The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended 25 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; 14 of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for fee and IOLTA violations in 2023 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

The Defendant, Timothy Hutcherson, was convicted of second degree murder, attempted second degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and reckless endangerment and received an effective sentence of twenty-three years in confinement. On appeal, he contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of second degree murder, that the trial court erred by failing to suppress his statement to police, and that the trial court erred by allowing the jury to hear about his gang affiliation in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b). Based on our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand the case to the trial court for correction of the judgment in count nine.

The employee sustained a work-related injury to his right knee and received certain medical and temporary disability benefits. He was subsequently diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome. The parties offered into evidence expert opinions of three physicians, including one physician selected from Tennessee’s Medical Impairment Rating Registry. In addition to the dispute regarding the degree of permanent medical impairment, the employee asserted that various provisions of Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Law violate both the state and federal constitutions. Following a compensation hearing, the trial court concluded the employee had not come forward with clear and convincing evidence to rebut the opinion of the physician selected from the Medical Impairment Rating Registry, and it awarded permanent disability benefits based on that rating as well as future medical benefits. The trial court declined to address the employee’s constitutional challenges, and the employee has appealed. We affirm the trial court’s compensation order and certify it as final.

The Construction Law Forum returns on Jan. 26 as an in-person program at the Tennessee Bankers Association Barrett Training Center. Don't miss out! This year's program will focus on the "gotchas" of construction law and will provide remedies to be utilized. Topics to be covered include contracts, dispute resolution, liens, the Prompt Pay Act and ethical considerations for each of these topics. The day will end with a 30 minute legislative/case law update. Earn up to five general and one dual CLE hours.

Ethical issues can become even more complicated when representing a group, especially one as unique as a band. Here’s your chance to learn first-hand from a former general counsel at a music company. Jim Jesse, founder of Rock n’ Roll Law in Nashville, will take you through the issues at this two-hour, in-person CLE program Dec. 14 at the Downtown Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St. The program kicks off at 2 p.m. CST and will explore the Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1.7 (conflict of interest— current client), 1.13 (organization as a client), 1.14 (client with diminished capacity) and 2.1 (role as advocate). Further, Jesse will review ethical issues in the “My Sweet Lord” copyright infringement case.

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily suspended Connie Lynn Reguli from the practice of law after finding that she posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. Reguli is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and is prohibited from holding herself out as an attorney, using any indicia of lawyer, legal assistant or law clerk, or maintaining a presence where the practice of law is conducted.

The council of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Legal Education and Admission to the Bar Section is considering extending accreditation to fully online law schools. This move would be a major shift from the ABA's longstanding prioritization of in-person teaching. Reuters reports that the council voted Friday to gather public comments on proposed changes to its standards that would enable new and existing law schools with no physical campus to apply for accreditation. Currently, only law schools with brick-and-mortar locations are eligible for ABA accreditation. The organization has allowed an increasing number of those schools to offer fully or mostly online degree programs alongside their in-person ones, but fully online schools are currently ineligible to apply.

TBA President Jim Barry announced during his installation at the June convention that the next installment of the TBA’s book club would be “Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis.” Those who have not started reading the book should do so over the holidays! More information will be coming soon about a discussion session in January. Written by Preston Lauterbach, “Beale Street Dynasty” is set between Reconstruction and Prohibition and focuses on the rise and fall of Beale Street. It is told through the life of the south’s first Black millionaire, an ex-slave who built an underworld dynasty in the booming river town and created a space for Black culture to flourish. Get started reading or check out this book review that Knoxville lawyer Nick McCall wrote for the Tennessee Bar Journal in October 2016.

The TBA Administrative Law Section will host its Annual Forum on Dec. 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CST at the Nashville office of Burr & Forman. Sessions will include a discussion of cases before the Supreme Court that may affect the so-called Chevron doctrine, agency exactions authorized by legislation and administrative intervention, ethics, and new UAPA administrative rules.

More than 450 guests came to support the work of the Tennessee Innocence Project (TIP) at its recent 5 Years of Fighting for Freedom event in Nashville. The event raised more than $300,000 and concluded with the Schooner Foundation renewing its commitment of $1 million over the next five years. TIP also honored their five exonerees — Wayne Burgess, Joyce Watkins, Charlie Dunn, Claude Garrett and Paul Shane Garrett — and presented it’s Rule of Law Award to Stephanie Ditenhafer, Julia Pettengill, Vin Ryan and the Schooner Foundation. The award recognizes those who courageously work to uphold the Rule of Law in its most fundamental sense, the organization said in a news release. See photos from the event.