Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and attorneys general from 39 additional states have reached a $391.5 million settlement with Google over its location tracking practices relating to Google Account settings. Tennessee is set to receive $14,560,086.13 from the settlement, which is the largest multistate attorney general privacy settlement in U.S. history. The attorneys general opened the Google investigation following a 2018 Associated Press article that revealed Google “records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.” The attorneys general found that Google violated state consumer protection laws by misleading consumers about its location tracking practices since at least 2014. The agreement requires Google to be more transparent about its practices. Read more from the AG’s office.  

Frost Brown Todd LLC has announced it is expanding to the west coast with the addition of California-based law firm AlvardoSmith, the Nashville Business Journal reports. AlvardoSmith, which has a presence in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco, will operate under the name “Frost Brown Todd AlvardoSmith” through 2023 and then take on only the Frost Brown Todd name. The firm has 23 attorneys, bringing Frost Brown Todd’s total presence to more than 575 attorneys. In Nashville, its office includes about 30 attorneys, making it the city's 12th-largest local law firm, according to Nashville Business Journal research. Terms of the merger, which will be completed on Jan. 1, 2023, were not disclosed.

It’s no secret that social media algorithms are constantly changing and that the best practices of last year aren’t the same for the current one. From organic content to paid ads, TBA CLE’s “10 Social Media Best Practices for Law Offices” webcast will arm you and your law firm with the best practices you need to know in order to generate new business. Following this session, you’ll be able to execute a social strategy that helps you stand out amongst other law offices and succeed across all social platforms. Learn more about the program and register here.

Dickinson Wright PLLC is accepting resumes for a mid to senior level associate with three or more years of litigation experience to join an active and diverse federal and state court litigation practice in Nashville. Candidates must have excellent legal writing and advocacy skills, experience taking and defending depositions, conducting discovery and engaging in motion practice. Trial experience preferred. The TBA’s JobLink site has more information on how to apply.

Anderson County attorney Joe Richard Judkins was today censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Following a disagreement with a client, Judkins refused to immediately transfer the client file to his client’s new counsel and asserted a valid attorney’s lien in the litigation and over the file materials Additionally, Judkins failed to adequately communicate with his client about the terms of the fees to be paid, failed to provide updates as to the accrual of fees at regular intervals during the representation and did not notify his client as to the amount of fees owed until after his representation was terminated. Finally, in an effort to defend his valid attorney’s lien for fees, Judkins received permission from the court to intervene in the litigation, but attempted to participate in the litigation beyond the extent the court deemed necessary.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee has announced she will retire on Aug. 31, 2023. Lee is currently the high court’s longest-serving member, having been appointed in 2008 and serving as Chief Justice from 2014 until 2016. Prior to her time with the Supreme Court, she spent four years on the Court of Appeals. “Serving in the Tennessee Judiciary for the past 19 years has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Lee said. During her time on the court, Lee advocated for access to justice and spearheaded a variety of innovative projects, including the Business Court pilot project, e-filing implementation, a review of the state’s indigent representation system and a statewide docket cleanup initiative. Chief Justice Roger Page said Lee, the court's only East Tennessee justice, “has never forgotten where she came from and the people she serves.” Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy is hosting an event at Vanderbilt University’s Student Life Center Ballroom to examine the potential impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on the perceived politicization of federal courts. Panelists with experience as White House counsel in Republican and Democratic administrations are expected to discuss the intricacies of the federal judiciary’s nomination and confirmation process. Additionally, this expert group, including CBS News’ chief judicial correspondent, will highlight which decisions will generate headlines in the coming year and what effect, if any, the major decisions of 2022 had on the midterm elections. The free event will be held Nov. 29 at 11 a.m. CST. Advance registration is required. 

James Edward Wise, 90, of Memphis died on Nov. 4 and was remembered by family and friends in a memorial service at Temple Israel on Nov. 6. Wise was born and raised in Sumner, Mississippi. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1953 and from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1956, when he joined the U.S. Navy. Following his military service, Wise worked at a trial attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Tampa. In 1965, he returned to the mid-south to join the general practice law firm later known as Armstrong Allen. In 1996, Wise and several colleagues left Armstrong Allen to join others and form a regional labor and employment law firm known as Kiesewetter Wise Kaplan Schwimmer & Prather. He continued with Kiesewetter Wise until it became part of the international labor and employment practice of Littler Mendelson in 2012. He retired from the active practice of law in 2016, though he continued to mentor and share his expertise with those who entered the field.

Almost 550 guests joined the Tennessee Innocence Project for an evening of music and inspiration at the Inspired by Innocence fundraiser on Oct. 27. It was the Tennessee Innocence Project's largest event since its founding in 2019, raising more than $340,000. Guests lit up the Music City Center with tea lights — 95 lights each representing one year wrongfully served in prison by each of the organization’s four exonerees — Shane Garrett, Joyce Watkins, Charlie Dunn and Claude Garrett. An additional 318 lights were later lit, each symbolizing one year lost in prison by the organization’s 12 current clients waiting to be exonerated. In total, 413 lights represented the 413 years served in prison by TIP clients. Read the full press release and see photos from the event.

FedEx pilots, represented by the Airline Pilots Association, and FedEx Express sat down for their first session with a federal mediator last week to assist in ongoing contract negotiations. The pilots and FedEx have been in negotiations for the past 18 months, “with pilots seeking adjustments to their pensions and other quality-of-life benefits.” The Commercial Appeal has the story.