A new study from Belmont Innovation Labs, “Every Child Tennessee: Foster Youth in Tennessee 2024 Landscape Study — Transitioning into Adulthood,” highlights the crisis in Tennessee youth who are aging out of foster care. According to the study, 70 to 80% of children aging out of the state’s foster care system without proper support are facing challenges such as homelessness, addiction, imprisonment or trafficking by the age of 21. The research found that one “critical factor” that determined successful outcomes for those aging out of the system was “the presence of a stable adult relationship.” WSMV has more on the study, which drew on research over the last few decades.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently reinstated five lawyers who had been suspended on March 4, 2024, for failing to pay the state professional privilege tax. Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 26, attorneys who are deemed noncompliant for 90 days or more are summarily suspended. Those who since have complied with the rule are noted as reinstated. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for tax violations in 2024 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

Regional grocery chain K-VA-T Food Stores, known as Food City, has agreed to settle government allegations under the False Claims Act (FCA) related to its dispensing of opioids and other controlled substances. The lawsuit alleges that, from 2011 through 2018, 24 Food City store pharmacies dispensed opioids and other controlled substances that were medically unnecessary, lacked a legitimate medical purpose or medically accepted indication, and/or were dispensed to invalid prescriptions, and that, as a result, Food City submitted false claims to federal health care programs. Under the settlement, Food City will pay the United States $8,488,378, and will pay an additional $78,621 to the states of Virginia and Kentucky for claims paid to Food City by state Medicaid programs. Food City reached a similar settlement with Tennessee in 2023. Read more in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 23 suspended 15 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; nine 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 2024 — including 21 recently reinstated — or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday issued an opinion in Pharma Conference Education Inc. v. State rejecting the state’s argument that its contract with Pharma Inc. was not enforceable because the company’s promise to perform was “illusory.” The court instead held that Pharma’s promise to provide the University of Tennessee Health Science Center as many continuing education programs as feasible was a real obligation and therefore adequate consideration for the contract. The state had sought to terminate the agreement, but Pharma sued for breach of contract. Chief Justice Holly Kirby concurred in the majority decision but wrote separately to argue that depositions in the case could not be used to contradict the contract. Read more about the opinions from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Oral History Committee of the Lawyers' Association for Women (LAW) Marion Griffin Chapter on Friday presented a film featuring the life and impactful work of U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Senior Judge Martha "Cissy" Daughtrey, a founder of LAW. The film was followed by a panel discussion featuring members of the legal community who have worked with Daughtrey over the years and who spoke about her impact on gender equity in the legal profession. The group capped off the night with its annual holiday celebration. See a photo from the event.

Atlanta lawyer Robert Andrew Free received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 19. Free represented a client in an immigration application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). A request for evidence was sent to Free’s office from USCIS, but he did not respond and did not send the request to his client. A decision was issued in the matter and sent to Free’s office a few months later, and he did not inform his client of the decision. Three years later, Free’s neglect was discovered, and he cooperated with the client’s subsequent attorney in seeking to reopen the immigration application. The court found these actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4 and 8.4(d).

Did you miss some of TBA's most popular programs this year? Don't worry; you can catch the webcast replay! Earn ethics hours and choose your CLE a la carte from programs like Business Law Forum 2024: Professional Conduct Through the Lens of HBO Max’s Succession on Dec. 26; Law Tech Webcast Series — 60 Legal Tech Tips, Tricks, Gadgets and Websites in 60 Minutes on Dec. 27; What Overrated Rock Bands Teach About Attorney Ethics on Dec. 30; and Shift Happens: Surviving the Law Profession from the Women in the Profession Committee on Dec. 31. Check out all of the webcast replays to choose from in the CLE Course Catalog.

The TBA will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday in observance of the Christmas holiday. Offices will reopen Thursday at 8 a.m. CST. Online CLE programming will remain available throughout the holidays.

This week's installment of TBA's Indigent Representation Primer is now available. The new post provides information about the process for appointing counsel for indigent clients in Tennessee. After the court has determined a litigant indigent, and eligible for appointed counsel, they must ensure that the defendant receives legal representation by appointing an attorney. Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13 articulates the right to counsel and procedure for appointment of counsel, which may be one of the state’s public defenders or a private attorney. In criminal cases, district public defender offices are the initial source for appointed counsel, however, due to inherent limitations such as conflicts of interest or high caseloads, it is impossible for public defenders to serve all the state’s indigent defendants. In these cases, as well as juvenile dependency and neglect cases or when a Guardians ad Litem (GAL) is required, the court may appoint a private attorney instead. In Tennessee, a court's selection of an appointed attorney may be based on a combination of factors, including availability, expertise or conflict checks. Read past primer posts.