Mark R. Allen, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary at FedEx Corp., is retiring after 42 years, the Daily Memphian reports. He will remain in his current role until Sept. 23 and then serve as a senior adviser through Dec. 31. Allen joined FedEx in 1982 and served in a variety of leadership roles before taking on his current responsibilities in 2017. During his tenure, Allen directed international commercial and aviation negotiations, managed government relations and handled a broad range of corporate governance, regulatory, security and operations matters. The company has not yet named his successor.

The overwhelming benefits of document automation come from stuff you already own: a word processor and your existing documents. While you can invest in technology to do great things, the biggest “bang for your buck” comes in reconciling and consolidating language you already have into templates. Learn how to create model documents that combine all your best language without spending a dime. Find this and more in the Document Automation and Assembly section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

The American Bar Association (ABA) released a statement Friday expressing concern about congressional funding for federal public defenders. The group notes that federal courts have requested $1.69 billion in FY 2025 to meet the constitutional requirement of providing public defenders to every criminal defendant who cannot afford a lawyer. The U.S. House of Representatives, according to the association, has proposed $1.5 billion in funding. Although this represents a 3.4% increase over current funding, it falls short of what is needed, the ABA says.

A Mississippi man who murdered his ex-girlfriend after bonding out of Davidson County’s Maximum Correctional Center was released improperly due to an error by the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office, The Tennessean reports. Bricen Rivers was arrested in December for assaulting his then-girlfriend, Lauren Johansen, while on a trip to Nashville. After leaving a bar, Rivers subdued and beat Johansen for about an hour before a police officer heard her cries for help. Rivers was arrested and charged with two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated stalking and witness coercion, with a bond of $250,000. His bond was later reduced to $150,000 under stipulation that he wear a GPS ankle monitor and live in Davidson County. After he was picked up by a bonding agent, Rivers was taken to the wrong GPS monitoring company, which was unaware he was barred from travel outside of Davidson County. He returned to Nashville on June 29 because of a problem with his ankle monitor but the issue of his residency was not addressed. Johansen was found dead in the trunk of a car in Mississippi less than a week later. Davidson County Chief Deputy Criminal Court Clerk Julius Sloss said, “Someone in our office made a mistake … When the release was sent to the sheriff, it did not contain the conditions that were outlined in the order, especially the portion talking about the person needing to have a GPS tracking device. At the very least, a copy of the order should have been attached to the release.” The Davidson County clerk's office is now working to implement a policy that will ask employees to confirm they have communicated with the Sheriff's Office about any conditions of the defendant's release from jail.

The 2024 Elder Law Forum will take place in-person this Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT at the Belmont University College of Law. This annual staple for Tennessee attorneys provides insight from top professionals while allowing attendees to meet with other lawyers in the practice area. This year’s forum features timely topics such as conservatorships, dementia, client intake, ethics, litigation in elder law and much more. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity to learn and earn CLE with colleagues.

TBA YLD President-elect Judge Alex McVeagh participated in the state Career and Technical Education Conference in Chattanooga this week. McVeagh led the session "Building Your School's Mock Trial Program with the Tennessee Bar Association," which was attended by public school teachers from all over the state. He provided information on the history of the YLD's largest public service project and advice on how to successfully recruit and implement local school teams. Earlier in the month, Judge Zack Walden, TBA YLD East Tennessee governor and YLD Mock Trial Long Range Planning coordinator, and Mock Trial Committee member Bridget Pyman participated in the Civics Academy Conference organized by the Baker School in Knoxville. They spoke with secondary social studies educators from 29 Tennessee counties about the mock trial program. This year's state competition will be held in Nashville in March.

Davidson County attorney Marvin Don Himmelberg has received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. In defending a juvenile client against criminal charges, the court found that Himmelberg failed to appear for the client’s arraignment hearing, jeopardizing the client’s plea deal, and failed to refund any part of the client’s fee. These actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5.

A lawsuit filed in federal court on July 9 alleges that Cheekwood Botanical Gardens orchestrated a “coup” over the past year to take over operations of the annual Swan Ball. The complaint says that when it became clear that Cheekwood was attempting to “assert control over the operations of the [planning] committee,” the board unanimously voted to formalize itself as a separate and autonomous nonprofit in May, reports the Nashville Banner. It also filed a federal trademark application for “Swan Ball,” which it argues should prevent Cheekwood from continuing to control it. With the exception of a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Swan Ball has been put on every year since 1963 as a fundraiser for the Nashville nonprofit.

Johnson City attorneys Brad Griffith and Solange McDaniel announce the formation of the firm Griffith McDaniel PLLC, located at 926 W. Oakland Ave., #206, Johnson City, TN 37604. Griffith focuses his practice on personal injury, general civil litigation and mediation; McDaniel's practice centers on social security disability, family law and conservatorships.

A second employee complaint against Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell has been filed, accusing him of ignoring conflict of interest issues involving real estate. According to the Daily News Journal, John Key, a residential appraiser in Mitchell's office, claims that Mitchell allowed another employee to work "as a licensed real estate professional for the past five years," which he considers a conflict of interest. Another appraiser, Robert Kincade, filed a complaint in June, accusing management of "directing staff to unlawfully withhold updates on improvements to properties." Mitchell responded to the first complaint, saying, "Any and all of the recent ethics complaints filed against our office are categorically false and untrue."