Nashville lawyer Ed Lanquist Jr. was sworn in today as the 144th president of the Tennessee Bar Association. The oath of office was administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby during the TBA’s Annual Lawyers Lunch. Lanquist is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz and has practiced intellectual property law for more than 30 years. During remarks following the swearing in, Lanquist pledged a renewed emphasis on serving members of the association during the coming bar year and an increased focus on educating lawyers about legislative issues important to the legal profession — including elimination of the professional privilege tax and increased funding for indigent representation. He also announced two exciting CLE programs: an Urban Bourbon trip to Louisville, Kentucky, and a return to Cuba in February 2025. Registration for that program is now open. Watch his remarks, as well as the full footage of the Lawyers Lunch, on the TBA's Facebook page. See photos from the lunch.

Save the date for the annual Animal Law Forum on Oct. 4! This unique opportunity will provide updates on trends and advancements in animal law while allowing participants to network and enjoy the fun and activities the Nashville Zoo offers. Zoo admission, breakfast and lunch are included with the program. Don't miss this event; you never know who is going to show up!

The Tennessee Supreme Court has imposed a three-year suspension on Knoxville attorney Loring Justice. The decision affirmed the recommendation of a hearing panel and overturned a chancery court decision, which had imposed permanent disbarment. The court found that Justice filed various motions, which contained insulting and inflammatory statements about the judge presiding over a child custody dispute involving his minor child and the child’s mother. Justice previously was disbarred in 2019, under previous rules that did not make that discipline permanent. Read more in a release from the court.

The Tennessee sheriff who was indicted and arrested on more than a dozen official misconduct charges in Gibson County is now facing charges in Davidson County, Action News 5 reports. Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas yesterday was indicted on 18 criminal counts and booked into Nashville’s detention center. The actions were taken in both counties after an investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office identified a scheme by Thomas to “enrich himself and a group of investigators by profiting from the labor and care of Gibson County and Tennessee Department of Correction inmates.”

The Nashville office of the national law firm Morgan & Morgan is slated to move from its Broadway office to mixed-use tower One Nashville by year's end. A permit notes that the law firm will take approximately 19,500 square feet of space on both the first and third floors of the building, previously called One Nashville Place, at 150 Fourth Ave. N. The firm currently operates from about 20,000 square feet at the 810 Broadway building near the I-40 interchange, Nashville Post reports.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted an audit of a business and assessed unpaid taxes against the business. After an informal review by the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue, the business filed suit in the Chancery Court for Davidson County to challenge the assessment. The trial court concluded that the complaint was not timely filed, thus preventing the court from exercising subject matter jurisdiction over the complaint. Finding no error, we affirm the chancellor’s decision.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue audited a car dealership and assessed unpaid taxes against the business. After an informal review by the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue, the auto dealership filed suit in the Chancery Court for Davidson County to challenge the assessment. The trial court found that the auto dealership’s complaint had been filed one day past the applicable filing period and dismissed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Finding no error, we affirm.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision today that a group of anti-abortion doctors did not have standing to challenge new rules related to mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used in medication abortion. The decision overturns a ruling by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which had made it more difficult to obtain the drug. The opinion did not address any underlying regulatory or safety issues raised by the group, only finding that the doctors did not show they had personally been harmed by the government’s rules. In related news, Reuters reports that another case from three Republican-led states is still working its way through the appeals process and if taken up by the court could test the legitimacy of the rule.

In another decision released today, the court overturned a lower court’s ruling ordering Starbucks to reinstate seven Memphis-based employees terminated amid a unionization drive. The justices rejected a “more lenient test” used by the lower court to determine the employees had to be reinstated. Instead, it directed courts to use a more stringent, four-factor test applied in other contexts. Read more about both decisions from The Hill.

Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey wants to withdraw his guilty plea in a federal fraud case, and made the case for being allowed to do so before a panel of judges on the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Kelsey previously received a 21-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations. During the hearing, the judges noted that Kelsey could face more prison time if found guilty again. They also heard arguments from Kelsey’s lawyers that the prosecutor’s response to a question from the trial judge “blew up” the plea agreement. Prosecutors argued they provided a “proportionate” response to a question about whether a sentencing enhancement was appropriate in the case. A federal district court judge previously ruled that Kelsey could not change his plea. Tennessee Journal reports on the hearing.

Members of the Tennessee legal community met for the second day of the TBA Annual Convention in Memphis today. The morning began with a Public Service Awards Breakfast featuring the presentation of the Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year to Memphis-based Assistant Federal Public Defender Tyrone Paylor, the Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award to Memphis attorney John Golwen, and the Law Student Volunteer of the Year Award to University of Tennessee College of Law student Kim Riddett. Lawyers then heard from two panels exploring the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the practice of law.

At the annual Bench Bar Luncheon, J. Daniel Breen, a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, received the Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award, while Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby received the Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award. Kirby was recognized for her efforts spearheading an increase in the hourly rate of reimbursement for appointed cases, which the state legislature approved this spring. In her acceptance remarks, Kirby thanked the many judges and lawyers who contacted leaders about these “shockingly low rates,” and pledged to continue working on this “righteous cause” in the future. Following the awards, Memphis lawyer Charles Newman gave the keynote address in which he recounted his experience representing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, and thanked his law firm Burch Porter & Johnson for allowing him to work on cases throughout his career that did not add to the bottom line. He challenged those in the room not to allow the pressure of making the practice of law more profitable to squeeze out important values. See pictures from the programs.