Disability advocates are raising concerns about state leaders considering the rejection of $1.8 billion a year in federal education funding. The Tennessean reports that funding, designated through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), protects the education rights of more than 135,000 Tennessee children with a disability. Federal education funding also supports Title I and other federal programs for low-income students and school lunch programs. Read more about the developing issue from the paper.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced yesterday that Tennessee and 32 other attorneys general have reached a settlement with health care clearinghouse Inmediata for a coding issue that exposed the protected health information of approximately 1.5 million consumers for almost three years. Under the settlement, Inmediata has agreed to overhaul its data security and breach notification practices and make a $1.4 million payment to states. Tennessee will receive $71,273 from the settlement. Inmediata was accused of violating state consumer protection laws and breaching notification laws and HIPAA by failing to implement reasonable data security or providing affected consumers with timely and complete information regarding the breach.

U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz in the Western District of Tennessee has joined with the U.S. Department of Justice in commemorating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). DVAM pays tribute to victims and survivors and salutes the dedication of advocates, service providers, justice professionals, law enforcement officers and first responders. Purple Thursday, observed today, is a National Day of Action during DVAM and an opportunity to raise awareness about domestic violence and promote safe communities.

Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to pay $192.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit by investors in Rite Aid who accused Walgreens of downplaying scrutiny from U.S. antitrust regulators in 2017 over a pending merger between the drug store chains. Reuters reports that the deal, filed in a Pennsylvania federal court last week, is subject to approval. Walgreens ultimately scrapped the takeover plan in 2017 after failing to win approval from the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement with investors follows an announcement Monday that Rite Aid had filed for bankruptcy protection after struggling with high debt from opioid litigation. Under the current proposed bankruptcy plan, the company's shares would be dissolved with no compensation to shareholders.

The Knoxville Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight, will hold a Pro Bono Debt Relief Clinic on Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. to noon EST at the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St, Knoxville 37919. Attorneys should arrive by 9:30 a.m. for a short overview of the bankruptcy system by Judge Bauknight Volunteer attorneys then will be paired with clients to discuss whether bankruptcy is an option or desirable to provide debt relief. If a client qualifies for and desires to file a bankruptcy petition, during the clinic, the volunteer attorney and client will schedule a follow-up appointment to move forward with a case. Attorneys can sign up to volunteer here.

WPLN’s new podcast series "The Kids of Rutherford County" will debut with two episodes on Oct. 26, with episodes three and four to be released Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. The new program, which was produced in partnership with ProPublica, The New York Times and Serial Production, will build on investigative reporting on the juvenile justice system in Rutherford County, where children were being arrested and illegally jailed for over a decade. The series will be hosted by Meribah Knight, who won a Peabody award for the second season of The Promise, which examined resegregation occurring in two East Nashville elementary schools.

A celebration of life for former U.S. District Court Judge Thomas A. Wiseman Jr. will be held Oct. 26 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3900 West End Ave, Nashville 37205. Wiseman served on the federal court for the Middle Tennessee District from 1978-2013 on the recommendation of Sen. Jim Sasser. He was nominated by then-President Jimmy Carter. Wiseman also was chief judge of the district from 1984 to 1991. Wiseman died in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitation with family will take place at 10 a.m. CDT, followed by a celebratory service for Wiseman and his wife, who also recently died, at 11 a.m.

A federal court in Houston, Texas is moving quickly to reassign nearly 3,500 bankruptcy cases to two judges after the sudden resignation of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, reports Reuters. Jones resigned Sunday shortly after a federal appeals court opened an ethics probe into his failure to disclose a long-term romantic relationship with an attorney whose firm had cases before his court. Jones has handled more corporate bankruptcies in recent years than any other bankruptcy judge and overseen 17% of cases with more than $1 billion in liabilities since 2020, according to data from Debtwire. At a court hearing last week, Jones said he had more than 1,100 commercial cases on his docket.

TBA's Immigration Law Section will present this introductory-level CLE program virtually on Nov. 16. This event is designed to provide law students, new attorneys and attorneys seeking a new practice area with the necessary knowledge to become familiar with the fundamentals of immigration law. Participants will receive the knowledge and skills needed for a wide range of immigration legal services. Learn more or register here.

U.S. law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell rescinded job offers last month to law students who signed on to public statements condemning Israel in the wake of Hamas’ deadly attacks, Reuters reports. The announcement follows a similar move by law firm Winston & Strawn. Davis Polk's managing partner, Neil Barr, told firm members that it had revoked job offers to three law students in leadership positions in Harvard and Columbia university groups that issued statements regarding to the latest wave of violence in the Middle East, according to an internal email obtained by Reuters. “These statements are simply contrary to our firm’s values,” wrote Barr, “and we thus concluded that rescinding these offers was appropriate in upholding our responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive work environment for all Davis Polk employees.” Barr’s email said the firm is remaining “in dialogue” with two of the students to consider any additional information they may offer.