The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) is holding an Essential Documents for Essential Workers (EDEW) Clinic on Sept. 20 from 12-4 p.m. EDT at the Sevierville First United Methodist Church gym, 214 Cedar St. in Sevierville. This clinic is free to all first responders and their spouses. To volunteer contact YLD board member Amanda Howard.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has directed Florida lawyer Grace Ingrid Gardiner to respond within 30 days why discipline imposed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota should not also be imposed in Tennessee. On June 20, the Minnesota court imposed an indefinite suspension on Gardiner.

Kentucky lawyer Joy Jaye Minner was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Aug. 14. She had been on inactive status for more than five years, since May 21, 2010. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and the court approved the petition.

Georgia lawyer Timothy Minthorn Klob was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Aug. 14. He had been on inactive status for more than five years, since Sept. 12, 2012. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and the court approved the petition.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommended discipline for White County lawyer John Edward Hutson. The court stated that based on its review of the entire record, it had concerns that the proposed sanction was too lenient. “One of the mitigating circumstances listed in the protocol memorandum — absence of a dishonest or selfish motive — clearly does not apply to the facts that are admitted by the plea,” the court wrote in its order. Hutson agreed to a conditional guilty plea on April 18. The court rejected that plea and referred the matter back to the board for “further proceedings consistent with” the order.

Start taking steps today to secure your law firm and your client’s confidential data! Join colleagues and Paul Unger with Affinity Consulting on Aug. 22 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT to learn more about how to protect your practice. The session, the second in TBA's Summer Success Series, will cover ransomware attacks, phishing schemes, cloud computing, mobile device management, full disk encryption, secure document management, shadow-IT, two- factor authentication, password management, VPNs, anti-virus, backup, user education and more. Learn more or register here.

Missouri woman Lisa Findley has been arrested for an alleged scheme to defraud Elvis Presley's family out of millions of dollars and the ownership of Graceland through a foreclosure sale, the Daily Memphian reports. The ongoing investigation was turned over to federal law enforcement after the state Attorney General's office determined the matter was best suited for federal review. According to a press release from the U.S Attorney General's Office, Findley used multiple aliases, fabricated documents claiming Elvis Presley's daughter had pledged Graceland as collateral for a loan and “used a brazen scheme to try to defraud the Presley family of their interest in this singularly important landmark.”

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a coalition of states challenging a federal court ruling that protects the rights of individuals to compete in sports that align with their gender. The coalition, led by the Alabama attorney general, filed an amicus brief with the U.S 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after that court ruled Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act likely violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, Tennessee Lookout reports. The coalition argues that biological differences between males and females necessitate separate sports teams. In 2021, Tennessee enacted a similar law, which has been challenged by the ACLU and Lambda Legal. In related news, late today the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Biden administration's request to reinstate portions of a federal rule that would extend Title IX protections to sexual orientation and gender identity. The Hill has more on the decision.

TikTok is challenging the U.S. government's efforts to force a sale of the platform, arguing that it is protected by the First Amendment. The company has drawn comparisons to other foreign-owned media outlets in the U.S., contending that its ownership structure does not negate its constitutional rights. The Justice Department previously argued in a legal brief "neither TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance, nor the platform's global and U.S. arms, TikTok Ltd. and TikTok Inc., were entitled to First Amendment protections because they are foreign organizations operating abroad” or owned by one, as reported by ABC News. While the government cites national security concerns, TikTok maintains that it has made significant efforts to address these issues and that the proposed sale is an overreach. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled to begin in September.

Volunteers are needed for a mini-legal clinic at the 2024 CHALENG/Stand-Down Meeting, which will take place at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church Family Life Center in Memphis from 10 a.m. to noon CDT on Aug. 28. The CHALENG/Stand-Down event is an annual meeting organized by the Veterans Affairs Department Homeless Program where veterans can come in for various services and discuss their needs with department staff. To volunteer, contact Memphis lawyer Jake Dickerson at jacob.alan.dickerson@gmail.com.