Hawkins County lawyer James Nelson Point died March 26 at the age of 79. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Point also held a master's degree in city planning. He served in the U.S. Navy as intelligence officer, stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He later joined the Tennessee Valley Authority and then opened a law practice in Hawkins County in 1982. Among his clients, he represented the Holston Electric Cooperative, Rogersville Water Commission, Chip Hale Center and McKinney Cemetery. He also was delinquent tax attorney for 42 years. An active member of his local community, Point was a member of the United Way Board of Directors, a Rotary Club member for more than 20 years, and a volunteer basketball and softball coach for 30 years. Services were held last month. Memorial contributions may be made to the United Way of Hawkins County, P.O. Box 277, Rogersville, TN 37857.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has appointed University of Tennessee College of Law Associate Professor and Clinical Director Joy Radice to serve as the next chair of the Access to Justice Commission. Her two-year term began on April 1. The court also appointed two new members to the commission. They are Junaid Odubeko, a partner in Bradley’s Nashville office, and Sevier County General Sessions Court Judge Dwight E. Stokes. The court also reappointed McKenna Cox for a second three-year term, which will end on March 31, 2027. Finally, the court thanked two term-limited members — Nashville lawyer John Farringer with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison and Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Alexander McVeagh — for their service. The commission exists to provide collaborative leadership to create solutions and resources that address and eliminate barriers to justice for all. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Republican lawmakers have backed away from an effort to abolish Tennessee’s 60-year-old independent Human Rights Commission and reconstitute the agency within Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office, the Tennessee Journal reports. Instead, the House this week went along with a Senate amendment that tasks Skrmetti with examining the agency’s operations and deciding if his office should take over its functions.

The House on Monday approved its version of Gov. Bill Lee’s proposed business franchise tax-cut bill, which would provide one-year refunds of $700 million to companies but require they first agree to public disclosure of their names and rebate amounts before seeing any of the money. The move sends the bill back to the Senate, where Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, has voiced support for the disclosure provision, the Tennessee Journal reports. Bill negotiators also will have to resolve differences in the length of the program as the Senate had approved a three-year benefit, and whether to accept a House provision requiring participating companies to waive their right to sue over the tax. The Tennessean reports on those differences.

House and Senate Republicans began meeting privately on Tuesday morning to negotiate differences between two chambers’ approaches to Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal to create a statewide school voucher system. The talks are a continuation of discussions held between Senate Education Chair Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, and House K-12 Subcommittee Chair Kirk Haston, R-Lobelville, on Monday night, the Tennessee Journal reports.

Maury County lawyer James Thomas Dubois Jr. has been reinstated to the active practice of law today. Dubois had been on disability inactive status since Feb. 13, 2023. He filed a petition for transfer to active status on March 14. The Board of Professional Responsibility found that Dubois demonstrated he no longer suffers from a disability and the petition was satisfactory.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has censured Madison County lawyer Marcus Allen Lipham for violating Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4, 1.5(c) and 3.1. The court found that Lipham filed a lawsuit on behalf of a client that lacked any meritorious basis in fact or law. He then subsequently failed to file a response to the defense counsel’s motion to dismiss or seek leave to amend the original complaint, and agreed to dismissal of the suit with prejudice without his client’s informed consent. The court said Lipham also failed to respond to a motion for sanctions filed by defense counsel or notify his client of the motion hearing.

Legal technology company Aderant and Vanderbilt University Law School have joined forces to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the practice of law. Aderant, a global provider of legal business management solutions, has introduced AI tools like MADDI to enhance law business management. The platform also is being used by the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab to explore how AI intersects with the delivery of legal services and access to justice. According to a news release, the partners kicked off the collaboration this week with an address to the law school by Aderant’s chief technology officer. The law lab’s co-director will appear at Aderant’s 2024 Global Momentum conference in Nashville May 6-9.

NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. A jury convicted Gregory Rogers of various drug and firearm related crimes—six counts in total. He challenges all six convictions, claiming that key evidence collected from his girlfriend’s car violated his Fourth Amendment rights. Because we agree with the trial court that Rogers had no legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle, we AFFIRM.

Join your colleagues for the 2024 TBA Annual Convention in Knoxville, June 12-15, and earn up to eight hours of continuing legal education. This year's in-person CLE lineup will bring together an esteemed group of speakers to cover a variety of timely, essential legal issues. Hot topics include how AI is impacting the practice of law in Tennessee, the ethical considerations of AI and the annual legislative update. Other programs include "How to Be Your Best in the Virtual Legal World," produced by the TBA Young Lawyers Division, and "Exploring the Relationship Between Criminal Justice and Other Areas of Law," produced jointly by the TBA and the Tennessee Alliance of Black Lawyers (TABL). Learn more about these programs. Still need to register for convention? Get started here.