The squabble over the Hamilton County Attorney position continued this week, with both County Mayor Weston Wamp and commissioners standing by their positions, the Chattanoogan reports. Wamp says that County Attorney Rheubin Taylor is no longer on the county payroll and his county email is blocked, while commissioners passed a series of resolutions in support of the embattled attorney and hired outside counsel. "The dizzying actions taken by the County Commission were not within what state law allows,” Wamp said, adding that he would not deal with Taylor or with the three remaining attorneys in the office. He said he plans to hire his own attorney.

What presumptions are common in workers’ compensation cases? Judge Brian Addington lays out the most common ones in his recent post to the From the Bench Blog presented by the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. Among the most common: the opinion of the panel physician is presumed correct on the issue of causation; an employee is conclusively presumed to be at maximum medical improvement when the treating physician ends all active treatment; and a surviving spouse who was living with the deceased spouse before his or her death, and children under 16, are conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent. Read about other common presumptions and how the court might handle interplay between presumptions in Addington’s post.

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) program will hold a legal clinic on Nov. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. CDT. Artists, musicians or other creatives are invited to attend and speak to an attorney at no cost for 30 minutes about any arts-related legal questions. Those who would like to participate should register here by Oct. 28. A VLPA staff member will contact registrants to gather more information and determine pro bono eligibility. To volunteer at the clinic email vlpa@abcnashville.org.

Black law school students lag far behind their white counterparts when it comes to landing jobs after graduation, according to a new report from the National Association for Law Placement. Within 10 months of graduation, just two-thirds of Black graduates had secured jobs that required passage of the bar exam, as compared to 81% of white law grads, Reuters reports. NALP’s report also notes disparities in median pay and federal clerkships. NALP Executive Director Jim Leipold summed up the report’s findings, “We see huge gaps in bar passage by race and ethnicity. We see huge gaps in employment opportunities by race and ethnicity. We see huge gaps in progression through the associate ranks to partner by race, ethnicity and gender.”

President Joe Biden yesterday promised to send Congress a bill codifying abortion rights in January if Democrats control the legislature next year. He said it will be the first bill he sends to Capitol Hill and promised to sign it, the Associated Press reports. As he has done in the past, Biden emphasized that only Congress can fully restore abortion access to what it was before the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade. If however, the Congress is in Republican hands, he vowed to reject any abortion restrictions that may come to his desk.

The Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office has hired veteran defense attorney Lorna McClusky to head the office’s new conviction review unit, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced yesterday. The new unit, the Post-Conviction Justice Unit, will review prior cases for possible errors and false convictions. The unit also will examine sentences that have already been handed down to assess whether or not those sentences were appropriate, taking into account changes in the law. McClusky graduated from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1994. In 1998, she became a member of the Massey McClusky Law Firm, where she rose to managing partner. She has nearly three decades of experience practicing criminal law, including extensive work on capital cases. Mulroy also recently named four new working groups for the office: Disproportionate Minority Contact, Post-Conviction Justice, Restorative Justice and Juvenile Justice. Read about the individuals who will lead these efforts from patch.com.

YLD board members Libba Fyke, Halle Priester and Dominique Winfrey today returned to their alma mater, The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphrey's School of Law, to meet with students and discuss the benefits of getting involved in the TBA and its Young Lawyers Division. Students also had the opportunity to network and increase their professional knowledge as part of the free membership package provided to Tennessee law students. In addition, during today's visit the students had a chance to learn about the TBA's Diversity Leadership Institute, a six-month leadership and mentoring program for Tennessee law students in their second, third or fourth years of study. 

Early voting began today for the Nov. 8 election. Among the races, Republican incumbent Gov. Bill Lee is up for reelection, facing Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jason Martin along with eight independents. All nine of Tennessee's congressional seats are up for election. And voters will get the chance to weigh in on four amendments to the Tennessee Constitution. Visit the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website for information about voting locations, sample ballots and more.

Memphis lawyer Edward “Eddie” R. Young died at his home Monday after a long illness. He was 81 years old. A 1966 graduate of the Vanderbilt University Law School, he began his career with Newell Fowler, who was known as one of the first labor relations attorneys in the nation. Over a more than 50 year legal career, Young built a nationwide practice devoted to the representation of management in all aspects of labor relations and employment law. He co-founded the firm of Young & Perl PLC and served as a shareholder in the Memphis office of Baker Donelson. He also served both the Memphis mayor and Shelby County mayor as a special attorney dealing with fire department, police and sheriff’s department, and hospital authority issues. He also taught labor legislation at the University of Memphis. Funeral services were today in Memphis. Memorial donations may be given to the Memphis Jewish Federation, Anshei Sphard Beth El Emeth Synagogue, or Temple Israel.

The YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee will host its next Stand Against Injustice virtual lunch and learn on Oct. 26 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. In honor of this month’s designation as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the program will feature an outstanding panel of experts and leaders in the anti-domestic violence space. Speakers will highlight the strengths and weaknesses in our communities for those experiencing domestic violence.