement of opposition to House Resolution 23 (HR23) on Tuesday, the Nashville and Knoxville bar associations and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association have issued their own statements regarding the resolution and the importance of an “independent judiciary.” HR23 seeks to remove Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle from the bench. In its statement, the Nashville Bar Association wrote that removing Lyle “is dangerous because it threatens our independent judiciary and undermines the rule of law. The Knoxville Bar Association in its statement wrote that without an independent judiciary, there “are no checks and balances” or separation of powers. Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association president, John Griffith, told the Tennessee Lookout that “The stance of our organization is we strongly support an independent judiciary even when we disagree with the judge’s ruling,” Read the TBA’s statement on HR23.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division has selected LaRhonda Potts as the 2020-2021 CASA Volunteer of the Year. Potts is a volunteer with CASA Nashville, which will receive the Agency of the Year Award. CASA Nashville’s mission is to train and support court appointed volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children who have come to the attention of the Davidson Juvenile Court. Executive Director of CASA Nashville Julieanna Huddle said Potts “consistently goes above and beyond the advocate for children within her caseload and to help find the best solutions for their permanency and safety.” YLD Youth Outreach Coordinator Charlotte Mattingly shares the news in this video announcing and congratulating Potts as this year’s honoree.